What do you think?
Rate this book
Learn Spanish With Stories (B1): Fantasmas del Pasado - Spanish Intermediate
Juan encuentra algunas fotos antiguas que le traen muchos recuerdos del pasado, de cuando todavía era un hombre joven y feliz. Encuentra fotos de sus padres, de la calle donde jugaba de niño, del colegio donde estudiaba, de la playa donde iba de vacaciones... También encuentra algunas fotos antiguas de María, la chica de la que una vez estuvo enamorado y que hace más de veinte años que no ha visto. Son fantasmas del pasado. Y los fantasmas del pasado a veces vuelven.
Learn Spanish by Reading
FANTASMAS DEL PASADO is a short story specially written for students with an intermediate level of Spanish. It will help you learn, revise and consolidate the vocabulary and grammar of level B1.
Reading short stories like FANTASMAS DEL PASADO is one of the most effective and pleasant ways to learn a Foreign Language. By reading, you can learn vocabulary and grammar structures in context, without memorising lists of isolated words or studying endless grammar rules.
Hablar del Pasado
This story was originally released as a series of short videos for the online Spanish course HABLAR DEL PASADO. The main purpose of the videos, which feature live narration of the story, was to show the use of the past tenses in context. The story appeared in the course with the original title of Juan y Marí una historia del pasado.
Learn Spanish by Reading
FANTASMAS DEL PASADO is a short story specially written for students with an intermediate level of Spanish. It will help you learn, revise and consolidate the vocabulary and grammar of level B1.
Reading short stories like FANTASMAS DEL PASADO is one of the most effective and pleasant ways to learn a Foreign Language. By reading, you can learn vocabulary and grammar structures in context, without memorising lists of isolated words or studying endless grammar rules.
Hablar del Pasado
This story was originally released as a series of short videos for the online Spanish course HABLAR DEL PASADO. The main purpose of the videos, which feature live narration of the story, was to show the use of the past tenses in context. The story appeared in the course with the original title of Juan y Marí una historia del pasado.
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 21, 2018
About the author
Juan Fernández
97 books178 followersJuan Fernández is a Spanish teacher at University College London. He was born in the south of Spain, in Granada, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In 1997 he moved to the UK, where he has been teaching Spanish for more than 15 years.
He is also the creator of 1001 Reasons To Learn Spanish, a website with games, videos, podcasts and many activities to help you learn Spanish in a pleasant way.
He is also the creator of 1001 Reasons To Learn Spanish, a website with games, videos, podcasts and many activities to help you learn Spanish in a pleasant way.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
September 1, 2023
I bought this book because I wanted an adult book that was accessible for my level of spanish and this was just that! For language learning and practicing it’s great, and the vocab pages help you learn idioms and expressions.
However, I found the story quite poor. For most of the book, the protagonist is more or less stalking his ex who told him to leave her alone - bit weird. And when all the questions were finally answered at the end, I didn’t find any of their motives or actions very believable.
The use of repetition, although a good learning tool, was too distracting. The two-page recap at the start of chapters was very boring to read by the end of the book.
That being said if you have B1 level of Spanish it is a very accessible and easily readable - and any practice is good practice !! I am still going to read the B2 level book I have purchased from this author.
However, I found the story quite poor. For most of the book, the protagonist is more or less stalking his ex who told him to leave her alone - bit weird. And when all the questions were finally answered at the end, I didn’t find any of their motives or actions very believable.
The use of repetition, although a good learning tool, was too distracting. The two-page recap at the start of chapters was very boring to read by the end of the book.
That being said if you have B1 level of Spanish it is a very accessible and easily readable - and any practice is good practice !! I am still going to read the B2 level book I have purchased from this author.
July 12, 2019
Un libro fantástico para la gente que quiere aprender español o mejorar su nivel de español de historias, y al mismo tiempo un libro con una historia emocionante
El cuento en este libro es también tan interesante que personalmente no pude dejar de leerlo después de empezar. Es principalmente sobre una mujer a quien el autor encontró muchos años antes en Granada, España, y de quien él fue enamorado hace casi veinte años. Después de saber que ella era en Londres, donde él vivía ahora, él quería volver a verla otra vez. Pero las cosas habían cambiado mucho desde la última vez en que ellos vieron, y ¿qué iba a pasar entre los dos?
