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Land of Smoke
Dazzling, hallucinatory stories by Sara Gallardo, a rediscovered Argentinian contemporary of García Márquez
An old man wakes up one morning to find that his beloved garden, the envy of all his neighbours, is floating away – with him on board; a bored young woman decides to start a new, double life in Buenos Aires – with the useful prop of a spare head she keeps in her closet; a meek German missionary leaves Paraguay for the Pampas, completely unprepared for what he will encounter there at night.
Land of Smoke is the first English translation of this recently rediscovered major Argentinian writer. Dazzling and hallucinatory, the stories collected here recall the masters of magical realism – but with Gallardo's distinctive, idiosyncratic slant.
Sara Gallardo was a celebrated and prize-winning Argentinian writer, born in Buenos Aires in 1931. Her first book was published in 1958, and by the time she died in 1988, she had published novels, short stories, children's books, and essays. Written after the death of her second husband, Land of Smoke is the first of her books to be translated into English.
An old man wakes up one morning to find that his beloved garden, the envy of all his neighbours, is floating away – with him on board; a bored young woman decides to start a new, double life in Buenos Aires – with the useful prop of a spare head she keeps in her closet; a meek German missionary leaves Paraguay for the Pampas, completely unprepared for what he will encounter there at night.
Land of Smoke is the first English translation of this recently rediscovered major Argentinian writer. Dazzling and hallucinatory, the stories collected here recall the masters of magical realism – but with Gallardo's distinctive, idiosyncratic slant.
Sara Gallardo was a celebrated and prize-winning Argentinian writer, born in Buenos Aires in 1931. Her first book was published in 1958, and by the time she died in 1988, she had published novels, short stories, children's books, and essays. Written after the death of her second husband, Land of Smoke is the first of her books to be translated into English.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1977
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833 people want to read
About the author
Sara Gallardo
35 books184 followersSara Gallardo Drago Mitre (*Buenos Aires, 23 de diciembre de 1931-†14 de junio de 1988) fue una escritora argentina de la generación de narradoras y poetas de la década del 50-60, durante el boom de la literatura latinoamericana, junto a colegas coterráneas como Silvina Bullrich, Martha Lynch, Beatriz Guido, Luisa Mercedes Levinson, Norah Lange, Alejandra Pizarnik, Elvira Orphée y Silvina Ocampo. Su novela Eisejuaz es un ejemplo del temprano realismo mágico sudamericano.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
December 2, 2023
Para adentrarme en el mundo de la argentina Sara Gallardo, empecé por una obra final, su único volumen de cuentos escrito entre 1974 y 1975, sin haber leído nada más. No me atraía la historia de amor de "Los galgos, los galgos", sabía de la dificultad lingüística de "Eisenjuaz"... No escaparé más, aquí hay oro puro. A cada renglón es impredecible, y la hipersensibilidad es máxima. Elige puntos de vista no convencionales, de caballos, gatos, ratas, céspedes, vagones, personificaciones múltiples. Fiel al "menos es más", necesita muy pocas palabras para desencadenar infinidad de imágenes. Es como si su prosa concatenase millones de haikus, que obligan a varias relecturas.
En el índice se agrupan los relatos por evocaciones —Desiertos, Puñales, Trenes, Tareas...— pero prefiero mi propia taxonomía: ciertos cuentos describen mundos ordinarios en los que de pronto una ley ajena los desafía, como cuando en El caso de la señora de Ricci un fantasma pide su pensión de jubilación por ventanilla, o en Cosas de la vida el jardín de un jubilado se convierte en mar, o el caso del hombre con alas de El hombre en la araucaria, o el relato de cómo las nubes actúan sobre la Historia de la humanidad, en Una nueva ciencia. Hay cuentos en los que sientes en carne viva el cuerpo a cuerpo, como En la montaña, que relata el miedo de un desertor acogido en una cueva, o Fases de la luna, que cuenta el terrorífico encuentro de un sacerdote con un joven licántropo. Muchos de los relatos son eminentemente paisajísticos, pampeanos, como el del tordo libre White Glory, o Georgette y el general, la historia de cómo un buen pensamiento transformó un edén en un desierto, o Domingo Antúnez, que describe el peregrinaje por tierras de indios. Están los cuentos folklóricos, como Cristóbal, el gigante, sobre la formación de unas lagunas en medio del desierto, y los cuentos cortos, como epitafios. Y luego, Las 33 mujeres del emperador piedra azul, el cuento de cuentos, difícil, placentero, cumbre.
Estoy francamente sorprendida. Hasta ahora no he leído nada semejante.
