Cuerpos y ofrendas (Literatura / Literature, 5329) (Spanish Edition) [Spanish]

By Carlos Fuentes

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN: 8420656399
• ISBN13: 9788420656397
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Alianza Editorial
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 0.6" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

A Fan of Fuentes

For context I have to say that "Cuerpos y Ofrendas" is a book that has special meaning to me. I bought it while traveling throughout South America. I picked it up at a book fair in Lima and it stuck with me throughout stays in Ecuador, Cuba, and Costa Rica. As a native English speaker I found that reading short stories in Spanish is much easier on my brain than tackling "Cien anos de Soledad." I could finish each one in a day or two, then go back and read it again, picking up what I missed the first time. My Spanish is fluent, but just barely, such that I miss enough of the story to make it slightly surreal and magical.Although my introduction to Fuentes started more as a lesson in Spanish, I soon was reading simply for pleasure and stopped making notations altogether. The stories amazed me. The majority hint at the mystical and the inevitable. Not only is each story compelling alone, but together they provide some small snapshots into the modern life and the underpinning mythology of Mexico. "Una Alma Pura" perhaps was my favorite. This is the story of a man's flight from Mexico to Geneva in search of a different life. Told in the 2nd and 3rd person, reading this story is much like receiving a moving letter from a dear old friend. We learn of his situation through letters written to and from his childhood girlfriend. Although simple in design it is very moving. This character's flight struck me as frighteningly similar to my current travels and escape from the US. As in the story, I feared that perhaps those things from which I was meaning to escape were the very things about myself I couldn't change.Other stories are more playful, some horrific, and some nostalgic. Unlike some collections of short stories, Fuentes' tales show a variety of skill. I got a lot out of this book. It proved a worthy travel companion and introduced me to an author I plan to read much more of!