Pam’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2018)

Pam’s comments from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.

Thank you Luis and Chrissie for your comments re: language acquisition. I'm focusing on Spanish but also dabbling in Polish, Russian, and Italian.

I have a question re: whether the book The Lizard's Tale counts as a classic (50 years). The author Jose Donoso wrote it in 1973 and put it aside, never publishing it. After his death, his daughter found it and published it in 2007. The English translation came out in 2011.

Congrats Lesle on finishing! It’s really taking me a long time. I am waiting for a library hold for the audiobook but it may be too late by the time it comes in! I like the book but it’s not an easy read.

Those of you who can read in more than one language are very lucky! Did you learn your second language as a child or adult? I love learning languages but I’m finding it difficult to become fluent. I just keep working on it every day.

In this group, I think every day feels like National Read a Book Day! I start every morning by reading a book to my grandson before we go to the bus stop.

Just based on the cover, I want to find this one! (The edition I found had a really boring cover.) It's only 65 pages.

Chrissie - I like the flexibility, too! If you know that you are going to start a book, let the group know and maybe one of us can read it also or a book by the same author. I don't even know where to start since I only own short story collections. I'm thinking the first ones I will look for are Aura, The King of the World, and The Invention of Morel.

I'm going to my library today to see what is available in their catalogue. If I find some with an English audio edition, I will post that info. In the US, we have an Inter Library Loan (ILL) program which is a search in other city and university libraries close by and out of state. It's a great service to find less popular books but it can take several to many months to get a book and you can't renew it. The library actually mails the physical book to your library.

Thanks Luís! I have that one on my TBR. I’ll add it.

Chrissie, no. No time schedule yet. We are just building interest and getting suggestions right now. If you have a preferred time of the year you want to read those 2 books, let us know.

Once the war starts, things get kinda crazy, especially with relationships! I think I now understand why the firing squad is mentioned so many times!

There is a scene (last paragraph 7th chapter, p.140) that I thought was beautiful (tiny yellow flowers falling from the sky) and a good example of Márquez’s magical realism style. Wonderful imagery!

I don’t like that the chapters aren’t numbered or titled. Usually. I find it helpful if I need to go back to find something. Since it’s a group read, I started taking notes while reading but I found it was slowing me down too much and I was losing interest. I’m going to have to rely more on my memory and maybe add a daily comment to this thread or my GR progress post.

Thanks Chrissie! Yes, I will update. I’m glad you will be participating. Doña Barbara is so good that I might reread it!

I updated posts 1 and 2 to include more authors and titles that I could find in English. Unfortunately, there are so many works that aren't translated (yet) but, hopefully, our members who speak Spanish and/or Portuguese (or another language with a translation) will read some and let us know their thoughts! We have a lot to choose from, as it is.

Chad wrote: "This seems like it could be absolutely fascinating for me. I look forward to it."

Glad to hear you are interested Chad and hope you will join in!

Thanks Rosemarie. That one sounds interesting!

I went to our new/used bookstore today looking for some of these authors. I found 10 different books by Gabriel Garcia Márquez but not all were published before 1973, 1 Carlos Fuentes book Aura in Spanish, and Hopscotch by Cortazar. I only bought one, The Autumn of the Patriarch (pub. 1975) by Márquez. I’m going to the library next week to see what’s available through them and the Inter Library Loan (ILL) system. Aura has a dual language and English version and it’s very short. That might be a good one to try.

I updated Post 2 to include Lesle's suggestions and 5 of mine. Keep your ideas coming!

I also recommend Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos. This book gained US attention when it was on the PBS Great American Read show a few years ago. It ranked #100. Despite it being on this list, no one I know had heard of this Venezuelan classic. So, I read it (loved it) and would be glad to add my comments if others choose to read it. I would like to find another book of his in English but I'll have to do some research. Anyone familiar with other books of his?

Luís- Yes, Cortazár was born in Belgium in 1914. His parents were Argentine citizens, and his father was attached to the Argentine diplomatic service in Belgium. He grew up in Argentina and immigrated to France in 1951. Much of his work was published while living in France. It will be interesting to see how much European influence is in his work. According to Wiki, he is “considered one of the most innovative and original authors of his time … breaking the classical moulds through narratives that escaped temporal linearity.” He is the author that I’m most interested to read!

Thanks Lesle! I’ll add them! Those are new to me.

