This biting commentary on the follies of humankind by a noted Mexican author cuts deeply yet leaves readers laughing—at themselves as well as at others. With his surgical intelligence, Juan José Arreola exposes the shams and hypocrisies, the false values and vices, the hidden diseases of society. Confabulario total, 1941–1961, of which this book is a translation, combines three earlier books—Varia invención (1949), Confabulario (1952), Punta de plata (1958)—and numerous later pieces. Although some of the pieces have a noticeably Mexican orientation, most of them transcend strictly regional themes to interpret the social scene in aspects common to all civilized cultures. Arreola’s view is not limited; much of his sophistication comes from his broad, deep, and varied knowledge of present and past, and from his almost casual use both of this knowledge and of his insight into its meaning for humanity. His familiarity with many little-known arts and sciences, numerous literatures, history, anthropology, and psychology, and his telling allusions to this rich lode of fact, increase the reader’s delight in his learned but witty, scalding but poetic, satire.

The Rabbit family is excited about going to the town fair.

The first-ever collection of Latin American science fiction in English.

Delightful stories, other material based on works of Don Juan Manuel, Luis Taboada, Ricardo Palma, other noted writers. Complete faithful English translations on facing pages. Exercises.

Presents twenty Mexican stories from the early twentieth century, including tales of fantasy, life in Mexico, history, the city, and private life by such authors as Carlos Fuentes, Elena Garro, and Juan Rulfo.

Geared toward advanced beginners, these highlights from poetry, plays, and stories by noted Spanish-language writers include works by Gabriela Mistral, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and Lope de Vega.

The three stories and one novella convey a distinct sensibility - erotic, nostalgic, visual, refined, almost French in its cerebral tenderness.