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SPANISH STORIES AND TALES by Harriet -Ed. de Onis

SPANISH STORIES AND TALES

By

Pub Date: April 26th, 1954
Publisher: Knopf

A fine collection of Spanish and South American stories is culled from the work of famous writers and presented to show the development of the short story form from the 15th century to the present. By way of introduction, the editor points up the following as main trends; From the oriental didactic and early exemplary tales there was the slow beginning of a more personal expression in the time of Cervantes that continued to flourish through the Renaissance; within the mood writing of romanticism there were the seeds of realism and the increasing individualism that extends to the modern day. The stories themselves illustrated the many different motifs and ""schools"" and above all the quality that makes them typical of a people, which Miss de Onis defines as an attitude that sees man not as an abstract entity but a figure tossed about by his individuality, emotion and the problem of free will. Emphasizing modern more than early writers, the twenty-three selections include Cervantes' The Call of the Blood. Unamuno's searching study of a priest, Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr, Valle-Inclan's My Sister Antonia a story of retribution and madness, the Uruguyan Quiroga's The Fatherland, The Tattletale Parrot from the Book of Sendebar. Good- and all have been well translated. Market for students.