Moody and contemplative, as a good ghost story should be.

The format is almost dream-like, which is onteresting to read and adds to the tension I think.

La primera mitad me pareció excelente, las descripciones una obra de arte. Luego se distancia de la parte más sobrenatural y se queda solo con la trama del pueblo y eso terminó aburriéndome un poco. 

The premise starts with Juan Preciado going to the town of Comala as a promise to his recently deceased mother in an attempt to find his father but what he finds is a ghost town. Not just a town that is abandoned but a town that is literally filled with the ghosts and spirits of the people who lived there. What follows is Juan hearing these different ghost voices talking about what happened in the town, and who his father was.

This was an absolutely disorienting read and yet so memorable, visceral, and inescapable. I couldn't put it down. It is a book that needs to be read by anyone with an interest in ghost stories, magic realism, spirit worlds, town collapse, boss stories, classics, post-revolutionary stories, or Mexican literature.

What you need to know, though, is to just go with the flow. Read it without trying to figure out who all the characters are or trying to piece together the timeline of what's happening. While there are strings in the plot to tie moments together, the story jumps between different timelines and different voices, and it's not always clear who's speaking. The author left gaps and asks the reader to actively engage with the text and fill in the rest of the story as they see fit. Usually I'm not a huge fan of that style but here it works. The author gives you just enough to feel bonded with the characters and to want to find out why Comala is a ghost town, but the exercise in your own imagination makes each read and re-read a new and exciting experience. This is definitely a book to re-read, each time learning things you missed or finding new ways to understand what happened.

You will be confused at points but embrace it. You will be frustrated at some of the characters but embrace it. You will feel creeped out and torn and stomped on but embrace it. 

This is a classic and deservedly so. I recommend it without reservation.