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The Bullet Swallower
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Lee Osorio
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
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Publisher's summary
A Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by Goodreads, CrimeReads, The Millions, StyleCaster, The EveryGirl, Sunset, Book Riot, and HipLatina
January Recommended Reading by The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, Nerd Daily, The Mary Sue, and Reading Between the Spines
“Mesmerizing...wildly entertaining...Gonzalez is a great storyteller, bringing both Texas and Mexico to the page with a mix of blood and magic...A must-read.” —The Boston Globe
A dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez, The Bullet Swallower follows a Mexican bandido as he sets off for Texas to save his family, only to encounter a mysterious figure who has come, finally, to collect a cosmic debt generations in the making.
In 1895, Antonio Sonoro is the latest in a long line of ruthless men. He’s good with his gun and is drawn to trouble but he’s also out of money and out of options. A drought has ravaged the town of Dorado, Mexico, where he lives with his wife and children, and so when he hears about a train laden with gold and other treasures, he sets off for Houston to rob it—with his younger brother Hugo in tow. But when the heist goes awry and Hugo is killed by the Texas Rangers, Antonio finds himself launched into a quest for revenge that endangers not only his life and his family, but his eternal soul.
In 1964, Jaime Sonoro is Mexico’s most renowned actor and singer. But his comfortable life is disrupted when he discovers a book that purports to tell the entire history of his family beginning with Cain and Abel. In its ancient pages, Jaime learns about the multitude of horrific crimes committed by his ancestors. And when the same mysterious figure from Antonio’s timeline shows up in Mexico City, Jaime realizes that he may be the one who has to pay for his ancestors’ crimes, unless he can discover the true story of his grandfather Antonio, the legendary bandido El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower.
A family saga that’s epic in scope and magical in its blood, and based loosely on the author’s own great-grandfather, The Bullet Swallower tackles border politics, intergenerational trauma, and the legacies of racism and colonialism in a lush setting and stunning prose that asks who pays for the sins of our ancestors, and whether it is possible to be better than our forebears.
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The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.
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IS THAT NOT SO?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-05-15
By: Bram Stoker
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Treasure Island
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- By: Robert Louis Stevenson, Marty Ross - adaptation
- Narrated by: Philip Glenister, Daniel Mays, Catherine Tate, and others
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Audible Originals takes to the high seas to bring to life this timeless tale of pirates, lost treasure maps and mutiny. When weathered old sailor Billy Bones arrives at the inn of young Jim Hawkins' parents, it is the start of an adventure beyond anything he could have imagined. When Bones dies mysteriously, Jim stumbles across a map of a mysterious island in his sea chest, where X marks the spot of a stash of buried pirate gold.
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A reflective adventure
- By Tad Davis on 09-12-17
By: Robert Louis Stevenson, and others
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The Jane Austen Collection
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- By: Jane Austen
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Renowned as much for her wit and satirical social commentary as for her stories of love and romance, Jane Austen remains unfailingly relevant and one of Britain’s best loved authors. In this Audible Original collection, an all-star list of narrators (Billie Piper, Claire Foy, Emma Thompson, Florence Pugh and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) capture Austen’s pin-sharp humour and tone in these dramatisations of her six beloved novels accompanied by a full cast.
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Not a faithful rendition
- By Anne McClain on 12-13-20
By: Jane Austen
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Point Nemo
- By: Jeremy Robinson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
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In the heart of the South Pacific lies Point Nemo, the most desolate and remote place on Earth. At its core is a dead zone, devoid of life, where government agencies crash their obsolete satellites and space stations, confident they won't harm a soul. When the International Space Station suffers a catastrophic failure and plummets through the atmosphere, it's here that Mission Specialist Julie Rohr, an astrobiologist studying living space dust called xylem, finds herself marooned. Julie's only hope for rescue lies in the hands of her estranged father, Dr. Finn Maddern, a renowned mycologist.
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Totally original-totally feasible!
- By Lawrence Tate on 04-10-24
By: Jeremy Robinson
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The Rip
- By: Holly Craig
- Narrated by: Carly Foxx, Shalom Brune-Franklin
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Luxury villas on hot white sand, views for miles over turquoise water. Flawless hostess Penny gathers guests to an island for her husband’s birthday celebrations. But she soon regrets inviting self-obsessed Eloise. When a child vanishes on the night of the party, their perfect island weekend is ripped apart. Even paradise harbours murky secrets… Has he been taken? Has he drowned? In the panic to find any trace, Penny casts about for someone to blame—even if that person is her own daughter, Rosie. Even clear waters descend to pitch black.
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Intriguing, Engaging, AND BEST NARATORS EVER
- By Hadassah on 03-12-24
By: Holly Craig
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Yellow Face
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- By: David Henry Hwang
- Narrated by: Daniel Dae Kim (CK), Ashley Park, Wendell Pierce, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
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Winner of an Obie and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman, Yellow Face is as timely as ever, wrestling with issues of cultural appropriation, complicity, and artistic freedom. It’s brought to life in this audio-only revival by a stunning all-star cast (many playing themselves) led by Daniel Dae Kim.
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Funny, great audible performance, and good dialogue.
- By Ed the Canadian on 05-04-24
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What listeners say about The Bullet Swallower
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Theresa Reding
- 04-04-24
Incredible Story!
