We talked a little in class about the novel's machismo, and I'd have to strongly agree with it. It's an action movie of a book. The characters are mostly male, and the few female characters have classically masculine traits; assertiveness, crude humor, etc.
The novel itself moves very quickly. Action and dialogue work together nicely, and the descriptions are concise, yet effective. It reads like a screenplay. It conveys information through "show, not tell," which is very impressive.
As a result of the novel being fast and cinematic, there isn't a very strong sense of compelling language. You don't really get to see the internal workings of the characters so much as I would have liked. Overall, though, it's a very important cultural work and good read, just not rich in the aspects of writing I enjoy most.
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I agree that it's not a novel concerned with characters. Azuela is more interested in presenting types that, for him, represent the participants in the Mexican Revolution, than in developing believable characters.
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