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A Thousand Forests in One Acorn: An Anthology of Spanish-Language Fiction
This collection brings together twenty-eight of the greatest Spanish writers of the twentieth century, from Aurora Venturini--who received a prize from Borges as a young girl--to Carlos Fuentes to Horacio Castellanos Moya. Each author is interviewed about his/her influences and about why the section s/he selected is "the high-point" of his/her career. Excellent introduction to contemporary Spanish literature.
717 pages, Paperback
First published August 18, 2014
9 people are currently reading
336 people want to read
About the author
Valerie Miles
29 books3 followersValerie Miles, an editor, writer, translator, and professor, is the cofounding editor of the literary journal Granta in Spanish.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 29, 2014
An excellent anthology of contemporary Spanish literature!
I received this book as a gift while visiting Washington DC and while at first I thought it would be something to shove on to my bookshelf and forget about until the time comes to rid myself of excess clutter, I ended up being very impressed with and interested in the contents.
First of all, it is important to note that I am someone who has studied Spanish and Spanish Literature during my undergrad. As I perused the names of the authors whose works were featured in the book I was interested to see names that I recognized from my studies. Valerie Miles, creator of "A Thousand Forests in One Acorn", chose which authors would be included in the book, but then the authors themselves chose which of their works would be highlighted in their sections along with an explanation on why those works resonated with them.
I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in contemporary Spanish literature - whether they have studied it, or whether they want an introduction.
I received this book as a gift while visiting Washington DC and while at first I thought it would be something to shove on to my bookshelf and forget about until the time comes to rid myself of excess clutter, I ended up being very impressed with and interested in the contents.
First of all, it is important to note that I am someone who has studied Spanish and Spanish Literature during my undergrad. As I perused the names of the authors whose works were featured in the book I was interested to see names that I recognized from my studies. Valerie Miles, creator of "A Thousand Forests in One Acorn", chose which authors would be included in the book, but then the authors themselves chose which of their works would be highlighted in their sections along with an explanation on why those works resonated with them.
I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in contemporary Spanish literature - whether they have studied it, or whether they want an introduction.
July 20, 2015
DISCLAIMER: I am the publisher of the book and thus spent approximately two years reading and editing and working on it. So take my review with a grain of salt, or the understanding that I am deeply invested in this text and know it quite well. Also, I would really appreciate it if you would purchase this book, since it would benefit Open Letter directly.
October 20, 2014
A must for any library and any reader interested in Spanish literature. From a publisher known for an excellent catalog of authors, this surpasses expectation. As an admirer of Javier Marías, I found the section on him and the selection of his work picked by him to be revelatory. My book of the year so far.
October 25, 2022
3.5/5
Back in the day, when I didn't view GR giveaways as complete and brownnosing wastes of corporate shitsuck time, I got my hands on a copy of this and a handful of other works. Several years of pre-21st century reading focus later, I got around to this, having by then read a few (Llosa, Marías, Moya) and heard more than a bit about others (Vila-Matas, Fuentes) and all in all being in a solid position to know what I was getting into, but not so much that it was repetitive. 700 pages later, I even came out with a couple of names that would be well worth following up on (however difficult it proves to find works already translated into English), but something I couldn't help but notice is how malingeringly status quo samey most of this collection is. Sure, plenty of the authors unroll the spiel of European/Neo European white dudes in their nonfictional expositions and accrue lots of weird experimentalisms and horrific themes during the course of their selected holistic excerpts, but if you didn't already know about Galeano or Castellanos or Donosos with their revolutions in sexuality/race/history, you'd be hard pressed to imagine that they have ever existed among their comparatively lauded but awfully milquetoast writing compatriots. Plenty of names to the pot, but the fact that the hand of the US and fellow disaster capitalism beneficiaries lies so heavily on all of it sucks a great deal of its potential out of it, and makes me wonder about the ideological tenor of Open Letters as a whole.