Broken Horse. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2000. © Alessandra Sanguinetti
En el índice se agrupan los relatos por evocaciones —Desiertos, Puñales, Trenes, Tareas...— pero prefiero mi propia taxonomía: ciertos cuentos describen mundos ordinarios en los que de pronto una ley ajena los desafía, como cuando en El caso de la señora de Ricci un fantasma pide su pensión de jubilación por ventanilla, o en Cosas de la vida el jardín de un jubilado se convierte en mar, o el caso del hombre con alas de El hombre en la araucaria, o el relato de cómo las nubes actúan sobre la Historia de la humanidad, en Una nueva ciencia. Hay cuentos en los que sientes en carne viva el cuerpo a cuerpo, como En la montaña, que relata el miedo de un desertor acogido en una cueva, o Fases de la luna, que cuenta el terrorífico encuentro de un sacerdote con un joven licántropo. Muchos de los relatos son eminentemente paisajísticos, pampeanos, como el del tordo libre White Glory, o Georgette y el general, la historia de cómo un buen pensamiento transformó un edén en un desierto, o Domingo Antúnez, que describe el peregrinaje por tierras de indios. Están los cuentos folklóricos, como Cristóbal, el gigante, sobre la formación de unas lagunas en medio del desierto, y los cuentos cortos, como epitafios. Y luego, Las 33 mujeres del emperador piedra azul, el cuento de cuentos, difícil, placentero, cumbre.
Estoy francamente sorprendida. Hasta ahora no he leído nada semejante.
Broken Horse. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2000. © Alessandra Sanguinetti
January 24, 2016
Eh! Qué buena es Sara Gallardo! No lo sabía..
Empecé un poco perdida, no tenía idea de qué esperar, y de repente me pareció árida, cuenta muchas situaciones de sobrevivencia, en el desierto, en la pampa, en la ciudad. Situaciones límite, como esa del tipo que un día despierta, y su jardín y su casa estaban en el mar. Pero escribe sobre muchas otras cosas. Y poco a poco todo empieza a tomar vida. De la ciudad, de la pampa, de animales, de la soledad, del amor, de todo. Solo que su manera de contarlo es muy ella.
Su visión no tiene nada que ver con otras autoras que amo, Lispector, Marosa di Giorgio. Las situaciones que imagina son mucho más masculinas, en el sentido de que son aventuras, que suceden en lugares insólitos. Pero luego también sus personajes toman vida, como en el del jardín, que habla de sí mismo.
Tiene una fantasía desbordada que no se detiene, y es muy divertida.
Buenísima.
Empecé un poco perdida, no tenía idea de qué esperar, y de repente me pareció árida, cuenta muchas situaciones de sobrevivencia, en el desierto, en la pampa, en la ciudad. Situaciones límite, como esa del tipo que un día despierta, y su jardín y su casa estaban en el mar. Pero escribe sobre muchas otras cosas. Y poco a poco todo empieza a tomar vida. De la ciudad, de la pampa, de animales, de la soledad, del amor, de todo. Solo que su manera de contarlo es muy ella.
Su visión no tiene nada que ver con otras autoras que amo, Lispector, Marosa di Giorgio. Las situaciones que imagina son mucho más masculinas, en el sentido de que son aventuras, que suceden en lugares insólitos. Pero luego también sus personajes toman vida, como en el del jardín, que habla de sí mismo.
Tiene una fantasía desbordada que no se detiene, y es muy divertida.
Buenísima.
May 12, 2019
Gallardo's collection started strong with the atmospheric "On the Mountain" story, but was unable to keep that momentum going forward. I found the longer stories in the collection to be confusing and muddled, I liked the shorter ones better. Towards the middle, the momentum kicked up again with some one and two-pager micros on such varied subjects as an existential hunting dog, life as seen by grass in a public yard, urban rats, a horse that gives advice, and a train yard where the old trains revolt against the new updated trains.
August 8, 2019
This is the first book I read for WIT Month. I discovered 'Land of Smoke' by Sara Gallardo by accident, while browsing in the bookshop. A beautiful, serendipitous discovery. I have never heard of Sara Gallardo before – she is an Argentinian writer, and this is the first book of hers to be translated into English.
'Land of Smoke' is a collection of short stories. It was originally published in Spanish in 1977. It has 46 stories. Some of them are short shorts, sometimes they are just a page long, while others are a bit long at around 20 pages. The book is divided into sections, with stories under the same theme grouped together. For example, there is a section where nature – mountains, seas, clouds – plays a big part. There is a section in which the stories are about animals, there is a section about horses, another about trains. I loved this arrangement – it was quite interesting.
