Lazarillo de Tormes and The Grifter (El Buscon): Two Novels of the Low Life in Golden Age Spain - Hardcover

David Frye

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1624663451 ISBN 13: 9781624663451

Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc (US), 2015

Synopsis

"An elegant, precise, and accessible modern-English rendering of the two best examples of the early modern picaresque genre: the paradigmatic Lazarillo de Tormes and Quevedo's mordant El Buscon . Frye's translations are triumphant, capturing the cadence of popular early modern speech while remaining faithful to the original texts; his notes illuminate the diverse contexts in which the texts were written. Frye gives careful attention throughout to the historical background that propelled these two parallel but different monuments of Golden Age Spanish literature." --Teofilo Ruiz, UCLA

About this title

Review

"A delightful new version of two of the best picaresque novels ever written. Rising admirably to the challenges posed by these texts, Frye uses modern American idioms to bridge the gap between Golden Age Spain and our times; the resulting translations are lively and readable. He manages to capture, in modern English, all of the humor of The Grifter's many puns and wordplays while retaining a feel for the original flavor of the work... He should also be congratulated for his fine rendering of verses into English. [Frye's] comprehensive Introduction takes up the culture of Castile in the sixteenth century; his illuminating analysis of Lazarillo de Tormes and The Grifter (El Buscon) will be of great use to those approaching these funny, poignant, and fascinating tales for the first time." --Frederick A. de Armas, University of Chicago

About the Author

David Frye is Program Associate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan. Due to the nature of this book and the consequences the author would inevitably face in revealing his identity, the writer has remained anonymous for over sixty years. It is thought that much of the material that this book comprises came from Bishop Johannes Neuhausler, the auxiliary bishop of Munich, and was ordered to be published by Pope Pius XII himself.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc (US)
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1624663451
• ISBN 13: 9781624663451
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 216