Customer Reviews

Spanish Stories / Cuentos Españoles (A Dual-Language Book) (English and Spanish Edition)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book includes several excellent stories by many of the finest Spanish authors starting from the 16th century to the 20th. I recommend it highly for the intermediate Spanish student.

When I started reading book I had to regularly refer to the english page for a translation. At the end of the book, I seldom need to check the translation.

I assume that the stories written in the 16th and 17th centuries were re-written to update them into current Spanish, as I would think the older Spanish would be much more difficult to understand. As a result, this made the stories easy to read at the same time I could appreciate the skill of the writers.

I was excited to get this book because I thought it would be perfect for me. I have been trying to learn spanish for several years and it has been very difficult because I have trouble with comprehension. Usually I can read spanish better then I can understand it spoken, so I thought this was a good way to build my vocabulary and see the differences between the languages. And perhaps even record myself reading the stories for an extra way to take in the words. While I respect classical literature, this was more classroom/academic oriented then I wanted and seemed to be Spanish from Spain not Latin America. My husband is fluent in spoken Spanish (not necessarily reading/writing) and he didn't recognize some of the simple words so I knew this wasn't right for me. I was looking for more current modern stories at a more simple reading level. I am not saying you can't take anything from it but just wanted to make it more clear what to expect. I hope this is helpful to someone.

I bought the book with a view towards,

1) improving my Spanish

2) reading interesting new thoughts by Spanish writers

It achieved both goals admirably.

I also learned that apparently the Spanish language has not changed nearly as much as the English language from the time of Shakespeare and Cervantes to the present day. I understood more of the Cervantes -- in Spanish -- than in my first readings of Shakespeare in English, my native tongue.

Some of the stories were more difficult than others to be sure. Just as there is a huge style difference between writings of Earnest Hemingway and Nathaniel Hawthorne in English.

Like a previous reviewer, I found myself referring to the English side of the book less and less as I continued to read.

One improvement should be made in future books of this type, however. The definitions of the Spanish words in the back should do more than just restate the original translation. This where the author can truly help a student understand the nuances of the language. Give the reader the origin of the word -- Latin, French, Greek, etc. -- along with a general definition, not just the repeat the same english translation used in the body of the story. If that's all the author is going to do, he should save the paper.

I'd like to consider myself an intermediate spanish student. This book is just a tad over my spanish reading level. I really enjoy a challenge, so I enjoyed trying to read the spanish side. The stories were a good read in english, but I think it would have been better for me to start with "First Spanish Reader".

Just like in English, languages evolve over centuries. These are 14th and 15th century writers, classic writers of Spanish stories. Readers of this book should expect that the language in this book is not contemporary: unfamiliar words and expressions are used in each short story. Fortunately, at the back of the book many of the unfamiliar words are defined. And endnotes enhance points that aren't clear. If you're an intermediate Spanish reader, I definitely recommend getting another book. The challenges within this collection of short stories can be a bit much at times.

I can't blame the book- I'm sure the stories are great but this book is really geared towards those interested in advanced literature. I've done other side by side books before which have been incredibly helpful, but I really couldn't glean any conversational spanish from this book at all as the English is very formal. but, if you are an advanced speaker WITH an interest in literature, then I'm sure this would be fantastic.

I bought this book with the goal of improving my Spanish. I am a firm believer that forcing yourself to read text in the foreign language that you are learning will help improve your command of that language.
This book is definitely not for beginners. It is for advanced Spanish students with interest in the literary works. It is a nice introduction to the works of some of the best Spanish writers. I'm almost half way through the book and the book is arranged in chronological order of the writers from the 1300's to the 1900's. Reading the first half, I admit that I was not very comfortable with the style of the writings as I had to refer to the translation far too often. But I still think it is good practice and I'm looking forward to finishing this book.

This is James from James Spanish (the learning Spanish blog). This bi-lingual book is great for intermediate Spanish students wanting to apply what they have learned to a genuine context. The book is filled with stories from renowned Spanish authors such as Cervantes, Alarcon and Borges in the original Spanish and a faithful English translation.

This type of dual-language book encourages reading fluency and translational skills as well as helping to build vocabulary and give a fuller understanding of the Spanish language.

