 | ISBN: 978-08419-1411-7 $21.95 | |
| 2001/130 pages Distributed for Holmes and Meier Publishers | ||
Carme Riera, hailed as a dominant literary force in Spain, has long merited recognition in other countries. Her prose, with all its intricacy, humor, and grace, has been skillfully transported from Castilian and Catalan to English, and has been brought to our shores with its riches intatct. The seven short stories in this collection focus on a broad range of characters—predominantly female—from the intelectually sophisticated to the plain and domestic, from younger to older, and each is given a perfect voice.
In "A Matter of Self-Esteem," Angela, a writer in her late forties, falls passionately in love with Miguel, who humiliates her by using their brief affair as material for a novel in which she is caricatured—Angela puts into play a revenge that is sheer genius. In "Against Love in Company," Coral Flora, a teenager who is a gifted erotic poet marries a seventy-year-old man who cannot satify her sexually—she discovers a quite simple solution. In all the stories, Riera weaves her seductive web; the reader can do nothing less than be drawn into it.
"Carme Riera's short stories are as intense and taut as a perfect poem."—Llibres (Barcelona)
"At all times [Riera] shows a mastery of stylistic devices, a wealth of different voices. Her words flow easily between life and literature, between reality and fiction, but always spurred on by her quest for freedom, her need for uncovering the truth that lies beneath."——Lucia Graves, author of A Woman Unknown: Voices from a Spanish Life
"Issues of authenticity and fidelity are the core material of this attractive collection of six short stories and a novella.... Sophisticated and fun." —Kirkus Reviews
“The stories in this collection, with their intricacy, humor, and grace, are now skillfully transported from Castilian and Catalan into English, bringing a broad range of predominantly female characters with distinct, unforgettable voices.” —Translation Review