Book picks similar to
Arroz y Tartana by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez


clásicos
spanish-literature
español
spanish

La Metamorfosis y Carta Al Padre


Franz Kafka - 1915
    The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a giant "monstrous vermin." This is a compilation of Metamorphosis and Letter to his father, dealing with the struggle between father and son, or a scorned individual's pleading innocence in front of remote figures of authority.

The Women's War


Alexandre Dumas - 1840
    For while the naïve Gascon soldier cares little for the politics behind the battles, he is torn apart by a deep passion for two powerful women on opposing sides of the war: Nanon de Lartigues, a keen supporter of the Queen Regent Anne of Austria, and the Victomtesse de Cambes, who supports the rebellious forces of the Princess de Condé. Set around Bordeaux during the first turbulent years of the reign of Louis XIV, The Women's War sees two women taking central stage in a battle for all France. Humorous, dramatic and romantic, it offers a compelling exploration of political intrigue, the power of redemption, the force of love and the futility of war.

The Poems of St. John of the Cross


John of the Cross
    Passionate, ecstatic, and spiritual, his poems are a blend of exquisite lyricism and profound mystical thought. In The Poems of St. John of the Cross John Frederick Nims presents his superlative translation of the complete poems, re-creating the religious fervor of St. John's art.This dual-language edition makes available the original Spanish from the Codex of Sanlúcon de Barrameda with facing English translations. The work concludes with two essays—a critique of the poetry and a short piece on the Spanish text that appears alongside the translation—as well as brief notes on the individual poems.

Such Small Hands


Andrés Barba - 2008
    She is different from the other girls: at once an outcast and object of fascination. As Marina struggles to find her place, she invents a game whose rules are dictated by a haunting violence. Written in hypnotic, lyrical prose, alternating between Marina’s perspective and the choral we of the other girls, Such Small Hands evokes the pain of loss and the hunger for acceptance.

The Immortal Collection


Eva García Sáenz - 2012
    Iago and his family are longevos—people who never seem to age after reaching adulthood. The ancient family is divided: Iago’s brother and sister seek the source of their longevity in hopes of creating more like themselves, while Iago and his father fear the repercussions of the true Fountain of Youth.A dangerous game of power and knowledge that has played out over eons becomes even more complicated when Adriana attracts both brothers’ attention—and learns their secret.Filled with science, history, and passion, The Immortal Collection transports the reader through time and space, from the days of cavemen, through the Roaring Twenties, to the charming plazas of contemporary Spain. Ancient history meets cutting-edge research in this modern love story and sweeping historical saga.

The Wrong Man


John Katzenbach - 2006
    But he becomes uneasy after finding an anonymous love letter hidden in his daughter's room: "No one could ever love you like I do. No one ever will. We will be together forever. One way or another." But the reality of Ashley's plight far exceeds Scott's worst suspicions. One drink too many had led Ashley, a beautiful, bright art student, into what she thought was just a fling with a blue-collar bad boy. But now, no amount of pleading or reasoning can discourage his phone calls, ardent e-mails, and constant, watchful gaze. Michael O'Connell is but a malignant shadow of a man. His brash, handsome features conceal a black and empty soul. Control is his religion. Cunning and criminal skill are his stock-in-trade. Rage is his language. The harder Ashley tries to break free, the deeper Michael burrows into every aspect of her life, so she turns in desperation to her divorced parents and her mother's new partner-three people still locked in a coldly civilized triangle of resentment. But their fierce devotion to Ashley is the common bond that will draw them together to face down a predator. For Ashley's family, it is a test of primal love that will drive them to the extreme edge-and beyond-in a battle of wills that escalates into a life-or-death war to protect their own. From the bestselling master of suspense, John Katzenbach, The "Wrong Man" is an elegantly crafted and breathtakingly intense read that asks the question, "How far would you go to save the child you love?"

