Enough is written elsewhere to give you a good sense of the novella. There's equally enough written elsewhere which speaks to this book's foundational status with regard to magical realism. If asked, I'd only say Pedro Paramo is Our Town as conceived by Rod Serling and written by William Faulkner. Helpful? It's great to be able to say this book was recommended to me by Roberto Bolano--partly because it's true, partly because it's exciting to have a great author make recommendations that speak to you, and partly because of how it feels to tread the same (reading) path that Bolano tread. I read this following a brief discussion of the author in Roberto Bolano: The Last Interview & Other Conversations, and it's a wonderfully brief diversion from The Book of Disquiet to which I can now wholeheartedly return.