It's The Nuggets That Shine In 'The Golden Cockerel'

Let's get this out of the way: The best part of The Golden Cockerel and Other Writings is not the title piece. In his introduction, translator Douglas J. Weatherford makes a big deal out of El gallo de oro, Mexican master Juan Rulfo's long-ignored second novel, but it's nothing compared to the sketches and fragments that come after.

Rulfo is best known for his 1955 novel , which is in turn best known for motivating Gabriel García Márquez. is a stark and surreal tale of man who goes in search of his father and stumbles into a town populated entirely by people who his father starved to death. It's beautiful and nauseating and, per García Márquez, somewhat life-changing. "The Golden Cockerel" is not going to change anyone's life. It's a good read, sure, but essentially, it's a well-written, fast-paced story about how life is short and then you die.