This one is a collection of slightly odd stories with a variety of amusing (and mostly contrived) plot lines and characters. The only ‘exemplary’ story for me was ‘The Dogs' Colloquy’, a dialogue featuring two talking canines as protagonists. Although the other five also convey fascinating narratives on a range of social issues in the 16th century Spain, they ultimately unravel into an otherwise forgettable slog of a story. I found some of them, especially ‘The Jealous Extremaduran’ supremely un...

The "Exemplary Novels" are twelve entertaining short stories and novellas by the author of Don Quixote. They are not novels, nor are they exemplary, as there is no moral lesson in them. Many characters commit crimes and neither suffer punishment for them nor feel any remorse for them. The world of the stories is one in which nearly everyone is a rogue or a noble, and sometimes both. Some of the stories contain social criticism, especially the last story (a conversation between two dogs), but if

So, out of boredom, I grabbed this unread book off of my shelf and puttered through it for a while. The translation seemed a little stilted and awkward, but hey, whatevs. Then, I got to the story "The Glass Graduate", a story that had been recommended to me (well over a year ago by a friend). And then I quit, because I remembered a)what the story was about b) why the story had come up in conversation and c) why, when I left SF, I didn't go out of my way to stay in contact w/ that friend. In shor...

Flashes of brilliance cannot but emphasise the drudgery of reading most of these novellas.

How disgraceful is it that the only reason I can come up with to actually learn Spanish is to be able to read one writer's oeuvre in full? I refer to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, of course, author of my favorite book of all time, "Don Quixote". (Probably, and only if this were the gun test, in which I had to select only one at the risk of death. This is a secret. Do not tell anyone I said this. It is like choosing favorites among your children.) Many of his lesser known works have not even been...

Very much sub-Quixote; only the closing episode (‘Dialogue of the Dogs’) can quite enter the same precociously postmodern space of meta-comment and auto-analysis. Otherwise we’ve a set of tales that are sometimes amusing, but as often beset by contrived plotting and structural weaknesses. The second story, as an example, seems set to introduce a context without providing it any impetus or direction; an intriguing beginning begins to dwindle, and then simply goes out, promising a sequel in which

Some of these tales are exemplary, but not all. Therefore, in the picaresque spirit, I've decided to give them an overall 4 gold ducato's (which I'll take back, thank you kindly). Now onto the reviews. The Little Gypsy Girl - This is probably the most epic of all The Exemplary Tales, and the one you imagine would be made into a full-length picture as opposed to a short film. Who would direct it? Probably Visconti. Narratively it blends poetry and prose better than the other stories, and introduc...

Yet another book I had to read in Spanish when I was in college. I took a semester long course called "Novelas Ejemplares" (the name in Spanish) and that's all we read. I really don't rememeber one detail of one story-how sad! I'm giving it three stars to be fair since I don't think I hated it, but who knows!

4.5Full of stories that enchant from the first sentence, inviting the reader to settle in, listen well, because one of the masters is going to tell a story. It's not always a happy ending for a modern reader; some of the heroines end up with men who eminently do not deserve them and some of the characters say bigoted things. However, Cervantes also gives us savvy talking dogs, characters who leap over religious differences, and eloquently sassy heroines.

This is a collection of mostly straightforward stories similar to earlier Italian novellas, but I did appreciate “The Glass Graduate” for its portrayal of the glass delusion and “The Dialogue of the Dogs” for being a picaresque story with a hero akin to Marryat’s Snarleyyow or London’s White Fang—but appearing much earlier and told in dialogue form.

Don Quixote is undoubtedly one of the greatest novels ever written. Cervantes shorter works don't work as well and are much less even than what we get in Don Quixote. A few of the stories really shine, while others like, "the glass graduate" are more interesting in concept than execution.It also hasn't aged as well as DQ in it's treatment of the lower class and minorities. In some ways it is very sympathetic to them, but in others it is disappointing.

ESPAÑOL: Excelente conjunto de 12 novelas cortas. Mi preferida es "La señora Cornelia", y la que menos me gustó "La fuerza de la sangre".ENGLISH: Excellent set of twelve short novels. I liked most "La señora Cornelia" and least "La fuerza de la sangre".

In the introduction, the translator argues that had Cervantes never dreamed up and written Don Quixote, his fame would be just as great for having written these short novels. I agree. They're charming, funny, moving, inventive and, above all, entertaining. The characters tell many stories that make up each piece, too, something I loved about the design of the grand tome. If you enjoyed that, you'll find much to savor here. This edition features ink drawings, songs, poems, a melodious translation...

I read this as part of a year long project to read or re-read the books on my book shelves and move them out of my house in the tiniest effort to downsize all of my stuff! I'm not sure why it was on my bookshelves to begin with? I love the classics and read them often, but this isn't something I would have just picked up to read. Not to mention three of the stories were checked off in blue ink in the table of contents. Strange all the way around. Maybe I had to read those stories for my undergra...

Don Quixote ranks amongst my all-time favorite books. Despite being written in the early XVII century, the satire and complete irreverence toward literary codes give the story a very modern feel. There is no doubt Cervantes was a visionaire and a genius. Actually, he was also very much aware of his own talent and did not hesitate to proclaim it. But what he lacked in humility, he certainly made up for in wit.I was very happy to find a lot of this modernity, wit, and irreverence in this collectio...

My critique of Cervantes is the same as María de Zayas's critique of him, and she does it better. But anyway: no amount of delightful play with form will make up for inattention to content. Even the one where the characters are literally dogs involves one of them raping his wife! Would it kill him (or any other male author from this period) to accord women some interiority for five seconds?????Anyway. Some funny jokes, I guess, if you can overlook all the racism and misogyny, but why would you?

AcknowledgementsIntroduction & Suggestions for Further Reading--The Little Gipsy Girl--Rinconete and Cortadillo--The Glass Graduate--The Jealous Extremaduran--The Deceitful Marriage--The Dogs' Colloquy

Exemplary Stories is an excellent collection of novellas written by a legendary author Cervantes. Many novellas follow adventures of nobleman, often featuring a Cinderella moment. Similar to his famous novel, these prose works often feature brilliant social satire, excellent syntax, wonderful humour and word play. For today standard they might seem a bit old-fashioned to a modern reader, but at the time of the publications some of them were absolutely revolutionary. Some of these novellas are mo...

The variety of stories in this collection of novellas by Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, is impressive. The first is about a young nobleman who falls in love with a beautiful gypsy girl but must become a gypsy in order to be with her. The next is about a love triangle set in the the Barbary Slave Trade, in which over a million Europeans were enslaved by North African Muslim pirates between 1500-1800, Cervantes himself being perhaps the most famous victim. Another is about a Spanish girl ra...

Again with the Serbian edition "Reč i misao", which takes the classic collection of short stories, just picks a few from the whole, and present it as a complete book. It is frustrating and confusing. And the translation still sucks. But Cervantes' short stories ARE good. Much of "Spanish spirit" is poured into their core. First one of the 3 presented in this invalid edition is by far the best one, a witty and naughty story about jealousy and lust. Second story is still good, and 3rd completely f...