I loved the book overall. But I loved some of the stories more than the others. Here is a brief description of some of my favourites.
On the Mountain – This is the first story in the book. A soldier is trapped in a mountain in the middle of a battle. He is injured and he can't walk. He is saved by another man, who seems to be living there. This strange man, doesn't talk. Or he doesn't want to talk. What happens after that? Does the soldier recover? Does this host who saves him talk to him? Who is this stranger who lives in the mountain? And what is this beast which sometimes knocks at their cave in the middle of the night? You have to read the story to find out.
Georgette and the General – A general who goes to Europe, comes back with a French girl, who is his lover. He builds a separate house for her in the middle of nowhere, and visits her often. He is married and has his own family with whom he lives elsewhere. This French girl's name is Georgette. What happens to Georgette for the rest of her life, forms the rest of the story. It is beautiful, poignant and heartbreaking.
Things Happen – A man who lives in a particular street has a beautiful garden which is the envy of his neighbours. One day morning he wakes up to the sound of water drops hitting his house's windows. He thinks it is raining. But when he walks to the window to see what is happening, he discovers that his whole house with the garden is floating in the middle of the ocean. Our man thinks that he is either dreaming or he is having a hallucination. So he goes back to sleep. But when he gets up there is no change. His house is still floating in the ocean and the waves are spraying water drops on his windows. It is unbelievable. How did this happen? Is the man able to get off the ocean onto solid land? You should read the story to find out.
But on the island – Two cats explore the city and they end up in the zoological park. There they discover their cousins, the bigger cats the lions. They slowly start understanding the lions' language. And one day they help one of the younger lions to escape. Are these three – two small cats and one big one – able to enjoy their freedom and live happily everafter? The rest of the story tells us what happened.
A Lawn – We see the world through the eyes of a lawn and it is incredibly beautiful. I cried when I read the last lines of the story.
White Glory – White Glory is one of the great horses of his time, but his master sells him off. While being transported in a train, there is an accident, and White Glory ends up in the wild. What happens after that is glorious and White Glory is magnificent.
Cristóbal the giant – Cristóbal is a giant-sized person who is also innocent and simple. He wants to find a master to serve. One day he meets a general and requests to serve him. The general gives him an impossible task. What happens after that and the way Cristóbal discovers new things about life forms the rest of the story.
White Flowers – A one-page story which describes the life of a normal, everyday person. Very fascinating.
The Great Night of the Trains – There are trains which are put out of service and are abandoned near the tracks. What people don't know is that these trains have their own lives and personalities and memories and dreams. One day, these abandoned trains all get together and decide to rebel. What happens after that is the rest of the story. It gave me goosebumps.
A Loner – A restaurant closes down. Most people, both the customers and employees, move on. But it affects some of the customers, who are introverts and loners and reclusives, quite deeply. What they do about it forms the rest of the story. This story is a beautiful love letter to solitude and to introverts and reclusives and it stands up there with Emily Maguire's essay 'Solitude is Bliss' ( https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/... ). I loved this story so much.
I loved 'Land of Smoke'. One of the descriptions of the book is that it is hallucinatory. I think that is a perfect description of the book. I loved the way how sometimes nature plays a bigger role in the story than the human characters. I also loved the way how Sara Gallardo has sometimes told a story from an unusual perspective, making us see the world in new ways - for example, from the perspective of the lawn, the horse, the abandoned trains - it is fascinating. This is a book to be read slowly, lingered on and savoured. I am glad that I discovered a new Argentinian writer who has become one of my favourites now. I can't wait to read my next Sara Gallardo book.
I will leave you with some of my favourite passages from the book.
From 'Things Happen'
"When watering his garden, how many times had he enjoyed watching the ants struggling in the currents from his hose? Now he thought of them differently. Supposing for a moment a sea god actually existed, the Neptune of the ancients the boy joked about on television, wouldn't he get the same pleasure directing men and their boats as he had spinning the insects, occasionally saving some because of their beauty or harmlessness, in a momentary good mood? Harmless or beautiful from whose point of view? The gardener's. But doubtless there were others."
From 'Phases of the Moon'
"It also isn't pleasant to change horses just like that. A horse is someone you get used to, someone who gets used to you. But to arrive at a human settlement and get permission to leave the tired horse, choose another and free it when you reach your destination because it can return home on its own, is an impediment to the heart's affection. You can't even get used to a horse."
