Dos Palabras

by Isabel Allende

From the book, The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

Genres: Short Stories, Spanish Literature, School, Fiction, Magical Realism, Read For School, Classics

Unknown Binding

About the author

Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean-American novelist. Allende, who writes in the "magic realism" tradition, is considered one of the first successful women novelists in Latin America. She has written novels based in part on her own experiences, often focusing on the experiences of women, weaving myth and realism together. She has lectured and done extensive book tours and has taught literature at several US colleges. She currently resides in California with her husband. Allende adopted U.S. citizenship in 2003.

Reviews

[Barb H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not be lulled by the feelings of a folk tale in this story. The unique telling of this embodies a strong sense of suspense. Allende's narrative uses carefully described descriptions and magical realism to convey to the reader the power of words. The main character of this story evokes the recognition of storytelling through the ages, as demonstrated in different books, often in varied ways. In particular, it made me think of, News of the World . The main force of this tale is of the trade this woman developed, which gave her a reputation for trust and anticipation. So, as she traveled throughout the country, people waited to hear her words. This, of course was of value because so few people could read and they had to wait for spoken words for news and communication.

My short story group had an interesting discussion of the story and the meanings of many words in the body of the narrative. In particular, the name of the storyteller was Belisa Crepusculario, which could be interpreted as twilight or dimness. This, in turn was how she made her living, "selling words", or defining them.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! I so enjoyed this short story. It has the grace of South American small cities. I miss it so!! And I have but one wish... that I can write as cleanly and beautifully as Isabel Allende when I finally grow up!

[nat ꩜ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still think about this short story a lot, very very sweet :’)

[Pepca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to 'cheat' and finish this year's reading challenge, but I'm so glad I did, and it certainly counts, because it is a wonderful short story with vivid descriptions and characters coming to life on the page (or screen). Less is definitely more in this case.

[Taya · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love hearing señora maldonado rant about literature. it's my favorite part of the day.

[Dina Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente

[lesly · Rating 4 out of 5]

lei esto durante clase de literatura española y me enamoré de este cuento. me gusta que las dos palabras no se revelan por que te da la oportunidad de interpretarlas como tú querrás. isabel allende my fav.

[Rosa Pinnola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dos palabras es un cuento maravilloso que se trata de una mujer Belisa Crepusculario... una mujer luchadora que elegio su propionate nombre y destino de ser "vendedora de palabras." Lo sugiero.

[Anatoly · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Two Words" by Isabel Allende is an emotional story which belongs to the genre of magic realism. The most well-known writer of this genre is Gabriel Garcia Marcus. His famous novel is "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was also about South American history and people.

The story started with describing a struggling people based on the example of one girl, Belisa Crepusculario, who survived extremely severe conditions of life. She paid her last money for studying, reading and writing. She made it her life’s profession. She made a living by writing letters to people traveling across the country. They included official letters to authorities or the courts, letters to customers’ relatives who lived in other parts of the country, love letters and so on. Belisa gave as an additional gift for people who used her works - two secret words. The person who got these words kept them in secret, and in times of difficulty, they helped the person cope with problems.

While she was traveling in a remote village, she was captured by rebels. She was tied by ropes and delivered to the head of the rebels - the Colonel. The rebels were known among the population for their cruel acts towards the people. Belisa was horrified by what happened, but when she saw the leader of the rebels, strangely, she felt sympathy for him.

The Colonel said that he was going to run for President in the next election and asked Belisia to prepare him a speech for the people. She did, and it was very persuasive and emotional. The Colonel was thankful to Belisia for this service, and when she suggested giving him two secret words as a gift, he agreed as he didn't want to be impolite to her.

The speech was met with great success. The people believed that the Colonel was able to lead the country to a bright future. However, it seemed that the dreams of the Colonel were out of reach. His helper, El Mulato was worried about it and they captured and he delivered Belisia to the Colonel again.

