Cuentos: Stories from Puerto Rico

by Kal Wagenheim

CUENTOS is a bilingual anthology of twelve short stories, many of which appeared in the 1960s in the English-language magazine The San Juan Review, co-founded by Kal Wagenheim and Augusto Font. Written by six of Puerto Rico's leading writers, the themes vary in time from the 16th-century Spanish conquest to the migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States. Each story is published in both English and the original Spanish. Sometimes sad and sometimes hilariously comic, these stories represent in many respects an authentic voice of the Puerto Rican people. "Delightfully unpredictable. ... Humor, pathos, poverty and courage are just a few of the recurrent elements in the volume. The translation of each story appears on the page facing the Spanish." --Publisher's Weekly

186 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.