Short Stories by Latin American Women: The Magic and the Real

by Dora Alonso, Isabel Allende (Foreword by)

Celia Correas de Zapata, an internationally recognized expert in the field of Latin American fiction written by women, has collected stories by thirty-one authors from fourteen countries, translated into English by such renowned scholars and writers as Gregory Rabassa and Margaret Sayers Peden. Contributors include Dora Alonso, Rosario Ferré, Elena Poniatowska, Ana Lydia Vega, and Luisa Valenzuela. The resulting book is a literary tour de force, stories written by women in this hemisphere that speak to cultures throughout the world. In her Foreword, Isabel Allende states, “This anthology is so valuable; it lays open the emotions of writers who, in turn, speak for others still shrouded in silence.”

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Magical Realism, Anthologies, Womens, Latin American, Literature

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 14, 2003

About the author

Born Doralina de la Caridad Alonso-Perez, was a journalist and writer who worked in both print and radio. She wrote novels, short stories, poetry, theater and children's literature. She was also a radio and television script writer and a war correspondent.

Reviews

[el · Rating 2 out of 5]

i've come to understand magical realism—especially contemporary magical realism—as a vehicle for matriarchal power, queer desire, anticolonialism, and so on and so forth. so i think i probably carry those expectations with me now, whenever i have new encounters with the genre/literary movement. that can throw a wrench in the reading experience and was very much the case in this instance. i couldn't curb my enthusiasm when i found this collection and was viciously let down as a result.

recalling even one story i enjoyed from short stories by latin american women: the magic and the real is a struggle. it doesn't help that the work enclosed within skews towards the real, more often than not. there is very little magic to be found here. i was also continuously shocked by how often this collection centered men, and their desire, and their use of women.

when you come together to tackle a project of this caliber, you have to begin to ask yourself, after a point, whether the commentary provided by work that centers men is more important than what could have been achieved with stories by and for women. in that regard—and others—this is something of a dated collection. it doesn't read well today, particularly in its treatment of indigeneity. this was agonizing to get through and the most powerful emotion it got out of me was the relief i felt when i finally finished it.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight to read, this fantastic anthology of translated short stories, introduced by Isabel Allende, gathers in one place writing from female authors of Latin America. It received a Goodreads 3.5 rating instead of 5.0, making one wonder whether everyone is reading the same book. The selections had nuggets of truth about which one could say, 'Yes, that is the way it is.' Fantasy was part of each, as indicated in the subtitle: 'the magic and the real.' The image of labyrinths, an influence of Jorge Luis Borges, appears in some of them. Each stands out as a distinct creation, done well.Highly recommended.

[Elsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are wonderful stories. I really enjoyed them.

The introduction gives a very brief history of both South American women's realism and fantasy and a quick explanation of the themes collected in these stories by women writers covering realism, fantasy and magical realism:

"According to Enrique Anderson Imbert one must distinguish carefully between literature of the fantastic and magical realism. The German critic Franz Roh coined the phrase "magical realism" in 1925 to describe a trend in modern art, Roh found - according to Anderson Imbert - that there was a kind of Hegelian dialectic in painting: "thesis: impressionism; antithesis: expressionism; synthesis; magical realism." (Celia Correas de Zapata, Ensayos hispanoamericanos (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Corregidor, 1978):239)

"Applying these ideas to literature, the Argentine critic sees a parallel scheme of thesis (reality, realism), antithesis (the supernatural, literature of the fantastic) and their synthesis, the literature of magical realism. ... or

reality (realism)
the supernatural (literature of the fantastic)
the strange (magical realism)

"To fully understand magical realism, however, one must also take into account its lyrical character. Graciela Sola notes that, unlike realism, it seeks to endow its subject with a heightened sense of reality much like a poem: 'Call it surrealism, magical realism or whatever you like, it is evident that this poetry escapes the categories of conventional criticism in spite of the common features it shares with all real art.'

"In this anthology we propose to show the lyrical basis of the realistic, surrealistic and supernatural elements in the stories of thirty-two authors. Without glossing over the uniqueness of each one, it should be pointed out that the anthology is characterized by a fundamental unity of style underlying the diverse themes."

I included that because I couldn't possibly come up with an explanation and if you want to get this book that's what the story themes are. My favourites were:
A Poisoned Tale

Blame the Tlaxcaltecs (very surreal!)

The Virgin's Passion

A Gentleman on the Train

Death and Transfiguration of a Teacher

The Tale of the Velvet Pillows

[Kim Becker (MIDDLE of the Book MARCH) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read most of them...Don’t make me continue…

[Charli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to start by saying there are a ton of triggering things in this collection, including rape (to romance, in the case of the off-putting first story by Allende) and various offensive terminology. Some of these stories are really good while others not so much. There is a pretty balanced mixture of realism and magical realism. Some stories that I thought stood out were:
The Tree by Maria Luisa Bombal- a feminist tale of a woman stuck in a lifeless marriage and the tree that keeps her sane.
The End of A Struggle by Amparo Davila. Davila is such an expert at horror and magical realism and I highly recommend her to anyone who enjoys those genres. This is a tale about a man who sees his doppelganger.
Blame the Tlaxcaltecs by Elena Garro. An aztec time travelling love story. TW- physical abuse.
Berkley or Mariana of the Universe by Liliana Heker. A young girl has an existential crisis when her sister tells her her whole world might just be a part of her imagination.
In the Family by Maria Elena Llano. A family becomes closer with their ancestors when they discover a mirror in their house reflects family who have passed.
Death and Transfiguration by Maria Teresa Solari. Tw: cannibalism. Great creepy story about a teacher and her unruly students.
The Tale of the Velvet Pillows by Marta Traba. A forgettable woman makes unforgettable pillows for her town

[Briana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to pick up Short Stories by Latin American Women: The Magic and the Real because I am a big fan of magical realism, and nobody captures that better than Latin American writers. Historically, I am the most familiar with the work by male writers, but I’ve recently started reading more by Isabel Allende.