El Mulato led his prisoner before the Candidate.
"I brought this witch here so you can give her back her words, Colonel," El Mulato said, pointing the barrel of his rifle at the woman's head. "And then she can give you back your manhood." The Colonel and Belisa Crepusculario stared at each other, measuring one another from a distance. The men knew then that their leader would never undo the witchcraft of those accursed words, because the whole world could see the voracious-puma eyes soften as the woman walked to him and took his hand in hers."

The story gives readers lots of positive emotions, it is very well written, it has a high rating.

This is a link to a text of the story:
http://www.thomasuwwritinglab.net/fir...

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a remarkable story. The story had a good message and theme. It is about a struggling young woman who finds an immense value in words. Words are carried with us wherever we go, reminding us of people, experiences, and memories of life. Allende writes about the power of words. In her story she insists that the ability to tell stories with a powerful voice. A voice that gives us the opportunity to achieve the most impressive and important successes. Despite any experience that has led us to a life full of bad choices. We must share the words that we have been given. It is a wonderful story that is, in a way nostalgic. Asking us to remind ourselves of all of the crazy, wonderful, beautiful aspects of life. And making us appreciate them. I Really enjoyed this story and would 100% recommend it.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las palabras se llevan con nosotros adondequiera que vayamos, y nos acuerdan de personas, experiencias, y memorias de la vida. Allende escribe sobre el poder de las palabras, y en su cuento insiste en que la capacidad de contar historias con una voz poderosa y educada (o por lo menos poder copiar tal voz) nos da la oportunidad de lograr los éxitos más impresionantes e importantes, a pesar de cualquier experiencia u origen que nos ha dirigido a una vida llena de las peores elecciones. Básicamente nos toca compartir las palabras que se nos ha regalado.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this in class—

I didn’t like this book as much compared to the others i’ve read in this class. It was too short to really go anywhere and I didn’t feel like it had great flow. It was obscure and didn’t completely make sense. There have been way better books and short stories that I have read in this class…

[Alejandra Tapia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con pocas palabras, Isabel Allende, nos demuestra el poder que estas tienen; sin duda alguna, las de ella son magníficas, hasta el momento no he encontrado un solo texto de Isabel, que no me haya gustado.

[Bia Says · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love the description in this short story. the growth shown in the comparisons from her childhood to her present life was mind blowing to me. i loved how the story revolves around her relationship with words, and even though this was a short story i got attached to the characters so quickly.

[Serena]

Vengo de un mes de voluntariado en una reserva de pumas y me parece publicidad engañosa que se usen metáforas con el puma para significar agresión porque el puma es un animal muy huidizo y que sólo ataca para defenderse, saludos

[I’m Cler :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
Just a sweet tail, very lovely. I really liked it (and it was for language homework, so I was pretty amazed when I realized that it was actually good!!). Moreover, the writer is a Latin-American woman. That made it even more special to me.

[heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Te amo.

[adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

que lindo :)

español h. 4/5

[Santiago Mansilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuento corto sobre una mujer que logró sobrevivir gracias al poder de las palabras.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story that vibrates intensely of South American liveliness through the smoke screen of magic realism

[aj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Anticlimactic

[alexa ༉‧₊˚✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

read it in spanish class.

[chris cafjuice · Rating 4 out of 5]

(guy who has only read orv) getting a lot of orv vibes from this...

[Inma · Rating 5 out of 5]

De lo mejor de Isabel Allende

[sofía 🧩 · Rating 3 out of 5]

muy lindo! creo que las personas que valoramos tanto la literatura y el lenguaje nos llega de una manera muy cálida, y nos reafirma nuestro amor por este tema. el lenguaje crea realidades.

[Jacoba Peeters · Rating 3 out of 5]

wat zijn de 2 woorden nou..

[Sonya Demaree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Te hace pensar en cómo las palabras pueden afectar a las personas y a la gente alrededor de esas personas. Lo leí rápidamente, y no tengo ni una idea de qué podía ser las dos palabras.

[Sara Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Isabel Allende

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I might have to start reading more Allende this was written so beautifully

[Betty G.]

¡Excelente historia!
Es muy cautivadora e interesante.
Y, aunque al final te deja con la interrogante (¿cuáles fueron esas dos palabras), vale la pena leer esta corta historia.