Short Stories in Spanish: New Penguin Parallel Text (New Penguin Parallel Texts) (Spanish and English Edition)

This book is a bit above my level, but I'm close enough that I can get a few sentences in before I have to read the translation on the right page, then a few more sentences, then check the translation. Then I go back and re-read the paragraph and it all suddenly makes sense. This is definitely giving my rusty Spanish skills a good workout. The stories are written by "real" writers, not Spanish textbook writers, so that's a big plus. The translations are not word for word, they capture the meaning of each sentence. That's fine by me as once I get the idea of the sentence and go back to the Spanish, it makes sense. I start to notice a cognate I missed the first time, or some other clue I missed to the meaning. Good practice. Great book.

I wanted a book to help me to learn spanish. I'm about 1/3 through it and its great! Stories are quick reads with very real and complex translations. It's a book in parallel text as promised. It is serving it's purpose. Get it!

I will add that if you are looking for light reading this may not be for you. This is "real" literature and requires some concentration. IMHO intermediates will find the stories challenging to read in Spanish and beginners may give up (although the English translations are worth reading as well). My favorite story was Maria dos Prazeres.

When I look for parallel text books, it is important to me that each book does an accurate job translating the original Spanish into its exact English equivalent. These books are training aids, and as such, I feel they need to uphold that accuracy as best as possible.

However, this book takes some liberties. The authors will take Spanish phrases and words, and mold them into English phrases and words that are chosen by their own taste in vocabulary. For the student who is learning one language or the other, it would seem very helpful if authors did not dance around a translation to make it sound good in English. I would much prefer a literal translation so that I can study the structure of each sentence, and note how the words are being used in context. When I read the word "tiempo precioso," I expect to see "precious time" in English, not "valuable time," or some other synonym. The latter phrase is not only used regularly in English, but it is a direct translation. This, of course, is an utmost basic example.

Once you highlight the loose interpretations in the book, you can continue studying the rest of the language. The stories are diverse and interesting enough to want to continue reading. I agree with other reviewers in that they are a bit dark in nature, but entertaining nonetheless.

I love, love, love the Allende story, but generally found the stories selected for this book dark and depressing. No matter, I'm sure that many won't agree with me. I just want to note that the vocabulary and sentence structure can be pretty challenging (I'm about intermediate), so this might not be suitable for beginners, but might be just what someone who is more advanced is looking for.