Classic Spanish Stories and Plays : The Great Works of Spanish Literature for Intermediate Students [Abridged] [Paperback]

Marcel Andrade (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0658011383 | ISBN-13: 978-0658011382 | Publication Date: July 17, 2001 | Edition: 1

Spanning El Cid (1140) to El burlador de Sevilla (1630), Classic Spanish Stories and Plays contains eight great Spanish classics works including Don Quixote, one of the masterpieces of world literature. Expertly abridged and adapted for the intermediate learner, each tale and play includes ample cultural notes and translations of difficult words. An extensive vocabulary is included at the back of the book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marcel M. Andrade is the Feldman Professor at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. For his services to the Spanish language and culture, he was awarded the Encomienda con Placa de la Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (July 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0658011383
• ISBN-13: 978-0658011382
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Painless short intro to Spanish lit, May 8, 2006

By 

Arthad - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classic Spanish Stories and Plays : The Great Works of Spanish Literature for Intermediate Students (Paperback)

This is a review of Classic Spanish Stories and Plays, adapted by Marcel C. Andrade. McGraw-Hill, 2001 (ISBN 0658011383).

After finishing Spanish IV at my community college, I started Don Quijote with the aid of Tom Lathrop's `Don Quijote Dictionary.' Even with the dictionary, Cervantes was slow going, so I decided to retrace my steps and gain some reading practice with something simpler. That's when I found this book. It contains eight Spanish stories (El Cid, Los cuentos el conde Lucanor, La Celestina, Lazarillo de Tormes, Don Quijote, Fuenteovejuna, La verdad sospechosa, and El burlador de Sevilla) greatly simplified for the intermediate student. (NB: an `intermediate' student knows what past subjunctive and conditional are.) I found that the editor's glosses matched my knowledge pretty closely; e.g. I very rarely had to look up a word that wasn't glossed. By the way, a vocabulary is included in the back of almost every word used in the text. Footnotes are used to explain cultural issues, though the notes to Don Quijote makes me think Andrade doesn't have a lot of sympathy with that ingenioso hildago.

All stories except Don Quijote are complete. But Andrade judiciously adapts chapter by chapter with Don Quijote, and includes only fourteen. He stops with the narrator finding the Arabic continuation of the tale by Cide Hamete Beningeli. Having read that far of the real Don Quijote, I enjoyed reinforcing my vocabulary with the glossing, and I liked being able to enjoy the story without looking up every fourth word.

My goal in Spanish is to read it semi-fluently. The only way to attain that goal is to read, read, read. Andrade's Spanish reader makes that possible, and rather painlessly at that. It's an excellent choice for any intermediate student who wants reading practice and doesn't mind gaining a superficial knowledge of some Spanish literary masterpieces at the same time - highly recommended.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for intermediate students of the Spanish language, January 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Classic Spanish Stories and Plays : The Great Works of Spanish Literature for Intermediate Students (Paperback)

I love this book.
This is perfect for someone with intermediate-level Spanish knowledge who wants to start reading in Spanish and greatly improve his/her vocabulary.

It has classic short stories and plays that are very entertaining. But the best thing about the book is that it offers definitions of obscure words on the same page (at the bottom, out of the way of the rest of the text), and all less obscure words are included in a dictionary in the back of the book. So, I can sit down and read this book without having to constantly refer to a Spanish dictionary; I can take this book along with me anywhere just like any other book in English.

The only downside is that the stories aren't the originals - they have been heavily edited down, but this means archaic language has been updated to be more modern.

I had fun reading this book, and was impressed with how far I could take my Spanish knowledge.

--Joe

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro To Spanish Literature & Culture, March 20, 2005

By 

Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" (Lexington, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Classic Spanish Stories and Plays : The Great Works of Spanish Literature for Intermediate Students (Paperback)

This delightful book is the second volume of the Spanish Reader Series, which began with the Easy Spanish Reader. This book follows the same general principles--immediate immersion in the readings, no tedious grammar or vocabulary drills, no verb conjugations, just reading and understanding. So, I found myself advancing rapidly and enjoying myself immensely.

The readings are modernized and abridged versions of the classic literature of Spain--from 1140 (the Cid) to 1630 (El Burlador de Sevilla). Needless to say, they reflect a different world than ours, a world preoccupied with honor and gallantry, kings who are (supposed to be) wise, and nobles who dress well even if they have nothing to eat. And a view of women that is almost unbelievable from the America of 2005. You've read about the feudal age in Europe, but this book draws you into the soul of that long vanished era. I was surprised to find these works charming, interesting, and often quite humorous, in spite of their enormous distance from my own time and customs.

The author supplies marginal glosses for new vocabulary and extensive notes explaining the cultural background and possibly obscure allusions. After each section, there is a set of questions to test one's comprehension.

All in all, a delightful next step in my Spanish studies and one I can recommend highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.