Cervantes: Exemplary Stories (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Author), C. A. Jones (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 1986 | Series: Penguin Classics

Composed throughout Cervantes's writing life and mentioned in "Don Quixote", his "Exemplary Stories" are among the first and finest Spanish short stories: ranging from traditional tales of love to incisive moral fables. In "The Little Gipsy Girl", an Italianate romance, the nomadic life is idealised through a love affair between the beautiful Preciosa and a nobleman who agrees to live as a gipsy to win her heart. Elsewhere, the intricacies of love are further explored in tales such as "The Jealous Extremaduran", while the picaresque "Rinconette and Cortadillo", depicting the friendship between a card-sharper and a pickpocket, presents a very different insight into the lower classes of seventeenth-century Spain. Widely regarded as one of Cervantes's greatest stories, "The Dogs' Colloquy" brilliantly captures Spanish conversation and society in its depiction of a discussion between two dogs mysteriously granted the gift of speech.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"West shows...ingenuity and resourcefulness at bringing across the complex linguistic, generic and social nuances of the originals....West's book should be the translation of choice for students and general readers, whatever their motive for reading this poetry may be, and even experienced scholars will want to see what West has made of the difficult and controversial passages they encounter in their own study of Greek....By all means acquire this beautifully produced volume."--International Journal of the Classical Tradition
"Clear, modern translation free of the defects of both literalism and unnecessary paraphrase. A very useful book for a survey of Greek lit course."--Douglas Domingo Foraste, California State University at Long Beach
"A representative and entrancing collection faithfully rendered with musical elegance and, when the occasion demands, frankly lucid."--E.N. Genovese, San Diego State University
"Finally an affordable replacement for Lattimore! This selection is enormous, the notes are generous in scope. I will adopt this next time I do Greek lit."--D.W. Tandy, University of Tennessee
"While translation always pays a price, this one can boast a language vigorous and frank, and above all, readable."--Donald L. Jennermann, Religious Studies Review
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish (translation)

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (March 4, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140442480
• ISBN-13: 978-0140442489
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,049,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars charming stories, April 5, 2000

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maite - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exemplary Stories (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Those are beautiful, charming stories about life and characters in Cervantes's time, perfectly despicted. I would suggest to read them in Spanish so as not to loose the amazing prose of the author. I read The Little Gipsy Girl when I was a child and still remember the magic of the story.