En este libro, se usan palabras y expresiones que yo nunca he encontrado antes, pero al fin de cada capítulo hay una lista de vocabulario que explique (ambos en español y en inglés) casi todas las palabras que se encuentran en ese capítulo. Y aunque hay palabras sin explicaciones que no entendí cuando leí el libro la primera vez, podía entender casi todo del contexto de la historia. Además se usan los tiempos verbales del pasado diferentes, que me ayuda a entender cómo hablar de eventos diferentes del pasado.
Yo también he leído todos los libros escrito por el mismo autor, un profe de español en Londres que se enfoca en enseñar español con historias. Me cae muy bien este modo de aprender el idioma, y recomiendo a toda la gente todos los materiales de este autor. Me encantan todos sus libros, pero recomiendo especialmente 'Un Hombre Fascinante', '¿Me Voy o Me Quedo?' y 'Una Chica Triste' (el último es más difícil que los demás debido a la gramática, pero vale la pena). A mí me gustan también vídeos en su canal 'Español con Juan' en Youtube (y casi me he olvidado mencionar su página de Facebook '1001 Reasons to Learn Spanish' y su sitio web con el mismo título).
El cuento en este libro es también tan interesante que personalmente no pude dejar de leerlo después de empezar. Es principalmente sobre una mujer a quien el autor encontró muchos años antes en Granada, España, y de quien él fue enamorado hace casi veinte años. Después de saber que ella era en Londres, donde él vivía ahora, él quería volver a verla otra vez. Pero las cosas habían cambiado mucho desde la última vez en que ellos vieron, y ¿qué iba a pasar entre los dos?
En este libro, se usan palabras y expresiones que yo nunca he encontrado antes, pero al fin de cada capítulo hay una lista de vocabulario que explique (ambos en español y en inglés) casi todas las palabras que se encuentran en ese capítulo. Y aunque hay palabras sin explicaciones que no entendí cuando leí el libro la primera vez, podía entender casi todo del contexto de la historia. Además se usan los tiempos verbales del pasado diferentes, que me ayuda a entender cómo hablar de eventos diferentes del pasado.
Yo también he leído todos los libros escrito por el mismo autor, un profe de español en Londres que se enfoca en enseñar español con historias. Me cae muy bien este modo de aprender el idioma, y recomiendo a toda la gente todos los materiales de este autor. Me encantan todos sus libros, pero recomiendo especialmente 'Un Hombre Fascinante', '¿Me Voy o Me Quedo?' y 'Una Chica Triste' (el último es más difícil que los demás debido a la gramática, pero vale la pena). A mí me gustan también vídeos en su canal 'Español con Juan' en Youtube (y casi me he olvidado mencionar su página de Facebook '1001 Reasons to Learn Spanish' y su sitio web con el mismo título).
August 5, 2023
Positiv:
- das Buch ist hauptsächlich in der Vergangenheit geschrieben, wodurch man eben die Zeitform und Konjugationen gut passiv aufnimmt
- schwierige Wörter sind fett markiert und werden am Ende jedes Kapitels auf Spanisch erklärt und übersetzt
- es gibt viele Wiederholungen wodurch Redewendungen usw gut hängen bleiben
Negativ:
- die Story!! Juan, 50, findet ein altes Fotobuch mit Bildern seiner Ex, in dem die Telefonnummer ihrer Eltern steht, ruft dort an und will Kontakt aufnehmen. Die Eltern sagen “Nope du creep” und danach schreibt er ihr per Mail, ruft sie an und stalked sie bis sie sich sehen. Beim einzigen Treffen beleidigt sie ihn und danach macht er sich an die nächste aims Fotobuch ran - the end.
