A Thousand Forests in One Acorn: An Anthology of Spanish-Language Fiction

<p>A tremendous introduction to twenty-eight of the most influential Spanish-language authors of the twentieth century, <i>A Thousand Forests in One Acorn</i> combines interviews with these authors - about their influences, about what they're trying to accomplish with their writing (the &quot;Acorn&quot;) - with each author's &quot;favorite piece ever written&quot; (the &quot;Thousand Forests&quot;) .</p><p>So, in addition to reading excerpts from Javier Marías's best works (<i>Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me</i>, <i>Dark Back of Time</i>) , you get to hear his reasons for why he thinks these are the best (the explanation for the bit from <i>Tomorrow</i> will change the way you read forever) and how his work as a translator (he translated <i>Tristram Shandy</i> into Spanish) has impacted his writing style.</p><p>Along with the Spanish-language authors who have already made a name for themselves in English - Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Enrique Vila-Matas, Ana María Matute - this collection includes a dozen authors never before translated into English. Authors like Elvio Gandolfo, whose story about a whale suddenly appearing over the town of Rosario (&quot;I tried to make something impossible, at least in terms of the physical laws and limits we are bound by at this moment in science and history, plausible&quot;) is one of the many highlights of the volume.</p><p>Great for teaching and for anyone interested in Spanish-language literature as a whole, this is an indispensible anthology - one that will influence writers for decades to come.</p><p><b>Valerie Miles</b> is the co-founder of <i>Granta en español</i> and was voted one of the &quot;Most Influential Professionals in Publishing&quot; at the 2013 Buenos Aires Book Fair.<br></p>