From 'The Thirty-Three Wives of Emperor Blue Stone'
"Old age is a drunkenness. I've lost my teeth but influence nourishes me. I plait my white hair. What would be plaited without me?"
"I gave myself up to mystery.
What was it?
A path of darkness
to a land that perhaps does not exist.
I am faithful. I persevere."
From 'An Embroiderer'
"He told a colleague that as a young man, he had embroidered cloth. But that now there was no difference between the embroiderer and the embroidered, that when embroidering he was embroidered, that the embroidery embroidered him and he the embroidery."
From 'A Loner'
"Ever since he was young, Frin had invested all the effort many use to get a good job into the opposite, avoiding one."
Have you read Sara Gallardo's 'Land of Smoke'? What do you think about it? Who is your favourite Argentine writer?
'Land of Smoke' is a collection of short stories. It was originally published in Spanish in 1977. It has 46 stories. Some of them are short shorts, sometimes they are just a page long, while others are a bit long at around 20 pages. The book is divided into sections, with stories under the same theme grouped together. For example, there is a section where nature – mountains, seas, clouds – plays a big part. There is a section in which the stories are about animals, there is a section about horses, another about trains. I loved this arrangement – it was quite interesting.
I loved the book overall. But I loved some of the stories more than the others. Here is a brief description of some of my favourites.
On the Mountain – This is the first story in the book. A soldier is trapped in a mountain in the middle of a battle. He is injured and he can't walk. He is saved by another man, who seems to be living there. This strange man, doesn't talk. Or he doesn't want to talk. What happens after that? Does the soldier recover? Does this host who saves him talk to him? Who is this stranger who lives in the mountain? And what is this beast which sometimes knocks at their cave in the middle of the night? You have to read the story to find out.
Georgette and the General – A general who goes to Europe, comes back with a French girl, who is his lover. He builds a separate house for her in the middle of nowhere, and visits her often. He is married and has his own family with whom he lives elsewhere. This French girl's name is Georgette. What happens to Georgette for the rest of her life, forms the rest of the story. It is beautiful, poignant and heartbreaking.
Things Happen – A man who lives in a particular street has a beautiful garden which is the envy of his neighbours. One day morning he wakes up to the sound of water drops hitting his house's windows. He thinks it is raining. But when he walks to the window to see what is happening, he discovers that his whole house with the garden is floating in the middle of the ocean. Our man thinks that he is either dreaming or he is having a hallucination. So he goes back to sleep. But when he gets up there is no change. His house is still floating in the ocean and the waves are spraying water drops on his windows. It is unbelievable. How did this happen? Is the man able to get off the ocean onto solid land? You should read the story to find out.
But on the island – Two cats explore the city and they end up in the zoological park. There they discover their cousins, the bigger cats the lions. They slowly start understanding the lions' language. And one day they help one of the younger lions to escape. Are these three – two small cats and one big one – able to enjoy their freedom and live happily everafter? The rest of the story tells us what happened.
A Lawn – We see the world through the eyes of a lawn and it is incredibly beautiful. I cried when I read the last lines of the story.
White Glory – White Glory is one of the great horses of his time, but his master sells him off. While being transported in a train, there is an accident, and White Glory ends up in the wild. What happens after that is glorious and White Glory is magnificent.
Cristóbal the giant – Cristóbal is a giant-sized person who is also innocent and simple. He wants to find a master to serve. One day he meets a general and requests to serve him. The general gives him an impossible task. What happens after that and the way Cristóbal discovers new things about life forms the rest of the story.
White Flowers – A one-page story which describes the life of a normal, everyday person. Very fascinating.
The Great Night of the Trains – There are trains which are put out of service and are abandoned near the tracks. What people don't know is that these trains have their own lives and personalities and memories and dreams. One day, these abandoned trains all get together and decide to rebel. What happens after that is the rest of the story. It gave me goosebumps.
A Loner – A restaurant closes down. Most people, both the customers and employees, move on. But it affects some of the customers, who are introverts and loners and reclusives, quite deeply. What they do about it forms the rest of the story. This story is a beautiful love letter to solitude and to introverts and reclusives and it stands up there with Emily Maguire's essay 'Solitude is Bliss' ( https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/... ). I loved this story so much.
I loved 'Land of Smoke'. One of the descriptions of the book is that it is hallucinatory. I think that is a perfect description of the book. I loved the way how sometimes nature plays a bigger role in the story than the human characters. I also loved the way how Sara Gallardo has sometimes told a story from an unusual perspective, making us see the world in new ways - for example, from the perspective of the lawn, the horse, the abandoned trains - it is fascinating. This is a book to be read slowly, lingered on and savoured. I am glad that I discovered a new Argentinian writer who has become one of my favourites now. I can't wait to read my next Sara Gallardo book.
