Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James starting on March 16, 2024.


Happy Reading!

Thank you!

Hey Felina, did you get the New Orleans notification that they added the audio to their Libby? I got in line but I'm #6 and they've only ordered one copy so far.

I got in line a bit ago at the Salt Lake library. They had the audiobook pretty early and I’m 3rd in line. It says a 6 week wait.

Mine says 15 weeks, but those often aren't accurate this far out... fingers crossed...

Ooo it does usually speed up. I had one that said two weeks so I put it on hold and it came through 15 minutes later.

I think the wait-times are based on the maximum amount for each borrower--2 weeks for NOL--but with pre-orders, a lot of times folks will drop out of the wait line early--maybe they decide they aren't in a hurry, or buy it, and then there are the folks who read fast...

I think we’re the only two committed to this so we can always adjust the date if we need to.

True. ^^ Fingers crossed we won't need to!

I started this one cause it came through on Libby. It’s good but not what I expected at all. I don’t remember why this one caught my eye in the first place and I have no idea where this story is going. It’s basically a western with a strange familial timeline jump.

This was a pretty solid read. I enjoyed the magical realism aspects a lot. I usually do. I think it had a really satisfying ending.

Mine's still on hold, but I'll jump in when it comes up.

How far out are you?

Oh hey, it just came off hold! Downloading now. I'll get to it this weekend...

Awesome. It’s pretty good.

Finally started this afternoon! I'm about halfway through and enjoying it, getting curious about the "strange familial timeline"...

Through Part 2 Chapter 15--(view spoiler)[I'm rather enjoying the addition of the Englishman--Peter?--making me laugh a bit, and also the analysis Antonio had about how Peter was playing at being bandit, and would just brush off the life like he would mud off his pants...

I was also surprised it took so long--about 1/4 in?--to get to the events which gave Antonio the name "Bullet Swallower"... then the scene with the 16 y/o kid... that was hard... I hope he survived... I don't think it was entirely clear... he lived at least until the other Rangers found him...

I don't have much of a grasp on Jaime's timeline, but I'm definitely curious about the "stranger" he invited into his house, and that scorpion thing was interesting... creepy though! I'm glad I live somewhere where the biggest insects we have are daddy long-legs, and nothing poisonous...

The writing is also very beautiful... (hide spoiler)]

Agreed. I really enjoyed the writing style and the western elements.

(view spoiler)[I think the book really takes off when Peter arrives. He is a fun character and he forces Antonio to deal with some situations differently. I think Peter is ultimately the catalyst for a lot of Antonio’s growth as a person. He’s very two dimensional at the beginning.

Jaime’s story is a little more disjointed to me. I feel like his story is more where the magical realism sits in the first half of the book. (hide spoiler)]

Finished! Very interesting piece... definitely in the "Magical Realism" category more than fantasy. Agree on the satisfying ending... though it was also kind of spooky--(view spoiler)[there were several aspects through the book that had me thinking of horror tropes, even though the book didn't have any horror aspects to the story really--but the shadow, the exploration of evil, the visions that Jaime kept seeing, like the scorpion, and then at the end, shutters of a person who wasn't there in the shoot, showing up in the film... if it wasn't a benevolent character, I can so see that being a horror film thing, like in the Ring... gotta go floss my brain with something else before bed now... (hide spoiler)]