Cuentos: An Anthology of Short Stories from Puerto Rico

by Kal Wagenheim (Editor)

includes the following stories:

Emilio S. Belaval's "Monsona Quintana's Purple Child" and "Spectralia"

Rene Maruqes "Three Men by the River" and "Purification of Cristo Street"

Pedro Juan Soto's "The Champ" and "The Innocents"

Abelardo Diaz Alfaro's "Josco" and "Peyo Merce: English Teacher"

Jose Luis Gonzalez's "There's a Little Colored Boy in the Bottom of the Water" and "The Letter"

Emilio Diaz Valcarcel's "Black Sun" and "Grandma's Wake"

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[ivelisse estrada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally bought this collection online to be able to work on my Spanish-language reading skills, but the edition I found (an undated hardcover volume, although the preface is from 1971) turns out to contain only the English translation of the 12 short stories. I really enjoyed it, overall, finding the stories to be a pretty quick and engrossing read, but I'd still like to find the version with side-by-side English and Spanish: I have a feeling that a couple of the stories will be far more moving in the original language.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of short stories, both from pure literary merit, and from the perspective of insight into Puerto Ricans and Puerto Ricans living in America. There were some stories it which I laughed, others were quite emotional and pathetic, well Sam just left me scratching my head. But I love looking into this other world. I think my favorite might have been the night we became people again, which reminds me of what it means to be human

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A set of very well done stories, but one that would have benefited from at least one longer form short. The editor conveyed a deep sense of sadness for what has been loss, anger and frustration with how things are, and a general attitude of defiance of colonialism's attempts to wipe away Puerto Rican culture. The stories are all brief so it's usually as much a set of exercises in tone and style rather than a concrete narrative conveying a full idea.

[Fero136 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to evaluate a collection of this nature. It is a great resource, and the side-by-side translations are helpful. I am glad it exists. While definitely antiquated, and sometimes suffering from clunky translations, several of the stories are excellent.

[Sarah Faulkner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting short stories; really enjoyed a couple, several were deeply disturbing.