THE FIFTH HORSEMAN

by Jose Antonio Villarreal ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 8, 1973

A saga of the' Mexican Revolution and a young veritable prince of the peonage named Heraclio Ines, who is the godson of the patron as well as the last and best of a long ling of spectacular horsemen. Heraclio's quarrel with privilege is at first personal -- he himself doesn't have enough, and his friend, the patron's bastard, has none -- and a family matter since his brothers one and all uphold a family tradition of devout feudal loyalty which accounts for their freehold. But the destiny (as we say down here) beckons, and after behaving too much like a don with the pretty patrona, Heraclio must scoot for the hills and behave therever after like one of Villa's bravos. He already knows how -- being the best rider, lover, and subsequently killer, with a cocky charm that is as captivating to the general as it has been to the class enemy -- so it only remains for the spotlight to follow him through the fated course of women, battles and other tests of manliness and a perceptible, just perceptible, degree of inner development. Obviously, this is not a revolution grounded in correct analysis: but it makes for better melodrama, action, and characters who rise above their stinking conditions -- all tippling with machismo which, in the case of the Villistas, may be the best reading after all.

Pub Date: Feb. 8, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1973

Categories: FICTION