- manchmal war’s mir zu repetitiv, obwohl genau das fürs Lernen gut ist
- das Buch ist hauptsächlich in der Vergangenheit geschrieben, wodurch man eben die Zeitform und Konjugationen gut passiv aufnimmt
- schwierige Wörter sind fett markiert und werden am Ende jedes Kapitels auf Spanisch erklärt und übersetzt
- es gibt viele Wiederholungen wodurch Redewendungen usw gut hängen bleiben
Negativ:
- die Story!! Juan, 50, findet ein altes Fotobuch mit Bildern seiner Ex, in dem die Telefonnummer ihrer Eltern steht, ruft dort an und will Kontakt aufnehmen. Die Eltern sagen “Nope du creep” und danach schreibt er ihr per Mail, ruft sie an und stalked sie bis sie sich sehen. Beim einzigen Treffen beleidigt sie ihn und danach macht er sich an die nächste aims Fotobuch ran - the end.
- manchmal war’s mir zu repetitiv, obwohl genau das fürs Lernen gut ist
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2024
El libro estaba bien para aprender un poquito más de español pero la historia! Terrible! El protagonista acosó y que? Esta bien porque ella es mala persona con el?! Y el libro estaba gordofobico también. El mensaje al final del libro es que necesitas cuidar de tu cuerpo y hablar con la gente de su pasado si ellos te preguntan (incluso si han pasado más de 20 años y dijiste que no te gusta verlos).
May 1, 2019
Over the last few months I’ve read several of Juan Fernandez’ books. They are designed to make learning Spanish entertaining and this one certainly does that.
Grammatically it’s the most complicated of his books that I’ve read so far. He cleverly takes you through the main past tenses: perfect, imperfect, preterite and pluperfect. Cleverly, because this grammar lesson is presented as the reminiscences of a middle-aged man who has found an old photo album with photos of the great love of his life, Maria, whom he hasn’t seen for twenty years. He becomes fixated with her and is determined to track her down, supposedly just for the sake of a chat about old times and a catch-up. Without spoiling the story, what follows is by turns surprising, disturbing, disappointing and ultimately hopeful.
As usual, the author gives a glossary of difficult words and phrases at the end of each chapter. He also begins each chapter with a recap of the previous chapter. This is addressed directly to the reader using the familiar plural. This is useful as I rarely see the familiar plural being used anywhere – it’s not used at all in Latin American Spanish.
Although the focus of this book is on the past tenses, there’s a sprinkling of the conditional and some subjunctive (OK that’s a mood, not a tense).
My only grouch is that I think there is only one book in the series that I haven’t read and I’ll make a start on that shortly. I certainly think the author should write a sequel to this book.
Grammatically it’s the most complicated of his books that I’ve read so far. He cleverly takes you through the main past tenses: perfect, imperfect, preterite and pluperfect. Cleverly, because this grammar lesson is presented as the reminiscences of a middle-aged man who has found an old photo album with photos of the great love of his life, Maria, whom he hasn’t seen for twenty years. He becomes fixated with her and is determined to track her down, supposedly just for the sake of a chat about old times and a catch-up. Without spoiling the story, what follows is by turns surprising, disturbing, disappointing and ultimately hopeful.
As usual, the author gives a glossary of difficult words and phrases at the end of each chapter. He also begins each chapter with a recap of the previous chapter. This is addressed directly to the reader using the familiar plural. This is useful as I rarely see the familiar plural being used anywhere – it’s not used at all in Latin American Spanish.
Although the focus of this book is on the past tenses, there’s a sprinkling of the conditional and some subjunctive (OK that’s a mood, not a tense).
My only grouch is that I think there is only one book in the series that I haven’t read and I’ll make a start on that shortly. I certainly think the author should write a sequel to this book.
December 27, 2021
Amazing story. The protagonist is relatable and likeable. The plot made me think about my own life, about growing older, about the sadness that occurs in life and rebounding from it. I do wonder how much of the story is autobiographical. This is probably one of the best Spanish learning books I have ever read. I must admit that the Spanish level was a little above my comprehension (since I am still a beginner), and so I had to translate a lot of phrases while reading on my kindle app. The story is so good that I would like to reread this in the future.
January 1, 2023
I've really enjoyed the books by Juan Fernandez. This one is written at the B1 level (low intermediate) and I think it is properly rated at that level. Here you really get to see the difference between books written t the A1 or A2 level and the B1 intermediate level. It is not only the more advanced vocabulary and grammatical structure using past tenses but the ability to tell a more complex story with more developed characters.