Silk


Alessandro Baricco - 1996
    It is the 1860s; Japan is closed to foreigners and this has to be a clandestine operation. During his undercover negotiations with the local baron, Joncour's attention is arrested by the man's concubine, a girl who does not have Oriental eyes. Although the young Frenchman and the girl are unable to exchange so much as a word, love blossoms between them, conveyed by a number of recondite messages in the course of four visits the Frenchman pays to Japan. How their secret affair develops and how it unfolds is told in a narration as beautiful, smooth and seamless as a piece of the finest silk.

Canaima


Rómulo Gallegos - 1935
    The book describes life in early-20th century Venezuela, a world of gold, diamonds and raw rubber, white foreigners and African slaves.

Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair


Pablo Neruda - 1924
    W. S. Merwin's incomparable translation faces the original Spanish text. Now in a black-spine Classics edition with an introduction by Cristina Garcia, this book stands as an essential collection that continues to inspire lovers and poets around the world.The most popular work by Chile's Nobel Prize-winning poet, and the subject of Pablo Larraín's acclaimed feature film Neruda starring Gael García Bernal.

Through My Window


Ariana Godoy
    It's always just been her and her mom, and that's kept Raquel on the straight and narrow. After all, she's only got one goal - to become a psychologist. Well, that and to get Ares Hildago to notice her.For as long as Raquel can remember, she has been obsessed with Ares - known to everyone as the rich, hot, popular playboy. Even though he lives next door, Raquel has never spoken to Ares. Yet, she can't help thinking there's more to him...and she can't help imagining what it'd feel like to kiss him.After a chance encounter reveals her crush is anything but unrequited, their steamy attraction grows into what can only be described as hands-down hot. They fall hard and fast for one another.Raquel is all in with Ares. But Ares can't, or won't, commit, as his struggle with personal and family responsibilities leaves little room for falling in love. The will-they-won't-they tension is killing her, and it may just kill what they have.What burns bright burns fast, but for Ares and Raquel, can it last?

The Frost on His Shoulders


Lorenzo Mediano - 2012
    He alone can penetrate appearances and grasp the iron laws determining the lives of all those who live in this place—this valley where nature is miserly and leaves little room for poetic contemplation or an excess of feelings. He alone remembers his protégé, Ramón, a shepherd, who, no more than a child, fell in love with Alba, the only daughter of the region’s most powerful and influential landowner. The rich and powerful conspire to thwart the love between Ramón and Alba, and in doing so they incite a feud that will extend beyond all reason. Thus begins a vigorous, dramatic story of rebellion and a heroic quest for freedom.

Gasoline


Quim Monzó - 1983
    One couldn't care less about his mistress, the other swoops in. A fun-house mirror through which Monzó examines the creative process.

Cold Skin


Albert Sánchez Piñol - 2002
    When he arrives, the predecessor he is meant to replace is missing and a deeply disturbed stranger is barricaded in a heavily fortified lighthouse. At first adversaries, the two find that their tenuous partnership may be the only way they survive the unspeakably horrific reptilian creatures that ravage the island at night, attacking the lighthouse in their organized effort to find warm-blooded food. Armed with a battery of ammunition and explosives, the weather official and his new ally must confront their increasingly murderous mentality, and, when the possibility of a kind of truce presents itself, decide what kind of island they will inhabit. Equal parts Stephen King, a phantasmagorical Robinson Crusoe, and Lord of the Flies, Cold Skin is literary horror that deals with the basest forms of human behavior imaginable, while exploring why we so vehemently fear the Other.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Poems


Juana Inés de la Cruz - 1985
    Bilingual edition in Spanish and English. Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden. Margaret Sayers Peden, who is well known and respected for her translations of Fuentes, Neruda, Quiroga, and Paz, has made an admirable selection of poems that includes romances, redondillas, epigrams, decimas, sonnets, silvas, villancicos, and two excerpts from Sor Juana's theater. The introduction and notes provide the necessary context for those unfamiliar with the poet's life and times. "Her sprightly English versions of these technically exacting poems...would, I am sure of it, have pleased Sor Juana herself"--Alastair Reid.

First and Last


Truman Capote - 1995
    Contains two short stories that trace the course of a great writer's life and his relationship with New York: 'Master Misery' (an early story) and 'La Cote Basque' (part of his scandalous and unfinished final novel).