Mexican Short Stories / Cuentos mexicanos: A Dual-Language Book

by Stanley Appelbaum (Translator)

Greatly influenced by Europe's nineteenth-century literary trends, Mexico's writers crafted some of the most phenomenal prose fiction in Spanish America. This collection offers a rich sampling of significant Mexican short stories published from 1843 to 1918. Nine different tales range from the realism of López Portillo's “Reloj sin dueño” and the modernismo saturating Gutiérrez Nájera's "La mañana de San Juan" to the historical accuracy of Riva Palacio's "Las mulas de Su Excelencia" and the vivid romanticism of "Amor secreto" by Manuel Payno, named the "father of Mexican short stories." 
Each story appears in its original Spanish text with expert English translations on each facing page. This dual-language edition features a fascinating new introduction and ample footnotes. An easy-reading pleasure for lovers of fine Spanish-language literature, it is also a valuable educational aid for students and teachers.

Genres: Spanish Literature, Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 29, 2008

Reviews

[X · Rating 1 out of 5]

For one thing, the level on this book is very advanced. As a false beginner/low intermediate learner, I didn't get much out of this book besides reading fluency. The English translation was a little on the advanced side for a native speaker, by the way - I frequently encountered vocabularly I didn't recognize. (Oddly, there were a few times when a Spanish word I knew was translated into an English word I hadn't heard.)

As far as the stories themselves, most of them I just did not enjoy. Some were better than others - An Unclaimed Watch was funny, the drama of Antonia and the suspense of Lanchitas kept me interested. A lot of the stories seemed to cut off before reaching any meaningful conclusion - I suppose I could have been missing cultural context, but it left me unsatisfied. The first story was literally just some guy complaining that some girl he "fell in love with" after seeing her at a party didn't love him back, because "women are silly and incapable of love, and she doesn't understand that I'd love her so much better than all her other suitors" - if I wanted to read shit like that I could just go on 4chan... (Again, there may be cultural context I'm missing, but if there was any deeper meaning to that story, it went over my head.)

I also wish stories by female authors had been included. :/

[Charles Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of Mexican short stories from the 19th Century. Perfect addition to an advance course curriculum or for advanced learners’ self-study. Lots of good low and mid-frequency vocabulary, with a favorite of modern grammar structures. It seems like a lot of the negative comments are about the advanced level of language used or the age of the stories, both of which are made clear by reading the back of the book or the author’s introduction.

[Constance · Rating 4 out of 5]

En " Cuentos mexicanos " las historias no son tan corto. Después de leer "En primer lector español " , la longitud y complejidad fue sorprendente. Tal vez, eso tiene que ver con la complejidad de América del Norte de , México , sí ? Disfrute ! ~google translation

In "Mexican Short Stories" the stories are not all that short. After reading "First Spanish Reader", the length and complexity was surprising. Perhaps, that has to do with the complexity of North America's, Mexico, itself? Enjoy!

[Angie Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book thinking it would be short stories of things I already new. I was wrong. Great short stories by political authors.