In The Vintage Book of Latin American Stories, Julio Ortega and Carlos Fuentes present the most compelling short fiction from Mexico to Chile. Surreal, poetic, naturalistic, urbane, peasant-born: All styles intersect and play, often within a single piece. There is "The Handsomest Drown Man in the World," the García Márquez fable of a village overcome by the power of human beauty; "The Aleph," Borges' classic tale of a man who discovers, in a colleague's cellar, the Universe. Here is the haunting shades of Juan Rulfo, the astonishing anxiety puzzles of Julio Cortázar, the disquieted domesticity of Clarice Lispector. Provocative, powerful, immensely engaging, The Vintage Book of Latin American Stories showcases the ingenuity, diversity, and continuing excellence of a vast and vivid literary tradition.

"Each and every [story in] this collection is a treasure."—The Guardian

"Latin American fiction is where serious debate can be found and, at its best, makes the contemporary English equivalent seem frivolous and lacking in courage."—The Times (London)

Table of Contents

The Aleph by Jorge Luis Borges
The Balcony by Filisberto Hernandez
The Third Bank of the River by Joao Guimaraes Rosa
The One Who Came to Save Me by Virgilio Pinera
Hell Most Feared by Juan Carlos Onetti
Luvina by Juan Rulfo
Blow-up by Julio Cortazar
Love by Clarice Lispector
Ana Maria by Jose Donoso
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Melancholic Pedestrian by Salvador Garmendia
The Wardrobe, the Old Man and Death by Julio Ramon Ribeyro
Subterranean River by Ines Arredondo
The Scissors by Antonio Benitez Rojo
Orion's Glow by Alejandro Rossi
A New Man by Luis Loayza
Bukhara Nocturne by Sergio Pitol
Getting Even by Luis Rafael Sanchez
House of Passion by Nelida Pinon
Panther Eyes by Luisa Valenzuela
The Queen by Jose Emilo Pacheco
A Brief Reappearance by Florence, This Autumn by Alfredo Bryce Echenique
The Stroke of Midnight by Jose Balza
Van Gogh's Ear by Moacry Scliar
The Cyclist of San Christobal Hill by Antonio Skarmeta
Notes from Buenos Aires by Mario Levrero
The Feast by Policarpo Varon
The Benefactor by Rodolfo Hinostroza
The Centerfielder by Sergio Ramirez
Naturally by Maria Luisa Puga
Mirror Images by Hernan Lara Zavala
from Big-Eyed Woman by Angeles Mastretta
Taxi Driver, Minus Robert De Niro by Fernando Ampuero
Don't Tell Her You Love Her by Senel Paz
Voice of the Water by Alberto Ruy Sanchez
from Naturalazas menores by Antonio Lopez Ortega
Coyote by Juan Villoro
National Sovereignty by Rodrigo Fresan
Clamour by Pablo Soler Frost

 
Carlos Fuentes is the author of more than a dozen novels. He lives in Mexico and London. Julio Ortega is a professor of Hispanic Studies at Brown University.