The new *Pedro Páramo* translation

By Juan Rulfo, first published in 1955.  The previous English-language translation was abysmal, so this is perhaps the least read piece of truly great world literature?  In the English-speaking world at least.  It took me a long time and a lot of effort to read this short novel in Spanish.  The vocabulary is not difficult, it is simply difficult in any language to know exactly what is going on.  What exactly are the borders between the living and the dead, for instance?  Which character is doing what?  What is Rulfo telling us about Dante?  As first-tier literature should, it strains our capabilities to the utmost.  A knowledge of rural Mexico helps, for sure.

García Márquez compared the work to that of Sophocles in import.  Carlos Fuentes called it “the essential Mexican novel.”  For me it is in the top 25 novels of all time.  Susan Sontag thought it was one of the essential works of 20th century literature.

The new Douglas J. Weatherford translation is probably as good as it is going to get.  The work is intrinsically difficult to translate, so try the Spanish if you can, or read the two jointly together, switching back and forth.  And as they like to say in Haiti, “if you’re not confused, you don’t know what’s going on.”

Recommended, essential, and kudos to Weatherford for making this available.  I’ve addended it to my favorite fiction of 2023 list.