Peruvian Traditions

by Ricardo Palma and Ricardo Palmas

Book Overview

Peruvian author Ricardo Palma (1838-1919) was one of the most popular and imitated writers in Latin America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As head of the National Library in Lima, Palma had access to a rich source of historical books and manuscripts. His historical miscellanies, which he called "traditions," are witty anecdotes about conquerors, viceroys, corrupt and lovelorn friars, tragic loves and notorious characters...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195159098
• ISBN13: 9780195159097
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 3.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A delight!

These short-stories from the 19th century are often treated as "classics that I will get around to reading someday...after I cut my toenails for the 645th time." Treating them this way is a huge mistake. The stories are very, very funny, and Ricardo Palma is quite the ironic satirist. And beyond the humor value, many of the stories provide clever insights into life in colonial Peru as well as during the early 19th century. People who love Latin American literature owe it to themselves to read these; they offer a great counterpoint to the bromide that much of 19th century Latin American literature is ponderous.

Hermosos relatos

Este es un libro maravilloso, yo creci leyendo los relatos de Palma sobre mi amado Peru, y aprendi de su historia y personajes de la epoca del virreynato e inicios de la republica. Nadie como Palma describe la belleza, las tradiciones, los rincones y los personajes que poblaron no solo la bella Lima virreynal, sino tambien otras partes del Peru. Todo peruano se debe sentir orgulloso de su historia, de su gente, que a pesar de lo mucho que quieran hundirnos, siniestros personajes empecinados en sacar todo lo que puedan de nuestro pais maravilloso, nuestra gente siempre encuentra maneras de sobrevivir, de salir adelante, de mejorarse. Recomiendo este libro desde el fondo de mi corazon y le doy las gracias a mi querido abue, Don Eliseo Garcia, por haberme llenado de "Tradiciones Peruanas" mi feliz niñez.