A Thousand Forests in One Acorn

Starred review from August 25, 2014
Miles compiles an impressive anthology of Spanish-language authors' self-submissions. The result, titled after an Emerson quote, is less of a definitive canon than an attempt to "root out the acorn, the driving obsession of a writer." Nevertheless, the 28 participating fiction writers represent some of the best of their respective literatures: including Carlos Fuentes (Mexican), Aurora Venturini (Argentinian), Mario Vargas Llosa (Peruvian), and Ramiro Pinilla (Spanish), among many others. Each section consists of a short biography (conveniently marked off by inked page edges), an interview, a selection of the author's choosing, and finally a bibliography of works and awards. Almost all of the selections are literary works of rare, remarkable quality, but the real pleasure is reading them in the context of the interviews. Here, authors explain their submission choice (Alberto Ruy Sánchez calls it "the pain of choosing"); they recount influences (Faulkner makes frequent appearances, as do family membersâsays Fuentes, "rite for your grandmothers wherever they are"); and they discuss everything from writing techniques to fiction's "obligation" to politics. Ordered chronologically by authors' dates of birth, the collection begins with the rich works of the most mature authors, and ends slightly less impressively with younger authors who, though worthwhile, may have yet to write their best pages. With its myriad themes, including class conflict (Esther Tusquets), disillusionment with utopian ideals (Juan Marsé), and instability of identity (Antonio Muñoz Molina), the collection amply rewards both the casual reader and the scholar seeking insight into authors' thought processes.

Starred review from August 1, 2014

Miles, an American working in Spain to provide authors in translation for a Spanish audience, conceived the idea of an anthology in English translation that roots out "the acorn, the kernel, and the driving obsession" of late 20th-century novelists writing in Spanish. Since Miles required the participation of the authors she wished to include, not all the great names are among those represented here; some of those invited (Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jose Emilio Pacheco) chose not to participate, while others (Guillermo Infante Cabrera, Daniel Sada) died just prior to the project's inception. Still others (Esther Tusquets, Carlos Fuentes) were able to participate before their recent deaths. Organized chronologically and including 28 authors altogether, this work begins with an excerpt from nonagenarian Argentine Aurora Venturini's 2008 novel Las Primas and ends with a 1992 children's story by Colombian Evelio Rosero (b. 1958). For many of these authors, Paris looms large as a literary haven (being there at the height of existentialism was the happiest time of her life, writes Venturini), as does Faulkner, without whose inspiration, Mario Vargas Llosa has written, "Latin America would not have had the modern novel." VERDICT This magnificent effort offers so much more than a conventional anthology because of the anthologist's unique interaction with her authors. Recommended for all lovers of fiction, and lovers of the Spanish language.--Jack Shreve, Chicago

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
Inspired by This Is My Best (1942), an anthology for which such authors as T. S. Eliot and William Faulkner were invited to contribute what they regarded as their finest work, this Spanish-language iteration features self-selected fiction by best-selling Spanish writers, such as Javier Mar-as and Ana Mar-a Matute. But it also includes popular authors from other Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes and Peruvian maestro Mario Vargas Llosa. Among the book's best entries are an excerpt from the Argentine writer Aurora Venturini's award-winning novel The Cousins (2008), about a girl struggling with physical and mental disabilities, and an excerpt from El Salvadoran storyteller Horacio Castellanos Moya's novel Senselessness (2004), about a writer who must confront atrocities committed against indigenous peoples of an unnamed nation. Perhaps the only drawbacks are that, of the 28 authors included, only 5 are women, and only a few hail from Central America and the Caribbean. But the editor has succeeded in assembling an exceptional anthology that provides invaluable context in the form of biographical snapshots and brief interviews with each author.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)