Out of the bunch, the writing of Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio, Esther Tusquetsl and to a lesser extent Elvio E. Gandolfo stood out the most to me. If any of those names ring a familiar bell to you, congrats, you're far better quipped to handle this anthology with any sort of insight or skill than I am. Given that, I took each writer that I hadn't read anything of in stride as much as their individual histories and choices in inspiration aligned with my previous knowledge about history and literary tradition, and as hinted at earlier, I didn't spend much time giving the authors any benefit of the doubt that they didn't earn through the course of the excerpts include in their section. In the realm of Ferlosio, I was taken back into a realm where world building was done step by step and the thread of plot was wound as tight around community as it was drawn to a breaking point through calamity, and the fact that his excerpt was drawn from an untranslated work was rather heartbreaking. Tusquets has to stand out as the best of the bunch, as her inspiration from Woolf drew as much from the syntax as it did from the sexuality, and if there's one type of work I am pulled as rabidly towards as if it were my raison d'être, it's older queer works hidden in the translated rough. And finally, Gandolfo, whom I haven't committed to any work by (if there are indeed any translated into English at this point), but who demonstrated some of the most brilliant applications of the principles of science fiction that I would be remiss if I didn't track a proper read of his down before I finally croaked. Three out of twenty-eight, none of whom I had encountered before whether in prose or in reputation, and considering what I had to say about the anthology as a whole, I'm rather pleased with this handful of quality results that promise worlds beyond what I may have, without the benefit of this collection, gone an entire lifetime without ever experiencing.
Over time, I've discovered that, compared to getting through a work by a single sole author, a great deal more effort is necessary if I want to make it out of this kind of anthology with more than just a blur of names and a paltry sense of success nearly overwhelmed by a general feel of mediocrity. This particular piece wears its biases on its sleeves, mayhaps even lending credence to the idea that, in a hellscape like this, the conservatives live longer, whether out of yellow-bellied selfishness or blissfully equivocating complacency. As demonstrated, I found some spots of significant worth despite all that, but given how little of all three authors has made its way into English translation, it makes me wonder what an anthology of Spanish literature would look like on the other side of the coin would look like: the ones who lived hard, died young, painted themselves so deeply on the insides of their country's heritage and did not give a single fuck about the hand that feeds that their names are still honored amongst the autonomous communities and anarchist solidarities that cleave to writing for its inherent flesh and blood, not for a dusty pile of names and dried up countries an ocean away. Indeed, were such a collection put together (if it hasn't been already), there's little chance of it being translated into English. And that, reader, would be for the best.
Back in the day, when I didn't view GR giveaways as complete and brownnosing wastes of corporate shitsuck time, I got my hands on a copy of this and a handful of other works. Several years of pre-21st century reading focus later, I got around to this, having by then read a few (Llosa, Marías, Moya) and heard more than a bit about others (Vila-Matas, Fuentes) and all in all being in a solid position to know what I was getting into, but not so much that it was repetitive. 700 pages later, I even came out with a couple of names that would be well worth following up on (however difficult it proves to find works already translated into English), but something I couldn't help but notice is how malingeringly status quo samey most of this collection is. Sure, plenty of the authors unroll the spiel of European/Neo European white dudes in their nonfictional expositions and accrue lots of weird experimentalisms and horrific themes during the course of their selected holistic excerpts, but if you didn't already know about Galeano or Castellanos or Donosos with their revolutions in sexuality/race/history, you'd be hard pressed to imagine that they have ever existed among their comparatively lauded but awfully milquetoast writing compatriots. Plenty of names to the pot, but the fact that the hand of the US and fellow disaster capitalism beneficiaries lies so heavily on all of it sucks a great deal of its potential out of it, and makes me wonder about the ideological tenor of Open Letters as a whole.
Out of the bunch, the writing of Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio, Esther Tusquetsl and to a lesser extent Elvio E. Gandolfo stood out the most to me. If any of those names ring a familiar bell to you, congrats, you're far better quipped to handle this anthology with any sort of insight or skill than I am. Given that, I took each writer that I hadn't read anything of in stride as much as their individual histories and choices in inspiration aligned with my previous knowledge about history and literary tradition, and as hinted at earlier, I didn't spend much time giving the authors any benefit of the doubt that they didn't earn through the course of the excerpts include in their section. In the realm of Ferlosio, I was taken back into a realm where world building was done step by step and the thread of plot was wound as tight around community as it was drawn to a breaking point through calamity, and the fact that his excerpt was drawn from an untranslated work was rather heartbreaking. Tusquets has to stand out as the best of the bunch, as her inspiration from Woolf drew as much from the syntax as it did from the sexuality, and if there's one type of work I am pulled as rabidly towards as if it were my raison d'être, it's older queer works hidden in the translated rough. And finally, Gandolfo, whom I haven't committed to any work by (if there are indeed any translated into English at this point), but who demonstrated some of the most brilliant applications of the principles of science fiction that I would be remiss if I didn't track a proper read of his down before I finally croaked. Three out of twenty-eight, none of whom I had encountered before whether in prose or in reputation, and considering what I had to say about the anthology as a whole, I'm rather pleased with this handful of quality results that promise worlds beyond what I may have, without the benefit of this collection, gone an entire lifetime without ever experiencing.
