Short Stories

The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories

The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-25 08:52:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Margaret Jull Costa
  • ISBN：0241390478
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Summary

This exciting new collection celebrates the richness and variety of the Spanish short story， from the nineteenth century to the present day。 Featuring over fifty stories selected by revered translator Margaret Jull Costa， it blends old favourites and hidden gems - many of which have never before been translated into English - and introduces readers to surprising new voices as well as giants of Spanish literary culture， from Emilia Pardo Bazán and Leopoldo Alas， through Mercè Rodoreda and Manuel Rivas， to Ana Maria Matute and Javier Marías。

Brimming with romance， horror， history， farce， strangeness and beauty， and showcasing alluring hairdressers， war defectors， vampiric mothers， and talismanic mandrake roots， the daring and entertaining assortment of tales in The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories will be a treasure trove for readers。

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Reviews

Jaffareadstoo ，

I am delighted to have as my featured book of the month this wonderful collection of Spanish Short Stories which collectively make the perfect way to spend a pleasant afternoon just dipping into and out wherever your fancy takes you， and with over fifty stories to choose from there's bound to be something to please every taste。 The stories are cleverly arranged chronologically from the date of the author's birth and range from the mid-nineteenth century， through to the last featured author who w I am delighted to have as my featured book of the month this wonderful collection of Spanish Short Stories which collectively make the perfect way to spend a pleasant afternoon just dipping into and out wherever your fancy takes you， and with over fifty stories to choose from there's bound to be something to please every taste。 The stories are cleverly arranged chronologically from the date of the author's birth and range from the mid-nineteenth century， through to the last featured author who was born in the mid-nineteen eighties。 Though I wasn't familiar with any of the authors that really didn't matter as each story has a short snippet of biographical information at the start so that it is easy to place into context when the story was written。 As with any anthology there are bound to be stories which appeal more than others but my interest was well and truly piqued by the opening story entitled The Novel on the Tram by Benito Pérez Galdós a clever little story which combines a touch of fantasy together with an authentic sense of time and place。 Some of the stories are longer than others so take a little longer to read whilst others are just a couple of pages long and can be read in the time it takes to make a coffee。 What comes across is that they all entertain on their own special level and there's a good index to peruse so that it's easy to find something to enjoy。The pop art inspired cover of the book is particularly striking， it conjures a beautiful summer day by a pool with the opportunity to sit and relax and that's exactly what this fascinating book of short stories offers， it's a chance to escape from the mundane banality of day to day chores and step into the imaginative writing of this impressive group of Spanish authors。 。。。more

Cathy ，

I cannot recall having read much literature by Spanish writers and， to be completely honest，  all the authors whose stories are included in this collection were previously unknown to me。 I also learned it’s too simplistic to say the stories are translated from Spanish because， as the book’s editor Margaret Jull Costa explains in her introduction， they were originally written in one of Spain’s four languages – Basque （euskara）， Castilian Spanish （castellano）， Catalan （català） and Galician （galleg I cannot recall having read much literature by Spanish writers and， to be completely honest，  all the authors whose stories are included in this collection were previously unknown to me。 I also learned it’s too simplistic to say the stories are translated from Spanish because， as the book’s editor Margaret Jull Costa explains in her introduction， they were originally written in one of Spain’s four languages – Basque （euskara）， Castilian Spanish （castellano）， Catalan （català） and Galician （gallego）。 Each story is accompanied by a brief biographical note about the author。The stories are arranged in chronological order of the author’s birth， the earliest being 1843。 I was struck by how much of an impact the Spanish Civil War had， either on the lives of the authors themselves – many of whom were forced into exile – or on the subject matter of the stories， especially in the case of the authors featured in the first half of the book。In her introduction， Costa offers the advice not to read one story after the other but to treat the collection like a box of Belgian chocolates， savouring and pondering the stories ‘one or， at most， two at a time’。 I did my best to follow this advice even if it meant showing considerably more restraint than I would if presented with an actual box of Belgian chocolates！Margaret Jull Costa argues that a short story is not a truncated novel but is more akin to poetry and that ‘the best short stories create a world in just a few pages’。 Indeed， many of the stories in the book are very short， just a few pages in length。 As is often the case with short story collections， I enjoyed some more than others。 Quite a few in the collection had a fantasy or supernatural element which is not really to my reading taste， although I can see them appealing to other readers。 I’ve picked out some below that I particularly enjoyed。The Novel on the Tram by Benito Pérez Galdós – one for anyone who’s ever eavesdropped on others’ conversations while travelling by train or bus， or wondered about the lives of their fellow passengersThe Talisman by Emilia Pardo Bazán – reminiscent of M。 R。 James’ story ‘Casting The Runes’Duet for Two Coughs by Leopoldo Alas/Clarín– the imaginings of two strangers sharing the same maladyThe Reverse Side of the Tapestry by Azorín– in which a poet weaves a story whilst at the same Fate is weaving hisThe Boy by Ramón J。 Sender– the brutality and senseless nature of war captured in just a few pagesCome Twelve o’ Clock by Ignacio Aldecoa – a mother’s warning to her son turned on its headSummer Orchestra by Esther Tusquets – a poignant story of a young girl’s growing awareness of the complexities of the adult worldThe Fullness of Summer by Quim Monzó – I read this after returning from a family lunch out but we couldn’t compete on the kissing and photographs front， although the author’s characters did have the advantage of being pre-pandemicThe Butterfly’s Tongue by Manuel Rivas – the story of an inspirational teacher that has a sting in its tailAnd Shortly After That， There Was Now by Eider Rodríguez – the tale of a journey into the past that has an elegiac quality 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0