Questions of ‘Silence’

Alan Cheuse’s review of Arturo Azuela’s “Shadows of Silence” (View, Sept. 27) left some rather obvious questions unanswered. First, a minor point. Is Azuela related to his illustrious predecessor, Mariano Azuela?

Second, Cheuse calls the book “murky.” However, most Mexican novels of recognized merit, like Ingmar Bergman’s films, are murky. See, for example, “Edge of the Storm” or “Pedro Paramo.”

SCOTT JACKSON

Irvine

Azuela is the grandson of Mariano Azuela, but it seemed less than kind to refer to this in my relatively brief review of “Shadows of Silence,” since I found the book so lacking in clarity of image and narrative drive. Jackson uses “murky” in the sense of dark or gloomy. I was using it in the sense of difficult to understand, muddled, obscure.--Alan Cheuse.