This new volume of ten short stories, with parallel translations, offers students of Spanish at all levels the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of contemporary literature, without having constantly to refer back to a dictionary. Richly diverse in themes and styles, the stories are by both new and well-established writers and range from the sharp insights of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 'Maria dos Prazeres' and the teasing, deceptive simplicity of Javier Marias's 'On the Honeymoon' to Isabel Allende's powerful evocation of the oral traditions of the Amerindian and the philosophical speculation of Laura Freixas's 'Absurd Ending'. Complete with notes, the stories make excellent reading in either language.