Mario Benedetti, a Uruguayan writer, is well known in South America and Mexico. This is one of his rare collections available in English. This story collection presents a perspective not often used by US writers: that underlying paranoia, cycnicism, fatalism that anyone who has lived through the dictators and hyperinflation and tragic history of South America and Central America is well acquainted with. With recent events, many who have never had to live in fear are now faced with the kinds of dark powers that many others in our world have known for years. Notwithstanding the darker tone and sadness he evokes, the writing is superb and highly recommended.

"Benedetti is Uruguay's most important current writer."--Multicultural Review

"This superb collection...brings together tales of urban romance and political strife from the beloved Uruguayan writer. The fictions, most only a few pages long, are masterful in form, at once succinct and evocative. Many of the early tales...are reminiscent of Kafka-though with none of the weighty mood. Benedetti's language is light and playful..., full of humorous generosity to the reader." --Review of Contemporary Fiction

"What remains...is the singular and surprising nature of Benedetti's stories." --The New York Times Book Review

Uruguayan author Mario Benedetti, one of the most prolific and respected Latin American writers, is little known in the U.S.A. Of 50 years worth of fiction, plays and essays, the two novels published here are long out of print. This collection of 27 short stories should go a long way to bringing him the larger English-speaking audience he so merits.

Benedetti's early work (1940s and 50s) was rooted in and reflective of the middle class milieu of Montevideo. Like all successful regionalists, his keen eye and ear for local ideosyncracy could be bitingly on- target, while transcending the specific to express universal themes. The upheavals of the 1960s added a political focus that was sharpened when he was exiled (and his work banned) as a result of Uruguay's 1973 coup. His writings on political repression and on expatriate life display the same combination of dry irony and warm compassion as his earlier work; while themes change, there is a continuity of artistic vision.

Having enjoyed Benedetti in Spanish, I can recommend this collection. It offers a good cross-section, ranging from 1949 to 1987. I paid particular attention to translation on three of my favorites: "The Budget," a wickedly funny sendup of stultified bureaucracy; "Requiem Over Tea," a beautiful, sad story as told by a 13 year old; "Just Kidding," the chilling tale of a joke gone awry in the era of wiretaps and detention. Throughout, the author's original rythms, his strong sense of narrative voice, and distinctive use of vernacular came across very well.

Piglia muestra que es un explorador de nuevas formas narrativas, pero la lectura de este libro y de otros suyos nos deja ver a un autor que no se deja leer con facilidad, que es críptico; debe ser leido con mucha atención, con papel y lapiz en la mano para seguir sus tramas y personajes y eso no es un virtud en un escritor.