Kalpa imperial - Rambling Readers

246 pages

English language

Published Dec. 24, 2003 by Small Beer Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-931520-05-8
OCLC Number:: 52743026

(1 review)

«Oh, sí, mis buenas gentes, sí, ya lo creo que sí. Se puede vivir en el sur. Y morir también. Y se puede nacer, y crecer y aprender y matar y sufrir en el sur. ¿Ustedes conocen el sur? ¿Han entrado a ese país vedado y tentador? ¿Han ido al paraíso de los monstruos, al antro de los asesinos, al reino de la barbarie? ¿Conocen a las gentes del sur? ¿Se han acostado con sus mujeres, han bebido con sus hombres, han escuchado a sus ancianos?». Obra ganadora de los premios Poblet y Gigamesh.

3 editions

P. E. T. Conroy reviewed Kalpa imperial by Angélica Gorodischer

Short stories of a fictional empire and the oral storyteller that connects them

5 stars

A collection of connected short stories set in a fictional [possibly post-apocolyptic] empire about its many rulers and cities and across many years. The stories are short and leave you wanting to know more about the people in them.

The writing is tight with just enough description to convince you they're being told by an oral storyteller, but it's not flowery and at times you wish you could hear a little bit more description.

However, one failing is how the stories connect. Other than the oral storyteller and the empire they pertain to, one is left wondering what connects them together. What are the relationships between all the emperors and empresses? Unfortunately, I suspect that would require a fictional history lesson and a long kings list, which would most certainly distract from the stories themselves.