I will leave you with some of my favourite passages from the book.
From 'Things Happen'
"When watering his garden, how many times had he enjoyed watching the ants struggling in the currents from his hose? Now he thought of them differently. Supposing for a moment a sea god actually existed, the Neptune of the ancients the boy joked about on television, wouldn't he get the same pleasure directing men and their boats as he had spinning the insects, occasionally saving some because of their beauty or harmlessness, in a momentary good mood? Harmless or beautiful from whose point of view? The gardener's. But doubtless there were others."
From 'Phases of the Moon'
"It also isn't pleasant to change horses just like that. A horse is someone you get used to, someone who gets used to you. But to arrive at a human settlement and get permission to leave the tired horse, choose another and free it when you reach your destination because it can return home on its own, is an impediment to the heart's affection. You can't even get used to a horse."
From 'The Thirty-Three Wives of Emperor Blue Stone'
"Old age is a drunkenness. I've lost my teeth but influence nourishes me. I plait my white hair. What would be plaited without me?"
"I gave myself up to mystery.
What was it?
A path of darkness
to a land that perhaps does not exist.
I am faithful. I persevere."
From 'An Embroiderer'
"He told a colleague that as a young man, he had embroidered cloth. But that now there was no difference between the embroiderer and the embroidered, that when embroidering he was embroidered, that the embroidery embroidered him and he the embroidery."
From 'A Loner'
"Ever since he was young, Frin had invested all the effort many use to get a good job into the opposite, avoiding one."
Have you read Sara Gallardo's 'Land of Smoke'? What do you think about it? Who is your favourite Argentine writer?
December 18, 2022
En estos relatos están presentes Enero, Eisejuaz y Los galgos, los galgos. Encaja todo como un puzzle. Lo mejor que he leído de Gallardo.
November 14, 2016
Este libro es excelente. No sabía muy bien con qué me iba a encontrar antes de empezarlo, y una vez empezado tampoco sabés muy bien con qué te vas a encontrar en cada nuevo cuento, porque puede pasar en Bs As, en la pampa, en la montaña, en el presente, en el siglo XIX, en el siglo XVIII, en un tiempo mítico, los protagonistas pueden ser personas, ratas, gatos, trenes. Amplísimo su alcance pero en todos los cuentos lo que destaca es el uso del lenguaje, que evidentemente es muy cuidado y personal. El primer cuento, "En la montaña", fue uno de mis preferidos y también muy buen comienzo porque te mete de lleno en esa escritura enrarecida, pero para bien. Hay mucho, en el libro, de frases como esta: "El sol apareció en el confín del mar de pasto cuando el padre decía misa sobre una mesa puesta al pie del mástil", que piden que las leas varias veces y en voz alta y te preguntes por qué te da placer algo tan bobo como unas palabras juntas. Esa frase aparece en otro de mis cuentos preferidos, que no nombro para no spoilear, y que casualmente leí el mismo día que vi "Nazareno Cruz y el lobo" y me hizo sentir un peso de la tradición argentina de la que me encanta ser hija.
Toda la sección "En el desierto" es excelente. También destaco el cuento final, "Un solitario". Algunos cuentos me resultaron menos disfrutables, pero igual lo recomiendo mucho.
Toda la sección "En el desierto" es excelente. También destaco el cuento final, "Un solitario". Algunos cuentos me resultaron menos disfrutables, pero igual lo recomiendo mucho.
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December 25, 2021La escritura de Sara Gallardo es dignidad.
Dignidad para los viejos, para las ratas, para los muertos en combate, para cada una de las treinta y tres mujeres que sufren bajo el yugo un emperador apócrifo, para un tigrecito nacido en el zoológico, para una hectárea de pasto crecido al costado de una estación del Mitre.
Iba a decir que es la reina del antropomorfismo, pero lo que hace Sara es incluso mejor: sabe invertir la jerarquía entre lo vivo y lo inanimado, entre lo humano y lo bestial. Toca los vagones de un tren abandonado, y entiende el sentido del óxido. Puede escuchar la respiración de los gatos que viven en la calle.
Insisto con el primer nombre como habría querido Tamara: en Sarita, en Sara, las cosas importan. “Importa la llama que se alza y después se borra y después se alza”. Cualquier festejo, plebeyo o aristocrático, merece una lluvia de flores blancas sobre una diagonal de Buenos Aires; algo imposible, escrito desde una sintaxis inventada. Singularizar cada instancia narrativa para respetar las vidas posibles, y con ellas, sus muertes. Hay que restituir a los sustantivos “su condición de seres de este mundo”, y Sara lo hace desde la precisión de su narrativa. Porque todo cuento merece un golpe de dados, una frase concisa al final, de esas que son a la vez flecha y niebla.
