A Thousand Forests in One Acorn

A tremendous introduction to twenty-eight of the most influential Spanish-language authors of the twentieth century, A Thousand Forests in One Acorn combines interviews with these authors—about their influences, about what they're trying to accomplish with their writing (the "Acorn")—with each author's "favorite piece ever written" (the "Thousand Forests").

So, in addition to reading excerpts from Javier Marías's best works (Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me, Dark Back of Time), you get to hear his reasons for why he thinks these are the best (the explanation for the bit from Tomorrow will change the way you read forever) and how his work as a translator (he translated Tristram Shandy into Spanish) has impacted his writing style.

Along with the Spanish-language authors who have already made a name for themselves in English—Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Enrique Vila-Matas, Ana María...