Customer Reviews

Classic Spanish Stories and Plays : The Great Works of Spanish Literature for Intermediate Students

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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.

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

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.

No matter how much you study Spanish in school or out of textbooks, you will never be able to write well in the language unless you read real Spanish literature. Although the stories in this book are watered down a bit, they're still quite entertaining, and definitely increase the reader's understanding of the Spanish language.

A superb effort . A real pleasure to use . Just the right ammount of background is provided in the footnotes . I'm very fussy , but I cannot find fault with this book . Highly recommended .

Years ago, I lived in Mexico and Guatemela (for about 5 years). I developed my spoken spanish to a level of medium fluency ( I can communicate clearly what I intend to communicate and understand clearly a vast majority of what is communicated to me). About 2 months ago I bought Rosetta Stone Homeshool Levels 1-3. In 2 months, studying for about an hour a day; I have worked through every reading, writing and speaking exercise (as well as the companion audio) in Levels 1 & 2 and am currently on level 3. I sailed through these lessons rather easily.

While the quality of the stories and the language presented is clear, I believe that this book is slightly on the advanced side. When I read it, I need a dictionary at my side. That being said - I bought it to learn - so my review is not a complaint rather is a clarification of the level.

Introducing students to Golden Age literature is always a problem. This text makes such an introduction simple. Although it starts with the Cid (not really inappropriate) but the rest of the text makes this Classical Spanish literature accessible to Spanish major wannabees that are not native speakers. I am using it in my Introduction to Spanish Literature course at the Community College level. Great selection.

This is exactly what I need to take my Spanish to the next level! I studied Spanish in college and took some classes at Instituto Cervantes but just as the cliche goes, I've practically lost it from not using it. Lately, I've been reviewing my notes, grammar references, but nothing beats reading the classics. Although simplified and modernized, anyone with an intermediate level Spanish can benefit from this book. I think that anyone interested must be at least familiar with conjugations in all tenses and moods, plus a working vocabulary. The footnotes (explanations/translations) make for efficient and productive reading.

Moreover, the works chosen for this anthology are the best representation of classic Spanish Literature. I'll probably never get to read Don Quijote in its original text but I'm content with reading the abridged version in this book. Hopefully, you'll find this book useful too!

I have only had the book a few weeks, but I have enjoyed the parts I have read so far, and I look forward to reading more. Having just finished an Intermediate Spanish class, I was able to get through Don Quijote without any major problems. I only had to look up a few words in my dictionary.

The book was in good condition and was received promptly. One page had highlighting- no biggie.