Short Stories in Spanish: New Penguin Parallel Text (Spanish and English Edition)

The book is bilingual, it has Spanish on one side and English on the other. Which makes it easier because you don't have to look up words

The stories are all very good. The translations are interesting to think about. Deriving meaning in English from the Spanish text lead to sometimes different results between myself and the translator. Of course I defer to the expertise of the translator as am just a novice. There are numerous footnotes on the translations which are quite informative and useful.I want to rate the stories in their basic literary mode and it is difficult since they are all very good. I will note in particular though the following: "Walimai" by Isabel Allende is remarkable and also I found it to be the most easily read for my current abilities in Spanish.The story "Maria dos Prazeres" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is remarkable. I read it months ago and still can picture the woman and her pet dog and can see her and her daily activities as though she was real, it seems so real and there is meaning and message to the story. I was so moved by this short story that I purchased Cien Anos de Soledad by same author who is Nobel laureate btw. I did not find Cien Anos compelling and it is a bit rambling but I have read only 48 pages so far. There are "logic" errors which are distracting and other elements which do not make sense. I understand the book was published in the 1960's so it probably was well received then as most people were on LDS..."On the Honeymoon" by Javier Marias is quite good with humor to make you smile/laugh. Same for "A Literary Tea Party" by Ribeyro.I enjoyed the collection so much that I have purchased the 2dn ediion and will start reading that tomorrow.I believe I have improved my Spanish reading skills by completing this collection. And I am taking more of the approach of enjoying the stories as primary and learning Spanish as secondary. Both are paramount though. It is a little hard to explain. When I start a story I am highly focused on the translational aspects and then by the end of the story I am keenly interested in learning the conclusion(!) Fun stuff. Highly recommended.

There really isn't anything I don't like, but it is not for beginners. The print is small - wish it were bigger... I am still on page 1 going back and forth and though I'm not fluent, typically understand most- and can get by when speaking. I do not mind the challenge, though and maybe by 2022, I'll have finished the first story! I really do like the concept and that the pages face each other - Spanish on the L and English on the R and think it is a good learning tool as it covers all sorts of verb tenses and lots of vocabulary without dummying down. Any one could "read" it considering the translation is right there, but again, I find it challenging.

This book is perfect for what I wanted, to practice my Spanish language skills with immediate feedback. Ten short stories by ten Spanish or Latino authors, with Spanish text on the left-side page, and the English-translation text on the facing (right-side) page. The vocabulary difficulty level is at the adult level, in my opinion. Not overly difficult, but not really what I'd call ideal for junior high school language students -- and that's not a criticism, but a just a note so you are aware.John King's introduction to the book is very helpful in introducing the authors and their stories, and I especially liked the "NOTES ON SPANISH TEXTS" in the back of the book, which commented on numbered footnotes throughout the short stories.But some Amazon.com customers will want to know that the FONT SIZE of the print throughout the book is TINY -- I mean REALLY TINY -- it looks similar to Times Roman size 8 or 9. And the paper is similar to old newspaper.HERE'S A TIP: To see the ACTUAL font size in Amazon's "CLICK TO LOOK INSIDE" preview, adjust your computer screen (zoom in or out, pressing your CONTROL button while rolling the scroller on your mouse is ONE of several different ways to do it) so that book's PAGE PAPER size in Amazon's "Look Inside" PREVIEW measures five (5) inches wide on your computer monitor, and that's the font size you'll see in the actual PRINT book. --- I AM NOT COMPLAINING, and I gave the book all 5 Stars, but SOME customers WILL want to know about the tiny font size BEFORE they click the "ADD TO CART" button.Another reviewer commented earlier, "Recommend the publisher indicate somewhere up front that the print in the book is extremely small." (and gave a dismal rating of 1-Star as a result). I saw that comment but I did not pay much attention to it, because it would not have stopped me from buying the book, but my old eyes are probably going to need my 3X FULL PAGE MAGNIFIER FRESNEL LENS (search B001TLJXJ8 in Amazon.com) to read this book. I'm OK with that, but I thought you'd want to know.

I would describe my current level of Spanish to being halfway between beginner and intermediate, and this book seemed incredibly advanced for me as I had to rely FAR too much on the English translation to make sense of anything. As someone else pointed out, there are several tenses and words that even intermediate probably wouldn't pick up on. Yes it's a good book, but it's 100% CERTAINLY not for learners of the language at "all levels" as it's advertised.

The text of the two languages is carefully arranged so that they sit on the same line in the page., the left page being in Spanish and the right side page being in English The stories and not simple to read but vary somewhat in difficulty. Features Carlos Fuentes , Isabel Allende , Gabriel Marquez and others along with notes for each story in the back of the book. Translation is often a rough art and some of the translation is a bit loose but overall excellent

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