The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James is a magical realist novel that asks intriguing questions about the role of the past in the present. Antonio Sonoro, an outlaw known in Dorado, Mexico as El Tragabalas, comes from a long line of bad men. When a train robbery that Antonio is trying to pull off with his brother Hugo goes awry and Hugo is killed by Texas Rangers, Antonio begins a quest for revenge that will only add to his notoriety. In 1964, Antonio’s grandson, Jaime, has achieved massive success as one of Mexico’s most famous popular movie stars, playing a singing cowboy. But when a book surfaces that claims to uncover sordid details about the crimes of Jaime’s ancestors just as a mysterious stranger calling himself Remedio appears in Jaimie’s life, he’s forced to ask questions about his ancestors and their past deeds.