Un remate que se alce y después se borre y después se alce.
Dignidad para los viejos, para las ratas, para los muertos en combate, para cada una de las treinta y tres mujeres que sufren bajo el yugo un emperador apócrifo, para un tigrecito nacido en el zoológico, para una hectárea de pasto crecido al costado de una estación del Mitre.
Iba a decir que es la reina del antropomorfismo, pero lo que hace Sara es incluso mejor: sabe invertir la jerarquía entre lo vivo y lo inanimado, entre lo humano y lo bestial. Toca los vagones de un tren abandonado, y entiende el sentido del óxido. Puede escuchar la respiración de los gatos que viven en la calle.
Insisto con el primer nombre como habría querido Tamara: en Sarita, en Sara, las cosas importan. “Importa la llama que se alza y después se borra y después se alza”. Cualquier festejo, plebeyo o aristocrático, merece una lluvia de flores blancas sobre una diagonal de Buenos Aires; algo imposible, escrito desde una sintaxis inventada. Singularizar cada instancia narrativa para respetar las vidas posibles, y con ellas, sus muertes. Hay que restituir a los sustantivos “su condición de seres de este mundo”, y Sara lo hace desde la precisión de su narrativa. Porque todo cuento merece un golpe de dados, una frase concisa al final, de esas que son a la vez flecha y niebla.
Un remate que se alce y después se borre y después se alce.
September 8, 2019
I don't really have much to say about this beside the fact that it may well be the very best collection of stories I've read this year and that any reader who loves the stories of Isak Dinesen, Leonora Carrington, or Angela Carter should check this collection out for works by a writer working in a similar vein but with a distinctive voice. A must read.
January 22, 2023
Sara Gallardo tía menuda cabeza debías tener porque aquí hay relatos pasadísimos de vuelta (de la mejor de las maneras). Me han encantado las historias que incluyen a los animales, que son muchas (ratas, caballos, perros) y también toda esta pseudo-mitología de conquista y colonización en la que vascos, daneses, italianos, alemanes, etc. con historias oscuras en Europa se llevan con ellxs la oscuridad al país del humo.
read-in-2018
August 28, 2018Intermittently involving, usually when a storyline is given more time and space (the surreal voyage of "Things Happen", the historical-mythic claustrophobia of the opener), but many of these compressed supernatural fables run towards the forgettable. From an Argentine fantasist who name checks Silvina Ocampo in the second selection, it's a bit underwhelming. And has to go back to the library before I can finish anyway -- oh well, this seems to be a sign to just switch back to exploring Patricia Eakins completely perfect stories in The Hungry Girls and Other Stories instead. Perhaps I'll return to Gallardo when she doesn't have to compete with Eakins for my attention. Nothing would fair so well against her, admittedly.
September 25, 2022
Es lo-ca. O sea, empiezas a leer y hacen clic todos los libros anteriores que creías que no tenían nada en común (Enero, Eisejuaz y Los galgos), y dices, hala, qué tía, cómo está cerrando su obra. Pero luego es como que la imaginación se desborda y ella no le pone ningún tope, y va a lugares rarísimos y bien lindos, completamente nuevos.
June 8, 2020
An interesting collection of short stories, some so brief as to count as flash fiction. Sometimes incorporating supernatural elements or a subtle surrealism, though one story goes all the way into tall tale by recounting the story of a giant who rode with Quiroga and then carved out what would become a series of lakes in service to the Devil before finding salvation. Some pretty strong tales, often with a fair helping of dread as in the tale of trains for the dead or the man who has to survive when his home and yard are mysteriously set adrift on the ocean.
March 22, 2018
Each of these stories is shot through with magic realism, which South American writers seem to have perfected more than others. The opening story may offer an explanation -- the Spanish Conquistadors' ravaging of the existing population without regard to history or customs is presented as an allegory rooted in realism but filled with fire, ice and monsters. And maggots. Sara Gallardo has not been translated before -- a crime. Her imagery is so vivid, her mind so fertile. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this introductory galley.
