Hi everyone! I am interested in knowing what you have read or would like to read or to know about literature in Spanish (not only Spanish literature!). Even if you’ve read only a bit, I’d like to hear about it.
If it’s a topic of your interest, I can try to answer any query you may have or I can find out for you.

You are welcome to post anything about this topic, hope to read you all soon!

Much less than I would like to. I'm listened to a bit of Neruda's poetry, and that's about it. I've been meaning for years to dive into some of the highly recommended South American literature I keep hearing about, but something else always comes up. One problem is that literature in translation often has a slightly "off" quality. However, I get used to it when reading French or German writers, I'm sure I'd get over it quickly with Spanish as well.

Well, Neruda is a genius (and, as a soon to be translator I can tell you that is far more difficult to translate poetry so you will enjoy prose even if it's translated).
You must definitely try Cortázar and Borges of course, but you and even a native speaker first has to read a lot of other things in order to understand him thoroughly, though some of his short stories are enjoyable just because of the clever story they tell). I don't know if you've heard about José Saramago, the portuguese writer (I know we're dealing with spanish lit but he is worth mentioning), I've heard that his translated works are very good. But don't doubt regarding the translations, in general, the translation activities are very respected in the english-speaking world (not here, sadly), and translators are, in general, very good. So go ahead! Marquez is also one of my favourites.

I forgot to mention Eduardo Galeano, the uruguayan writer, one of the best of our times, he wrote the ground-breaking Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, if anyone is interested in it, the translation by Cedric Belfrage is very good (he has translated most of Galeano's books). Voices of Time, the one I'm currently reading is another jewel, here's an excerpt in english:

Time Tells

We are made of time.
We are its feet and its voice.
The feet of time walk in our shoes.
Sooner or later, we all know, the winds of time will erase the tracks.
Passage of nothing, steps of no one? The voices of time tell of the voyage.
--------------------
The Voyage

Oriol Vall, who works with newborns at a hospital in Barcelona, says that the first human gesture is the embrace. After coming into the world, at the beginning of their days, babies wave their arms as if seeking someone.

Other doctors, who work with people who have already lived their lives, say that the aged, at the end of their days, die trying to raise their arms.

And that's it, that's all, no matter how hard we strive or how many words we pile on. Everything comes down to this: between two flutterings, with no more explanation, the voyage occurs.


Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking-Glass World, is a must, definitely, it is a social analysis of international relations, the state of the world today, and the relationship between the north and the south written in a witty, thought-provoking, funny and unique style here is what an english speaking reader thought about it, I think he describes it very good:
"Galeano makes his astute and irrefutable observations in a clever, interesting and thought provoking conceptual fashion. The book is extremely readable, but after a while the first world reader will surely become ill at ease, and will unconsciously attempt to provide rationalizations for the ugly and relentless oppression and exploitation of the third world by northern societies. "Upside Down" is a needed dose of reality, but reading it is often like a cold glass of water thrown in your face. However, like such a glass of water it will wake you up and demand your attention.

I really liked Isabel Allende's "House of the Spirits". I've been trying to read her "Hija de la Fortuna" in Spanish, but I haven't been able to get into it yet. It takes me a while to get accustomed to the rhythm when I'm reading in a language other than English. It's worth the effort though -- sometimes different aspects of a story get lost in translation.

When I studied Spanish, we read several of Neruda's poems -- they were lovely, but I haven't read any of his works since. I need to do that!

I'm currently working on Roberto Bolaño's 2666 -- it's quite a challenging read in English!

Well, seems you know quite a bit Pdaz! thanx for posting. I haven´t read Allende's novels, that's odd cause she's very well known but I do know that her stories are great! As regards Neruda, some of his poems do imply an effort (even if it's your first language ) but all are incredibly beautiful. Here are 2 stanzas from one of the poems in "Cien sonetos de amor", hope you enjoy it...

Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde,
te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:
así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,

sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres,
tan cerca que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mía,
tan cerca que se cierran tus ojos con mi sueño.

(He's awsome, isn't he?)

Pablo Neruda is awesome, indeed! He has written some wonderful poems. Thanks for posting that Nan, it's beautiful

yes minkpenny! doesn't he fill you with love? he's great! thank you for that! see you soon...