He uses a lot of repletion which really helps you to advance in your language journey as you begin to just understand what is written without translating in your head. You also begin to feel the rhythm of the language, the beauty of the language. There are some words or phrases that are bolded in the text. Following the end of the chapter he offers not only a translation but also other ways to say the same thing in Spanish. As with other author of these graded readers, he suggests you not look up translations for words or phases you don't know but to try to understand the words though the context of the story. At this level you should be Abe to do that.
A bit about the story itself without going into spoilers: First, unlike a lot of books written for those of us studying Spanish, this is a novel( really novella) dealing with adult characters, not the high school students in a Spanish class. Adults dealing with adult emotions, adult worries, adult struggles. Adults dealing with the memories of a first love after the passage of many years. I wondered just how autobiographical the story was.
He uses a lot of repletion which really helps you to advance in your language journey as you begin to just understand what is written without translating in your head. You also begin to feel the rhythm of the language, the beauty of the language. There are some words or phrases that are bolded in the text. Following the end of the chapter he offers not only a translation but also other ways to say the same thing in Spanish. As with other author of these graded readers, he suggests you not look up translations for words or phases you don't know but to try to understand the words though the context of the story. At this level you should be Abe to do that.
A bit about the story itself without going into spoilers: First, unlike a lot of books written for those of us studying Spanish, this is a novel( really novella) dealing with adult characters, not the high school students in a Spanish class. Adults dealing with adult emotions, adult worries, adult struggles. Adults dealing with the memories of a first love after the passage of many years. I wondered just how autobiographical the story was.
November 15, 2024
Leí este libro en solo una semana. No me di cuenta de este hecho hasta ahora pero pude leer tan rápido porque tuve un vuelo largo donde leí la mayoría de este. Este libro fue un nivel por debajo de el libro último. Ahora, mi nivel es B1. Quiero alcanzar B2 y también trato este como si fuera mi trabajo de tiempo completo. Me gusté la trama pero la terminación fue un poco triste. El escritor hace podcasts también. Los mismos que yo escucho cuando manejando a infierno. El resumen de la historia es todas las chicas son iguales…
March 5, 2023
Este libro es un poco más difícil que sus libros de nivel A2, pero cuando llegué al final, me di cuenta de que podía entender la mayor parte sin traductor.
October 28, 2021
A really useful book for learners of Spanish. There's a fairly interesting story and lots of repetition, which is just what you need.
December 19, 2018
Not sure how I feel about the protagonist stalking a woman who wanted to be left alone but still good practice for learning some spanish past tenses. The story was actually better structured than the A level materials in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2021
Muy buena historia para aprender español. Simple pero muy interesante, un poco misterioso.
February 15, 2023
Esta fue la primera novela en español que leí completa. Fue mejor de lo esperado. De hecho, tenía temas para adultos. Al principio fue un poco lento. Afortunadamente, se volvió muy interesante.
Para aprender español, tenía mucha repetición, diciendo las cosas de múltiples maneras diferentes y recapitulando eventos anteriores. Además, hay una lista de palabras al final de cada capítulo.
Cuatro estrellas porque fue interesante y excelente para practicar español.
Para aprender español, tenía mucha repetición, diciendo las cosas de múltiples maneras diferentes y recapitulando eventos anteriores. Además, hay una lista de palabras al final de cada capítulo.
Cuatro estrellas porque fue interesante y excelente para practicar español.
January 3, 2021
Useful
Ordinarily the use of repetition in a novel becomes boring and distracting after a point. However, one of the challenging things in Spanish as I suppose with other language is dealing with irregular verbs. The repetition of the last chapter at the beginning of each new chapter was logical because of the introspective and enabling false self-awareness of the narrator, was appropriate to the lead character while very helpful as a teaching technique. The story is sufficient to hold reader interest to the end. Never a NYT best seller list book, but a useful learning tool.
Ordinarily the use of repetition in a novel becomes boring and distracting after a point. However, one of the challenging things in Spanish as I suppose with other language is dealing with irregular verbs. The repetition of the last chapter at the beginning of each new chapter was logical because of the introspective and enabling false self-awareness of the narrator, was appropriate to the lead character while very helpful as a teaching technique. The story is sufficient to hold reader interest to the end. Never a NYT best seller list book, but a useful learning tool.