Over time, I've discovered that, compared to getting through a work by a single sole author, a great deal more effort is necessary if I want to make it out of this kind of anthology with more than just a blur of names and a paltry sense of success nearly overwhelmed by a general feel of mediocrity. This particular piece wears its biases on its sleeves, mayhaps even lending credence to the idea that, in a hellscape like this, the conservatives live longer, whether out of yellow-bellied selfishness or blissfully equivocating complacency. As demonstrated, I found some spots of significant worth despite all that, but given how little of all three authors has made its way into English translation, it makes me wonder what an anthology of Spanish literature would look like on the other side of the coin would look like: the ones who lived hard, died young, painted themselves so deeply on the insides of their country's heritage and did not give a single fuck about the hand that feeds that their names are still honored amongst the autonomous communities and anarchist solidarities that cleave to writing for its inherent flesh and blood, not for a dusty pile of names and dried up countries an ocean away. Indeed, were such a collection put together (if it hasn't been already), there's little chance of it being translated into English. And that, reader, would be for the best.
August 4, 2015
Like an Enrique Vila-Matas novel, I am going to run with a theme and see where that journey takes me. Whilst not specifically participating in Spanish Literature month, I did manage to read a few Spanish (and a Catalan) works, and towards the end of July I took the journey to Kassel and the dOCUMENTA 13 event, through the words of Vila-Matas. I was entranced, I had joined him on his journey to find Europe, to push the artistic boundaries and to explore the avant-garde. So where to next? Simple really, read Enrique Vila-Matas’ contribution to “A Thousand Forests In One Acorn”.
This is a book celebrating Spanish Literature and is specifically a work featuring twenty-eight living writers (they were all living at the time the work was compiled, however unfortunately a couple have passed away since). Each writer is set the challenge of identifying their key or favourite pieces they have written explain why they are favoured, talk about their literary influences and in the majority of cases answer Valerie Miles’ questions (the imagination, editor and presenter of this project). Then the work in question is presented, finishing up with a bibliography of their works and a listing of the writer’s awards and recognitions. As the Prologue explains, this behemoth, weighing in at over 700 large, small font, pages, the works of only established writers was considered as it is assumed younger writers may not have reached (or be able to identify with) the peak of their powers as yet, and therefore may not have created their favourite piece.
Given my yearning for more Vila-Matas, I jumped straight into this work with his offering, a section from “Because She Didn’t Ask”. This is again a first person narration of Vila_Matas writing a story for Sophie Calle, who will live out the story for at the most one full year. Sophie Calle is a French writer, photographer, conceptual and installation artist, one of her well known traits is to follow strangers and investigate their private lives. She has collaborated with writer Paul Auster, specifically asking him to invent a fictive character which she would attempt to resemble. In fact Enrique Vila-Matas mentions the Paul Auster connection with his fictional meeting of Calle in Paris. In Vila-Matas’ work, Auster had declined the invitation he is will to accept. As per “The Illogic of Kassel” the notebook style of our writer reveals the delays to the project, what this does to his own creative process and the onset of writer’s block. Again another revelation of the art of writing, the creative process, the art of literature:
For my full review go to http://messybooker.blogspot.com.au/20...
This is a book celebrating Spanish Literature and is specifically a work featuring twenty-eight living writers (they were all living at the time the work was compiled, however unfortunately a couple have passed away since). Each writer is set the challenge of identifying their key or favourite pieces they have written explain why they are favoured, talk about their literary influences and in the majority of cases answer Valerie Miles’ questions (the imagination, editor and presenter of this project). Then the work in question is presented, finishing up with a bibliography of their works and a listing of the writer’s awards and recognitions. As the Prologue explains, this behemoth, weighing in at over 700 large, small font, pages, the works of only established writers was considered as it is assumed younger writers may not have reached (or be able to identify with) the peak of their powers as yet, and therefore may not have created their favourite piece.
Given my yearning for more Vila-Matas, I jumped straight into this work with his offering, a section from “Because She Didn’t Ask”. This is again a first person narration of Vila_Matas writing a story for Sophie Calle, who will live out the story for at the most one full year. Sophie Calle is a French writer, photographer, conceptual and installation artist, one of her well known traits is to follow strangers and investigate their private lives. She has collaborated with writer Paul Auster, specifically asking him to invent a fictive character which she would attempt to resemble. In fact Enrique Vila-Matas mentions the Paul Auster connection with his fictional meeting of Calle in Paris. In Vila-Matas’ work, Auster had declined the invitation he is will to accept. As per “The Illogic of Kassel” the notebook style of our writer reveals the delays to the project, what this does to his own creative process and the onset of writer’s block. Again another revelation of the art of writing, the creative process, the art of literature:
For my full review go to http://messybooker.blogspot.com.au/20...