Books members have expressed an interest in:
Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar - Argentina (1963)
The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier -Cuba (1953)
House of Mist: A Novel by María Luisa Bombal Chile (1935)
Three Trapped Tigers by Guillermo Cabrera Infante - Cuba (1965)
Betrayed by Rita Hayworth by Manuel Puig - Argentina (1968)
The Obscene Bird of Night by José Donoso - Chile (1970)
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges - Argentina (1944)
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares - Argentina (1940)
Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos - Venezuela (1929)
Aura by Carlos Fuentes - Mexico (1962)
The Green House by Mario Vargas Llosa (1965)
The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato - Argentina (1948)

Authors from the Caribbean, suggested by Dave
V.S Naipaul (Trinidad) “A House for Mr Biswas”
Jean Rhys (Dominica) “The Wide Sargassos Sea”
John Hearne (Jamaica) “Voices Under the Window”
George Lamming (Barbados) “In the Castle of My Skin”
Derik Wolcott (St Lucia)(Nobel Prize) Poet and Play write
Wilson Harris (Guyana) “Palace of the Peacock”
Franz Fanon (Martinique) “The Wretched of the Earth”
Phyllis Allfrey (Dominica) “The Orchard House”
Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados) “ Arrivants: A New World Trilogy"

Other Recommendations from Book Riot (Best of Mexican Authors)
Recollections of Things to Come by Elena Garro (1963)
Cartouche by Nellie Campabello (1931)
Balún Canán by Castellanos Rosario (1957)

Some more suggestions (sent to Lesle)
Child of the Dark (original name: Quarto de Despejo), autobiography by Carolina Maria de Jesus (1960)
The Posthumous Memories of Brás Cubas, a novel by Machado de Assis (1881)
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands (original name: Grande Sertão: Veredas), an experimental modern novel by Guimarães Rosa (1956)
A Night at the Tavern, a short goth novel by Álvares de Azevedo (1855)
Barren Lives (original name: Vidas Secas) by Graciliano Ramos (1938)
Augusto dos Anjos, a Brazilian poet, but may not be any English editions of his books
Jose Alencar - Triad of indigenous novels, from one of our Romantic phases: The Guarany (1857), Iracema (1865) and Ubirajara (1874).

Other Author Suggestions (not in Post 1)
William H. Hudson (Spanish name: Guillermo Enrique Hudson) - Argentina
Juan Rulfo - Mexico
Rosario Castellanos (Mexico) (Not much in English)
Juan Carlos Onetti (Uruguay) - A Brief Life (1950)

Brazilian authors recommended by Luis:
Note: I couldn't find any English translations but there may be some.
João Ubaldo Ribeiro
Carlos Drummond de Andrade (poetry)
José Lins do Rego
Fernando Sabino
Dalton Trevisan
Erico Verissimo

In 2023, we will explore Latin American authors. Luís and I will be the co-hosts on this thread. We hope that many of you will join us in discovering new authors and works from Mexico, Cental and South America, and the Caribbean Islands. Here is a list of authors with works in English published before 1974 (* indicates a well-known work):

Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina) - *Ficciones (1944)

Gabriel García Márquez (Columbia) - In Evil Hour (1962), *One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), Leaf Storm and Other Stories (1955), No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories (1961), Eyes of a Blue Dog (1947), Big Mama’s Funeral (1962), The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother (1972)

Jorge Amado (Brazil) - *Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1966), Tent of Miracles (1969), The Violent Land (1943) Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (1958)

Machado de Assis (Brazil) - The Collected Stories of Machado de Assis, *Don Casmurro (1899), Esau and Jacob (1904), Counselor Ayres' Memorial (1908)

Carlos Fuentes (Mexico) - Where the Air Is Clear (1958), The Good Conscience (1959), Aura (1962), The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962), A Change of Skin (1967), Holy Place (1967), Birthday (1969), plus short story collections available in Spanish

Julio Cortázar (Born in Belgium/Argentina/France) - *Hopscotch (1963), The Winners (1960), Blow-Up and Other Stories (1968)

Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)- The Time of the Hero (1963),*The Green House (1965), Conversation in the Cathedral (1969)

Pablo Neruda (Chile)- Poetry

Rómulo Gallegos (Venezuela)- *Doña Bárbara

Adolfo Bioy Casares - Argentina (The Invention of Morel (1940) + several others)

Some authors with only a few books published before 1974:

Manuel Puig (Argentia) (Post Boom, Post Modernist)- Betrayed by Rita Hayworth (1968), The Buenos Aires Affair (1973)

José Donoso (Chile) - Coronación (1965), This Sunday (1967), The Obscene Bird of Night (1970)
Clarice Lispector (Brazil/born in Ukraine) - The Passion According to G.H. (1964), The Stream of Life (1973)
Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Cuba) - Three Trapped Tigers
Alejo Carpentier (Cuba) - The Kingdom of This World (1949), The Lost Steps (1953)
María Luisa Bombal (Chile) - House of Mist (1935) New Islands (1939)

There are also short story collections that contain a variety of authors, not all necessarily published before 1973 but many are. This could be a good way to read an author whose longer works are not translated, are harder to find or are more known for their short stories. These are the two dual-language short story collections that I plan to read: Short Stories in Spanish: New Penguin Parallel Text and Spanish Stories: A Dual-Language Book.

Please let us know which authors and books you are interested in reading and if you want to try to read the same book at the same or do a Reader's Choice and get ideas from what others are reading. (I prefer the latter since I will be getting books from the library.) See post 2 where we will keep track of books that are suggested. We are looking forward to a great year of reading Latin American Literature!

Yay! Glad you found the group Luís! Welcome.