Chile: A Traveler's Literary Companion

Traveler's Literary Companion

by Katherine Silver (Editor)

The twenty stories in A Traveler's Literary Companion — most of which are available here for the first time in English — reveal that the nation that gave birth to two poets who won Nobel prizes in literature is also the home of many world-class prose writers. This collection evokes the diversity of the country's landscape and the complexity of its recent history. Contributors include Luis Alberto Acuña, Marjorie Agosín, Roberto Ampuero, Marta Brunet, Francisco Coloane, Adolfo Couve, José Donoso, Ariel Dorfman, Jorge Edwards, Beatriz García-Huidobro, Pedro Lemebel, Patricio Manns, Tito Matamala, Pablo Neruda, Darío Oses, Hernán Rivera Letelier, Patricio Riveros Olavarría, Osvaldo Rodríguez Musso, Enrique Valdés, and José Miguel Varas.

Genres: Travel

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not smart enough for this book.

Or this book wasn't for me at this point in time.

[Robert Teeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good anthology of contemporary Chilean fiction about the country. The book is organized geographically from the central region (Santiago and Valparaiso), to the north (as far as the Atacama Desert), then the south (as far as Tierra del Fuego). Some stories are more interesting than others, and in some cases, a story is taken from a larger work and some context is lost. Still, it's a good introduction for tourists or anyone else who wants to know more about Chilean society and literature. If you like some of the authors, you can always seek out more by them.

(This was the last book in my program of Chilean reading, with the exception of Isabel Allende's A Long Petal of the Sea, which is due out in January.)

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading literature from the culture and setting of places I was visiting. Gave me insight into the places I didn't have time to visit as well. I will look for these literary companions again when I travel.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Up and down, mostly down.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little volume to read if you're planning to travel to Chile.

[keith koenigsberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average to poor enjoyability...lots of short stories written over the last 50 years, some of them were super but most were boring.