This book is comprised of about 32 short stories by 31 different writers across Latin America. I enjoy the fact that the Modern Library let us know where each of these women are from along with the stories so that we can get a good understanding of each country’s culture. These stories were a mix of different things. We had crime, magic, romance, domestic thrillers, and slice of life. While a lot of stories were likable but average, there were also a lot of them that I’d consider hidden gems.

Short stories are a lot of fun because the author must make sure to get going with the story. There is no room for filler which is something that I needed at the time. If I were to judge by the quality of this book, I would give this maybe three stars because there was a lot of writing that I couldn’t connect to. I found myself skimming a lot of this book. But, because of the cultural richness and the themes that were present within each story, I will give this book 4 stars.

I don’t usually seek out short story anthologies to read because it’s not my preferred narrative format, but I think that since I’ve had such a rough reading year with an intense reading challenge, I wanted to pick up something that didn’t require me to learn a lot of different names at once. This book has lifted me out of my reading funk, and it was nice to escape into this world. The voices of women in Latin American literature are virtually silenced for global literature students unless you make a point to read work by women on your own time. Aside from a couple of names out of 31, I did not know about many of these writers, but I look forward to reading more from them.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3. 5 stars. The highlight of the book is the short story, “The IWM 1000.” I feel like the mysticism and surrealism is lost in translation in some of the stories. I would’ve preferred to read some of short stories in Spanish. But it is a great introduction to this genre of Latin American Women Literature.

[Jenina · Rating 3 out of 5]

favorite short stories:
- an act of vengeance by isabel allende
- culinary lesson by rosario castellanos
- the end of a struggle (!!) by amparo davila
- a poisoned tale (!!!) by rosario ferre
- looking for some dignity by clarice lispector
- in the family by maria elena llano
- park cinema by elena poniatowska

[Pierre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some particularly memorable stories others that I have already forgotten.
Worth reading if only for : The IWM 1000 .
This story appeared first in :El beso y otras ficciones ( 1975)
The date of the first publishing of this particular story makes it even more amazing!

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
when it comes to short story collections, specially by different authors, i expect that there will be hits and misses but this one was just so many more misses for me. the first story stands out as terrible and stupid. i do enjoy magical realism but i only liked a few of the stories.

[Brian Biswas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection from beginning to end.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection of stories, like all collections some of the stories worked better for me than others, but overall I am glad I read this collection.

[Alexi Siegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of short stories that illuminates the talents of the often forgotten women of Latin America. Lots of magical realism, which I love.

[Vaishnavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Was very deep, took effort to read and relatable in the basic sense.

[Gail Kennon]

enjoyed a few of them..too meaningless mostly for my taste.

[Sherrie Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 out of 5 stars
Rich in Metaphor & Nuance, Probably best read in a class or readers' group
By Sherrie Miranda
This review is for: Short Stories by Latin American Women: The Magic and the Real (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)
This book was a real mixed bag. Although many of the Latina writers have published novels that are excellent, their short stories often left you wondering about their skills in this arena. Or maybe it is the reader who needs more skills or understanding of life in Latin America? I can't discount them for my possible lack.
There were a few very well-written stories that I enjoyed immensely. Then there were the horror stories you wish you hadn't read, like "Death And Transfiguration of A Teacher" in which the female students killed, cut up & ate their sensitive and poetic teacher! I get the allusion. As a teacher myself, I often referred to the fresh new teachers as being eaten alive by the students, but still, it was not the kind of story one wants to read before going to sleep.
Most of the stories were quite rewarding, though I would have preferred to have discussed each story in a classroom or group situation as I think I would have gotten more out of them.
Such seems to be the way of Latino authors, both male and female. They are so rich with metaphor and nuance that they are meant to be read in a group where they can be discussed.
Sherrie Miranda's historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador:
http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11Ch...

[Alexia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The quote on the front of this book reads "a needed general text for courses in contemporary Latin American and women's literature" - which is a bit like damning with faint praise really. I personally think it's a shame to aim this collection only at students and think if you're into Latin American literature, you can get a lot out of this anyway.

The real strength of this book is in its breadth - it contains short stories by authors from 14 different countries. Some of them are well-known, like Isabel Allende, Elena Poniatowska and Clarice Lispector, while others you will have a job finding in translation elsewhere.

Of course, it's a mixed bag and everyone will have their favourites and stories they find weaker. I would mention Maria Elena Llano's "In the Family" and Clarice Lispector's "Looking for some Dignity" as highlights.

[Stephie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creo que hubiera disfrutado más las lecturas si las hubiera leído en español. Existen cuentos que sobresalen mucho más que otros, más fuertes que la típica historia de amor desgraciado que viven las mujeres. Quiero creer que las mujeres que escriben, pueden escribir más allá de la misma condición de las mujeres y elevarse al mundo de las ideas universales.

[Abbie Chem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled through this collection. The quality was too inconsistent and it was with a sense of relief that I finished this collection. Perhaps magic realism and I just don't get along. Perhaps the translations added an extra barrier. Regardless, I only truly enjoyed two or three stories out of the whole collection.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

yay magical surrealism!

[Kelcey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these stories.

[Zara Rahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of stories; I'm keen to read more by these authors, as I've never heard of many of them before. Fascinating breadth of subjects covered, too!

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really disappointed with these stories.