I was on the edge of my seat listening to this book. It was very well written and the story line captured my attention to the very last word. The performer was absolutely amazing! He was by far the best reader on audiobooks I have ever listened to. I could tell the characters apart so easily and looked forward to hearing how he would interpret each new character as they were introduced by the author.
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- Michele
- 03-29-24
Mystical Mexican Caballero’s Cuento.
A wonderfully woven story of the sins of the father, revenge, forgiveness, and redemption. Told part western, part mystery, and part ghost story, the book keeps you enthralled in every single detail.
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- Mike
- 05-16-24
A great start to 2024
I've been picking away at this since the start of the year as part of my resolution to read more new books. I picked a real winner here. amazing performance, no notes
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- Jeff Nebraska
- 02-19-24
Fantasy-infused Western page turner!
A very fun read. Kept me excited to hear more from the very beginning. Colorful characters are creative lore building. Highly recommend.
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- Nana of Plants
- 02-04-24
Fun and interesting tale
I’m so grateful for joining the Book-of-the-Month club and having them recommend books Like this one. my typical go to our female, driven female, written female performed in the book of the month club stretches my mind a bit more
The story reminds me a lot of Gabriel Garcia‘s work where it’s whimsical fantastical in parts. The story goes on and on in this weavy windy way that makes it just more interesting. It’s nice to see another author pick up that style. I can picture of the old Texas old Mexican showdowns in my head. This is great keep up the amazing work!
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- Barbara S
- 02-14-24
timely story
Author Elizabeth Gonzalez James takes on intergenerational trauma and their legacies in a clever way, by combining a Western story with magical realism. She takes the Sonoro family, who is noted for profiting from inequity, and asks: Should we be responsible for our ancestor’s
abuses and sins? Are reparations required and to whom should those reparations be paid? Who should pay for the sins? Is the progeny of evil equally guilty and thereby responsible?
In an NPR interview, Gonzalez James states that her great-grandfather was a bandito. “He was put in jail in Houston. He broke out, got chased down by the Texas Rangers and was shot in the face and left for dead. But he lived and eventually made it back to his family in Mexico.” He became a local legend, and the event gave him his nickname, El Tragabalas, the bullet swallower.
In her story, El Tragabalas, aka Antonio Sonoro, is riddled with guilt and vengeance when the Texas Rangers kill his brother after a failed robbery of a train near Houston, Texas. A severe drought has left the Sonoro family finances dissolute. Antonio learns of a train coming through the Texas border, full of gold. The brothers find themselves in a shootout.
The story is structured in two timelines: 1895 and 1964. The earlier timeline follows Antonio’s tortured existence after his brother, and then eventually most of his family, are killed by the Rangers. The Sonoro family are thought to have exploited the Indigenous inhabitants and are thereby known as dishonorable in 1964 Mexican society.
The 1964 timeline follows Antonio’s great-grandchild, Jaime Sonoro who is a known Mexican actor and singer. In Jaime’s timeline, he finds a book that was written about his family. It follows his family’s history, as a documentary of evil. The novel’s premise is that evil begets evil, and Jaime learns of the horrendous acts of his ancestors. Jaime finds that there is a “shadow figure” called Remedio (a reaper of souls) throughout the story, who shows up in the history to seek atonement for the evil for which the Sonoro family is responsible. Jaime wants to make his grandfather’s story into a feature film, in hopes of redeeming his family’s lore. When the shadow figure shows up in Mexico City in 1964, Jaime wonders if he is now responsible for his forebearers crimes.
The border crisis has been and is fluid. Border politics such as racism, colonialism and toxic masculinity are constant threads, occurring today. Gonzalez James explores those stories that were told of “the bad guys” and looks at it from another point of view. She was also inspired by the history of the Texas/Mexican border politics, especially in the 1800s.
It’s her beautiful prose that makes this an unusual western.
**Antonio never believed in curses or bad legacies. He lived in a poor region in a poor country, peopled by ignorant peasants ground down by centuries of exploitation, ruled by a corrupt and avaricious government bounded by, on one side, a hostile foreign power with no regard for economic parity or national sovereignty, and unlucky enough to have survived a long drought.
**It’s the strangest thing: I was born in New Spain, which then became Mexico, then the Republic of Texas, and then wound up in the United States, and meanwhile, my house has always stood in the same place. The Texans call me Mexican and I’ve never crossed the Rio Grande.
I listened to the audio, narrated by Lee Osorio. I was not a fan of his Texas accents. One Texas Ranger sounded like a strange combination of a deep south accent as opposed to a Texas accent. There is a difference. Nonetheless, this is a worthy story, whether one reads it or listens to it.
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- Jordan
- 03-26-24
Wonderful and exciting
A little slow to start but once it gets rolling this book is a wild and exciting ride
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- Michael Solomon
- 02-27-24
New classic
I love a good western and the bullet swallower delivered. Looking forward to more from Elizabeth Gonzalez
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- Susan
- 04-15-24
Sensational writing, story telling, imagination, research, character development
The author managed to take characters who I would never cared about in a different time or place and make me cheer for them, hurt for them, consider their points of view. I hurt when they hurt and sighed with relief when things went better than I had thought. By the end, I could hardly stop listening to it. Wonderful book - you won’t be sorry. I may have to listen again.
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Overall
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- SB
- 01-29-24
boring
This is an overly long, boring, pointless slog. It didn't hold my attention and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
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