The format of the book allows for quick reference and translation, with the Spanish on one page, and the English translation on the facing page. This means you can read the stories more naturally, without flicking to different sections of the book to look up words that you are not familiar with.

The style of the authors vary, and you may find some writing easier to understand than others, just as you may find some of the stories more interesting than others. This will be due to your personal preference as well as your level of Spanish, so don't be too disheartened if you find yourself struggling to make it through one of the stories while others seem to flow easily.

A glossary in the back of the book provides a quick reference for many of the words covered in the stories so that you can reinforce what you have learned. You may also want to have a good English-Spanish dictionary to hand while you read the book so that you can have a more in depth translation of any words that are causing you trouble as well as another example of context so that you know how to use the new word you have learned.

These are the three Amazon products that I have found most helpful in my pursuit to learn Spanish.

1. Lights, Camera, Spanish (Book + DVD): Learn Conversational Spanish by Watching a Romantic Adventure This is actually a 90 minute movie for Spanish-language learners. It gives the option to watch the movie with subtitles but I'd recommend not using them to improve your Spanish. This "movie" also includes a workbook so that Spanish-language can reinforce the dialog from the film. The workbook also has lots of exercises to keep you engaged in
the film and to reinforce the Spanish that you learn.

2. Verbarrator Version 1.1 (Windows Version) This is a excellent piece of software which replaces the traditional verb conjugation books and makes learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs an interactive and fun activity.

3. Diccionario esencial de la lengua espanola de la Real Academia Espanola (Spanish Edition) I am not going to say that you have to get this particular Spanish dictionary
but if you are really serious about speaking the language fluently, then at some point you will need to replace your Spanish-English dictionary and get a pure Spanish
dictionary with both the vocabulary words and the definitions are entirely in Spanish.

An anthology/ dictionary/ translation/ textbook with questions/ historical reference...many things in one small book.

This collection of short stories spans the time of Chaucer to the modern Existentialist period: Cervantes, Clarin, Palma, Lynch, Borgenos,Cela, Pardo Bazan, Alarcon, Quiroga, and Unamundo. Many of the stories are hard to follow because of vague plots. I was often left wondering about where the end of the stories was ...leading me to wonder if they have been over edited. These stories have a charming atmosphere and give us cultural insights into the the world of Spanish literature spanning time and geography to include medieval Europe and modern South America.

One story in particular sticks out. Quiroga's THE ROOF reminds me of the old Bradbury story about a rain drenched Venus so daunting that explorers have to find refuge in golden sun domes replete with heat lamps and hot chocolate. Quiroga's descriptive talents match Bradbury's or maybe even Conrad's looming dark jungle. Forgive my aside.

The book is user friendly, but the Spanish is not for beginners or even intermediate level readers. The dictionary in the back is good, but buying a good dictionary may be indicated while reading this book. I regret spending more time on the English and content and not concentrating on the Spanish vocabulary as I should have.

I am a couple stories into the reader so far and am enjoying it immensely. I'm not sure what to classify my Spanish as, as I did 5 years of high school level classes, 4 years ago. If you have trouble recognizing complex verb forms, derivative words or guessing meaning from context, this will definitely be a slog.

For the more linguistic minded though, this has been a treasure trove. The early stories clearly show a very strong Latin influence, with unconventional word order (SOV) and formations (criado te he, que esperandome estaba).

From a literary perspective, the stories I've read so far have been fascinating. I had to do a double-take reading the first story from surprise at how "Grimm" it was. The endnotes are very useful and I normally look them up before checking the English translation. There are a lot of interesting cultural tidbits littered throughout the book. Who knew that Spanish had a word for a punishment of 100 lashes (un centenario) or the torture method of throwing burning fat at a person (pringar)

I would highly recommend this book for learners who can read news relatively easily or who have had some experience in Spanish literature before (was reading Allende and Márquez in high school myself). If that describes you, you will learn a lot while enjoying the ride. This is not a book for casual learners or those who would just like to improve their conversational ability. I would recommend teenage translations (Ramona en español, por ejemplo) or low level Spanish lessons on GLOSS (from the Defense Language Institute).