September 27, 2026
Wow, I have already read five books by Juan Fernández. I started with the easiest ones for A1 or A2 and have finally come to the point where I can finish a book for the B1 level. Even despite my very basic knowledge of Spanish grammar, I have managed to read and understand this book. At first, it seemed a little bit difficult, but the longer I read, the more I understood. I have learned this way a lot of essential words, phrases, and grammar points. Moreover, I enjoyed the story itself. It is not a simple tale for kids but rather a more mature piece of literature. I am looking forward to reading more books written by the author.
September 27, 2019
Que fuerte!
This is the first book I have read by Juan Fernandez. I really enjoyed the story once I got into it. At first I found it annoying - the constant repetition of some phrases and paragraphs, but I suppose you have to repeat in order to learn a language. I thought there was not much of a story, but after a while it became interesting and I found myself trying to figure out the ending. I even checked out the video. Good for people who know some Spanish grammar in order to practice the use of past tenses.
This is the first book I have read by Juan Fernandez. I really enjoyed the story once I got into it. At first I found it annoying - the constant repetition of some phrases and paragraphs, but I suppose you have to repeat in order to learn a language. I thought there was not much of a story, but after a while it became interesting and I found myself trying to figure out the ending. I even checked out the video. Good for people who know some Spanish grammar in order to practice the use of past tenses.
February 3, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. A great story that pushed me to learn more everyday Spanish as it is spoken . I would recommend this to anyone who is wanting to improve at intermediate level. There some phrases that don’t translate very well into English but it challenges you to try to put them into perspective.
The story is relatively easy to follow
It challenges you to review what you have read
Don’t be put off by the odd phrases that don’t really translate well into English .
The story is relatively easy to follow
It challenges you to review what you have read
Don’t be put off by the odd phrases that don’t really translate well into English .
March 9, 2022
Very entertaining
Not only is the book useful for improving intermediate Spanish, it’s also very engaging and entertaining. I cringed, I laughed, I sighed. I got outraged. I got mad.
I was not expecting this, but having previously watched several of the author’s Youtube videos, I shouldn’t have been so surprised!
It’s a fun read, and he uses artful repetition of key words, phrases, and conjugations to help solidify them in your mind.
I highly recommend this book series. I’ll be reading all of them.
Not only is the book useful for improving intermediate Spanish, it’s also very engaging and entertaining. I cringed, I laughed, I sighed. I got outraged. I got mad.
I was not expecting this, but having previously watched several of the author’s Youtube videos, I shouldn’t have been so surprised!
It’s a fun read, and he uses artful repetition of key words, phrases, and conjugations to help solidify them in your mind.
I highly recommend this book series. I’ll be reading all of them.
March 11, 2023
Poor Juan! He and his former girlfriend have a completely different take on their former romantic relationship. This fact leads to some bizarre issues later on. Via this story a reader gets LOTS of repetition of vocabulary and sentence structures because summaries of what happened are woven into the book at many occasions. This goes so far as to somewhat disrupt the flow of the story. However, with every page more language skill can be acquired and that's the whole point of graded readers like this. It's definitely worth diving into Fantasmas del Pasado.
May 7, 2026
Honestly, I have to say that this book was boring. Juan has a good sense of humor, and that shone through a bit in the last chapter or two, but the majority of this book was a slog- especially compared to his other graded readers I’ve read: La profe de español and un hombre fascinante. Perhaps my level of Spanish has just gotten too high for it, or perhaps this one just wasn’t as entertaining. Either way, it’s still a very accessible and easy to read book for Spanish learners and Juan is still killing it with his books and YouTube videos that actually help you learn Spanish.
October 12, 2021
Good practice for the past and imperfect tenses
Excellent for anyone at the B1 level in Spanish. Many sentences are repeated in subsequent chapters helping the words and context stick in my mind. Whilst I didn't know every word I was able to follow the story line with ease. I've read to of Juan's B1 novels and both helped me improve and understand the context of modern Spanish as well as supplemented by his YouTube videos, highly recommend Juan's books and videos.
Excellent for anyone at the B1 level in Spanish. Many sentences are repeated in subsequent chapters helping the words and context stick in my mind. Whilst I didn't know every word I was able to follow the story line with ease. I've read to of Juan's B1 novels and both helped me improve and understand the context of modern Spanish as well as supplemented by his YouTube videos, highly recommend Juan's books and videos.