June 19, 2021
3,5 ⭐ tiene cuentos muy interesantes y otros que me costaron un poco. Me gustaron más sus novelas
July 3, 2021
En este libro, Gallardo juega con el lenguaje en diferentes ambientes: Montaña, Jardín, trenes, etc. Admito que me gustaron más unos que otros, pero sin duda, a gallardo se le da el campo de maravilla. Mis favoritos: En la montaña .Toda, En el desierto, Trenes, y el último relato : Un solitario.
Que pesada soy cuando me obsesionó con un escritor!
Que pesada soy cuando me obsesionó con un escritor!
April 29, 2020
Está bueno leer algo nacional de vez en cuando... y Sara gallardo tiene una manera hermosa de narrar cuentos al estilo borgeano. Le puse 4 estrellas porque siento que a algunos cuentos les faltó algo para ser excelentes. Igualmente muy recomendable.
June 16, 2024
I was entirely too far removed to properly understand so much of this, but I'm glad I got to try, and the writing was beautiful, anyway
November 11, 2018
Each of these stories reads like a dream, but the sort of dream that rapidly fades from your memory on waking, and I don’t mean that in any sort of good way. it may of course have been better in the the original Spanish.
January 31, 2018
DNF at a third. Come here if you want that overlying feeling of seeing a metaphor, but not knowing what the heck it's relating to.
November 9, 2024
I bought this based on how memorable Eisejuaz, and I was able to grab it in the oldest bookstore in Buenos Aires.
As far as I know this was her only short story collection, and it shows. Not to that this is not a good book—it just feels like a “kitchen sink” book. It has such a variety of stories, and generally so short, that it is hard to keep track of them all. Many of them feel hard to tie up, like they build up and then just end without it being very clear why. I think this was much more common when she was writing, but it’s not my favorite style. Some of them are very memorable, some would be great as an author introduction or to teach, but I don’t think it reaches as high as the novel I have read.
Noteworthy for me: Los trenes de los muertos, Cristoferos, Un solitario, Amor, Las treinta y tres mujeres del Emperador Piedra Azul, and (most of all) Cosas de la vida.
I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure if I will be grabbing anything else from this author.
As far as I know this was her only short story collection, and it shows. Not to that this is not a good book—it just feels like a “kitchen sink” book. It has such a variety of stories, and generally so short, that it is hard to keep track of them all. Many of them feel hard to tie up, like they build up and then just end without it being very clear why. I think this was much more common when she was writing, but it’s not my favorite style. Some of them are very memorable, some would be great as an author introduction or to teach, but I don’t think it reaches as high as the novel I have read.
Noteworthy for me: Los trenes de los muertos, Cristoferos, Un solitario, Amor, Las treinta y tres mujeres del Emperador Piedra Azul, and (most of all) Cosas de la vida.
I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure if I will be grabbing anything else from this author.
June 26, 2025
Mis seis cuentos favoritos (de casi cincuenta):
6- 'Cosas de la vida': un personaje recurrente de la colección, el hombre solitario y resignado, se ve embarcado en una aventura existencial.
5- '¡Pero en la isla!': un gato doméstico se escapa, recupera sus habilidades aventureras y se obsesiona con el león de un zoo.
4- 'Las ratas': retrato apocalíptico de Buenos Aires.
3- 'Cristóbal, el gigante': leyenda religiosa sobre un gigante de la provincia de La Rioja en Argentina que se propone descubrir a Dios.
2- 'Amor': cuento perfecto y trágico, que empieza con la historia de una adolescente enamorada y deriva en pesadilla.
1- 'La gran noche de los trenes': la historia de Argentina contada a través de una fantasía bella sobre una rebelión de trenes retirados.
Me doy cuenta de que me gustan más sus fantasías o juegos de estilo que sus retratos realistas o sus textos poéticos, que quizás ocupan más espacio en la colección.
6- 'Cosas de la vida': un personaje recurrente de la colección, el hombre solitario y resignado, se ve embarcado en una aventura existencial.
5- '¡Pero en la isla!': un gato doméstico se escapa, recupera sus habilidades aventureras y se obsesiona con el león de un zoo.
4- 'Las ratas': retrato apocalíptico de Buenos Aires.
3- 'Cristóbal, el gigante': leyenda religiosa sobre un gigante de la provincia de La Rioja en Argentina que se propone descubrir a Dios.
2- 'Amor': cuento perfecto y trágico, que empieza con la historia de una adolescente enamorada y deriva en pesadilla.
1- 'La gran noche de los trenes': la historia de Argentina contada a través de una fantasía bella sobre una rebelión de trenes retirados.
Me doy cuenta de que me gustan más sus fantasías o juegos de estilo que sus retratos realistas o sus textos poéticos, que quizás ocupan más espacio en la colección.