July 24, 2014
I received this book compliments of Open Letter - the University of Rochester's nonprofit, literary translation press - through the Goodreads First Reads program. The opinions are my own.
Valerie Miles assembled work by twenty-eight authors, but not just any samples. These are the writers own selections of his or her fiction with short explanations for the choices. Of the twenty-eight authors I was intrigued, amused, enchanted, puzzled or saddened by all - and bored or annoyed by none (which was a real surprise). I was not familiar with most of these writers from Spain and Latin America whose output ranges from the 1940's to the present. Some spent time in exile, quite a few use fiction to address political issues faced by everyday people. Then there are begging baboons, a very human ghost and disappearing pigeons. And always the problem of being human. Like a box of very fine chocolates this book is wonderful, but so rich it demands small bites, to be savored at leisure. I not only want to re-read many of the pieces in this book, but to be on the lookout for more of these writer's works - and thanks to the translator's who make this possible.
Valerie Miles assembled work by twenty-eight authors, but not just any samples. These are the writers own selections of his or her fiction with short explanations for the choices. Of the twenty-eight authors I was intrigued, amused, enchanted, puzzled or saddened by all - and bored or annoyed by none (which was a real surprise). I was not familiar with most of these writers from Spain and Latin America whose output ranges from the 1940's to the present. Some spent time in exile, quite a few use fiction to address political issues faced by everyday people. Then there are begging baboons, a very human ghost and disappearing pigeons. And always the problem of being human. Like a box of very fine chocolates this book is wonderful, but so rich it demands small bites, to be savored at leisure. I not only want to re-read many of the pieces in this book, but to be on the lookout for more of these writer's works - and thanks to the translator's who make this possible.
February 12, 2015
As far as anthologies go, this book is pretty handy, since each story has a little introduction, an interview the editor made with each author, then ends with a list of other books the author wrote. It was cute: the acorn is in the interview than the thousand forests are the stories.
The material fit in nicely with what I know of the Spanish Civil War (from my World Communism studies) and, like, Cuba and everywhere else Spanish is regularly spoken. I was surprised to find only 3 of the 28 stories were from Mexico, since most of the Spanish I have encountered IRL is Mexican Spanish, i.e. the neighbours just down the road.
It is just a set of stories in the Spanish realm, so some automatically are awesome while others are less-so.
The material fit in nicely with what I know of the Spanish Civil War (from my World Communism studies) and, like, Cuba and everywhere else Spanish is regularly spoken. I was surprised to find only 3 of the 28 stories were from Mexico, since most of the Spanish I have encountered IRL is Mexican Spanish, i.e. the neighbours just down the road.
It is just a set of stories in the Spanish realm, so some automatically are awesome while others are less-so.
July 23, 2014
This is a brilliantly formatted collection of works, representative of the best of Spanish literature. What makes it unique is that each author has chosen what he (or she) considers to be their best work. The included bibliography of each author's work is an invaluable resource.
I would have loved it if the book included the Spanish-language version of each story along with the translation. But considering the size the book has reached with only the translations included, that would have made for a formidable volume!
I would have loved it if the book included the Spanish-language version of each story along with the translation. But considering the size the book has reached with only the translations included, that would have made for a formidable volume!
July 3, 2014
An amazing collection. Not only are nearly all of the selections poignant and leave you begging for more, but each comes with an awesome summary of the author, their works, and why the selections were chosen. Each selection was chosen by the author as "their best work".... which is pretty remarkable. I strongly reccomend this book, particularly for people who have just begun to dive into the world of (translated) Spanish literature.
December 31, 2014
This is an amazing anthology. All of the works were chosen by the authors themselves. And every single one makes me want to read more. In addition to excellent fiction, each section also has a short bio of the author and a short excerpt of an interview with the author explaining something about the piece they chose. So good.
July 17, 2015
A great collection of European, and Latin American Spanish writers who are introduced by Valerie Miles. The writers in turn introduce their choice of material and discuss any influence on their writing. I've discovered writers that I have overlooked and add them to my growing list of to-read writers.
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October 10, 2014860.8 M637 2014
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September 25, 2015This book was featured in the Nota Benes section of the March/April 2015 issue of World Literature Today Magazine.
http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...
May 29, 2023
Take a drink every time a writer is influenced by Faulkner. Now go home, you're drunk.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews