Enter the magical world of Garcia's short stories. Classic Magical Realism at it's charming best. Entertaining & provocative

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Product Description

Collected here are twenty-six of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's most brilliant and enchanting short stories, presented in the chronological order of their publication in Spanish from three volumes: Eyes of a Blue Dog,Big Mama's Funeral, and The Incredibleand Sad Tale of lnnocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother. Combining mysticism, history, and humor, the stories in this collection span more than two decades, illuminating the development of Marquez's prose and exhibiting the themes of family, poverty, and death that resound throughout his fiction.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63574 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-01
• Released on: 1999-09-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060932688
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"García Márquez has extraordinary strength and firmness of imagination and writes with the calmness of a man who knows exactly what wonders he can perform." -- Alfred Kazin, New York Times Book Review

"It is the genius of García Márquez that fatalism and possibility somehow coexist, that dreams redeem, that there is laughter even in death." -- John Leonard, New York Times

"The stories are rich and startling in their matter and confident and eloquent in their manner...They are the word cannot be avoided--magical." -- John Updike, The New Yorker

Review
"The stories are rich and startling in their matter and confident and eloquent in their manner...They are the word cannot be avoided--magical." (John Updike, The New Yorker )

"Garca Mrquez has extraordinary strength and firmness of imagination and writes with the calmness of a man who knows exactly what wonders he can perform." (Alfred Kazin, New York Times Book Review )

"It is the genius of Garca Mrquez that fatalism and possibility somehow coexist, that dreams redeem, that there is laughter even in death." (John Leonard, New York Times )

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

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Customer Reviews

Excellent Chronological Collection!
Here in one volume you will have 26 stories in excellent English translations which preserve the aesthetic simplicity of the original Spanish...it would be impossible to give a commment on all the great stories here. The reader will have glimpses of Macondo here and there. the stories I enjoyed the most were in the third section of this book. "A Very Old Man with enormous wings", "the Handsomest Drowned Man In the World" and "...Erendira...." All bear Marquez's signature simple style, with the elements of magical realism...it is a collection to enjoy time and time again...

Stories by a Master
This collection of twenty six stories by Nobel Laureate Garcia Marquez was first published as a whole in 1984, although the stories were previously published in three separate volumes. As a consequence, two translators are credited here: Gregory Rabassa for the stories from EYES OF A BLUE DOG and THE INCREDIBLE AND SAD TALE OF INNOCENT ERENDIRA AND HER HEARTLESS GRANDMOTHER, and J. S. Bernstein for the stories from BIG MAMA'S FUNERAL. Both scholars and avid followers will appreciate the chronological ordering of these tales as well as the dating of first publication from 1947 to 1972 to see the progression of a much heralded talent.

As befitting the work of a master, every story is wonderfully told, with deft touches that make each memorable. Many, particularly the early stories, deal with death, particularly the separation of consciousness from the physical body, and many explore the messiness of love. Several combine the two. In "Death Constant Before Love," a politician suffering from a terminal disease falls in love with a girl given to him as a political favor. "The Third Resignation" tells the tale of a seven year old boy who falls into a coma and then grows up in a coffin in his mother's house. Three times, he resigns himself to death. "There Are No Thieves In This Town" chronicles the foolishness of a man who steals three billiard balls from a local pool hall and who loses his wife and unborn child for it. Always, Garcia Marquez's exception talent for storytelling carries these tales alone with a romantic and mystical eye for human vulnerability. His style is never rushed, always lingering over the moment, which gives even the shortest stories the feel of a novella. Not all these stories embrace the magic realism for which the author is famous, although the reader will emerge bewitched all the same.

Of course, from Marquez I expect to be in awe, and always am
Marquez breifly meet Hemingway. Actually he saw him from across the street. He said Hemingway had a passion and relentless fever to write, unsurpassed by no other writer in history. Marquez considers Hemingway to be worthy of his aspirations. It is clear however, in this collection of his short stories, that Marquez needs little improvement in producing images that express passions and feelings deep enough and rich enough to drink. Marquez sets the scene, with the use of a small amount of words. The language is acurrate, and filled with immediate images for the reader. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short stories exemplify the authors control of his language, and ability to produce such memorable moods and emotions with such little amounts of letters.Translated from Spanish or not, the images are still there. Hemingway has a rival in dynamic simplicity.