January 10, 2023
"Recordó un atardecer. Estaba sentada frente a la laguna. Desde el celaje, desde las garzas que empezaban a dormir, desde los vuelos de patos silvestres, una mancha, un pequeño flamear avanzó a través del agua. No podía dejar de mirarla. Como un fuego fatuo, pero negro. Se agrandaba acercándose. Era un bote, y en el bote venía de pie una figura de vestido ondulante. Los perros no habían ladrado. El vestido se henchía. Elvira, que era como una reina, se puso de pie. Llegó la señora con un sombrero grande."
January 15, 2023
I wish I liked it more. Even with background readings and reviews, it never clicked for me. Something about the style of writing (or translating possibly) kept me at a distance. Good pieces throughout, but just okay as a whole.
December 19, 2025
A+ to “The thirty-three wives of Emperor Blue Stone”
October 8, 2023
Potężna pisarka
April 22, 2021
La antología me parece buena. Sara narra distintas situaciones cotidianas desde distintos ángulos y con una forma de escribir muy especial. Me gustó. No me asombró ni me volví loca, pero el libro está escrito de una forma tan poética que eso me atrajo. El problema es que los temas que trata en algunos de los cuentos no me fueron interesantes y por eso lo sentí lento o flojo en algunas partes. Igualmente, lo leí bastante rápido porque aquellos cuentos que no me interesaban los fui salteando.
No es una lectura que recomiendo a todo el mundo porque en cierta forma es difícil de leer.
No es una lectura que recomiendo a todo el mundo porque en cierta forma es difícil de leer.
November 5, 2023
Cómo emplea el lenguaje esta mujer siempre, es que no tengo palabras. Cómo en tan poco cuenta tanto, cómo maneja las tradiciones europeas y latinoamericanas, la religión católica, las prácticas sincréticas. Sara Gallardo era una fuente de fuentes inagotable. Qué injusto que no se la recuerde ni lea más.
April 30, 2023
Impecable y bellísima la escritura de Sara! Vengo leyendo su obra cronológicamente y es muy interesante ver esa búsqueda incesante por una estética singular. Creo que en estos cuentos se reúnen su estilo y sus temas más propios. Es un muestrario de su obra. Admiro su capacidad para crear metáforas y elipsis. Rodea, hace falta y sin embargo está todo ahí.
Por momentos se me hizo difícil seguirla porque es una lectura que requiere esfuerzo , tiempo, paciencia. No querer entender
Miren esta escena de 8 palabras:
“Mi batalla era hablarle. La de él callar “
Por momentos se me hizo difícil seguirla porque es una lectura que requiere esfuerzo , tiempo, paciencia. No querer entender
Miren esta escena de 8 palabras:
“Mi batalla era hablarle. La de él callar “
February 22, 2018
For fans of magical realism, this collection of stories dazzles and twists like a dream. Gallardo, a contemporary of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, has written a series of stories that ring with a poetic, thrilling edge. Gallardo brings the reader deep down into Argentina and then lifts us, sputtering, into the diaspora. Her stories prod at the question: Where does this land end? Where do its people begin? As Gallardo writes, “To emigrate does not mean to forget.”
At times reminiscent of Carmen Maria Machado, Gallardo’s collection glows with phantasms. Gallardo’s prose is magical: “She saw herself reverberating like the leaves and the houses and the monsters and the planets and the murmurs in the fountain.”
The collection begins with a short story about a captive and a monster, deep in the belly of a mountain. Dreamlike and tangible through the rocks, the fire, the ice that beats down on the mountain, the reader is shell-shocked into accepting the Land of Smoke. Other notables among this collection include a man whose house and garden is transported into the sea, a beautiful dapple-white horse who is the glory of the world, the cat who desires to be a lion, and the thirty-three wives of Emperor Blue Stone.
*With thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the e-copy. All opinions are my own.
At times reminiscent of Carmen Maria Machado, Gallardo’s collection glows with phantasms. Gallardo’s prose is magical: “She saw herself reverberating like the leaves and the houses and the monsters and the planets and the murmurs in the fountain.”
The collection begins with a short story about a captive and a monster, deep in the belly of a mountain. Dreamlike and tangible through the rocks, the fire, the ice that beats down on the mountain, the reader is shell-shocked into accepting the Land of Smoke. Other notables among this collection include a man whose house and garden is transported into the sea, a beautiful dapple-white horse who is the glory of the world, the cat who desires to be a lion, and the thirty-three wives of Emperor Blue Stone.
*With thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the e-copy. All opinions are my own.
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