February 2, 2022
This one is ideal for learners of Spanish, that is if you take its purpose into account - getting familiar with the lingo. The writing style, though the structure of the chapters may be similar to diary entries, has a flow to it that is very authentic and helps you improve your spoken Spanish. The story itself is narrated in a way that you cannot really tell who the baddy is until the end, so there's also that enterntaining element to this piece of literature. Would recommend to a friend!
February 25, 2026
Another perfect choice for bookworms studying Spanish. The story is all about connecting one's past to the present and getting over disappointments.
Juan Fernandez, the author, maintains this podcast called 'Español con Juan'. So far, the episodes I have listened to have been loads of fun. He uses repetition and delivers in a very casual tone. I also catch commonly used Spanish expressions. Now, I am a fan of Juan.
Juan Fernandez, the author, maintains this podcast called 'Español con Juan'. So far, the episodes I have listened to have been loads of fun. He uses repetition and delivers in a very casual tone. I also catch commonly used Spanish expressions. Now, I am a fan of Juan.
November 11, 2018
Perfect for me
Although I speak Spanish at a slightly higher level than its book, it was perfect for me. First the plot was interesting enough that I wanted to keep reading.
Secondly, the "repetion" which some complained about was reassuring and reinforcing. Just a pretend example, is it darse cuanto de or cuenta de? By the time you finish you've got it.
Although I speak Spanish at a slightly higher level than its book, it was perfect for me. First the plot was interesting enough that I wanted to keep reading.
Secondly, the "repetion" which some complained about was reassuring and reinforcing. Just a pretend example, is it darse cuanto de or cuenta de? By the time you finish you've got it.
September 23, 2019
Sting in the tail
Strange tale about disillusionment with a former girl friend. The protagonist looks up his first love. She is an extremely unpleasant person and I do find it hard to believe that someone could be quite so horrible. The story carried me along well though. So pleased I understood it. Good for beginners like me.
Strange tale about disillusionment with a former girl friend. The protagonist looks up his first love. She is an extremely unpleasant person and I do find it hard to believe that someone could be quite so horrible. The story carried me along well though. So pleased I understood it. Good for beginners like me.
January 7, 2023
A great book for people learning Spanish. It hooks you right from the beginning and maintains the suspense throughout, laced with liberal sprinklings of Juan Fernandez’s trademark self-deprecating humour. It does everything a graded reader should do and, as with Juan’s well-known You Tube tutorials, makes learning the language and pleasure rather than a chore. Highly recommended.
March 15, 2023
Easy Reading
This was good, easy and repetitive reading for a student of intermediate level Spanish.
But the story was a little sinister, with the main character, the Juan we know and love from his videos, seemingly stalking an old girlfriend. It didn't sit comfortably with me at all.
This was good, easy and repetitive reading for a student of intermediate level Spanish.
But the story was a little sinister, with the main character, the Juan we know and love from his videos, seemingly stalking an old girlfriend. It didn't sit comfortably with me at all.
May 13, 2025
careful what you wish for
A story about reconnecting with a romantic partner from the past. The progression and outcome were systematic but the recap at the beginning of each chapter was a bit annoying. I was a bit surprised by the outcome but the epilog sheds considerable light on Juan’s true nature and makes the story complete.
A story about reconnecting with a romantic partner from the past. The progression and outcome were systematic but the recap at the beginning of each chapter was a bit annoying. I was a bit surprised by the outcome but the epilog sheds considerable light on Juan’s true nature and makes the story complete.
November 21, 2019
Another excellent book of level B1 for learning the entire range of past tense in Spanish. Beyond a certain point this made me move pages of the book faster because the story itself was quite engaging. Loved from start to end. I enjoyed both the story and Spanish!
January 18, 2020
Great and humorous story
I have advanced my level of speaking after completing this book. Juam teaches through repetition in his well known videos and he uses the same techniques in his books. It seems strange at first, but it also adds humour.
I have advanced my level of speaking after completing this book. Juam teaches through repetition in his well known videos and he uses the same techniques in his books. It seems strange at first, but it also adds humour.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews