Lazarillo de Tormes / Lazarillo de Tormes (Paperback)

Paperback. Suplico a Vuestra Merced reciba el pobre servicio de mano de quien lo hiciera mas rico, si su poder y deseo se conformaran. Y pues Vuestra Merced escribe se le escriba y relate el caso muy por extenso, paresciome no tomalle por el medio, sino del principio, porque se tenga entera noticia de mi persona; y tambien porque consideren los que heredaron nobles estados cuan poco se les debe, pues Fortuna fue con ellos parcial, y cuanto mas hicieron los que, siendoles contraria, con fuerza y mana remando, salieron a buen puerto. Pues sepa Vuestra Merced, ante todas cosas, que a mi llaman Lazaro de Tormes En los dos mil anos de la literatura occidental no se habia escrito otro libro como ese Lazarillo que al mediar el Quinientos llegaba a las manos de los espanoles (y pronto de todos los europeos), porque posiblemente ninguno habia tratado nunca antes a un personaje de la pobre categoria de Lazaro con una atencion tan amplia y tan extremada, tan respetuosa con el punto de vista que un pregonero en sus condiciones podria haber tenido de si mismo, y tan centrada en la materialidad y en las minucias cotidianas de la existencia.[] Nos consta que no se conocia ninguna otra narracion en prosa con las singulares caracteristicas, con el insolito y ambiguo modo de ser del Lazarillo de Tormes. Porque el tal libro era historia o era ficcion? [] De ahi que al verdadero autor no se le pasara por la cabeza revelarnos su nombre, que sigue ocultandosenos, y es de temer que sin remedio. Porque, en rigor, el Lazarillo no es tanto un libro anonimo, de pluma ignorada, como mas propiamente un libro apocrifo, atribuido a un falso autor, el propio protagonista, Lazaro de Tormes.Francisco RicoENGLISH DESCRIPTION An annonymous book originally called "La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades", whose oldest known edition was published in 1554. It is set in the 16th century and tells the adventures of Lazaro de Tormes, from his birth until he gets married. It is an ironic and harsh portrait of society at the time. The text is written as a very long letter and the events are told in first person - it is the protagonist who is speaking. Because of its moralising and pessimistic tone, and because of the realistic elements, as well as the structure and first person narrative, "Lazarillo de Tormes" is unanimously considered to be the precursor of picaresque novel, a genre that was widely developed throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. An important work of Spains Golden Age of literature, Lazarillo de Tormes portrays the clever ploys of a young Salamancan boy determined to outsmart his long string of masters. This Spanish novella was first published, during the Spanish Inquisition, by an author who wished to remain anonymous due to the works heretical content. Young Lazarillo is an improbable hero of his time, for he comes from a poor and multiracial family who desperately apprentice him to a blind beggar after committing a crime. Lazarillo soon proves himself to be resourceful and resistant to the corrupt clergymen he must serve. Banned for heresy due to its highly critical portrayal of both the aristocracy and Catholic Church of the 16th century, this work came to provide a model for Cervantes and many future authors, like Twain, who explored the picaresque genre. Though originally published at great risk to the author, Lazarillo de Tormes is today an entertaining story of a boy who ingenuously survives his own childhood and makes something of himself despite the corruption that he must continually overcome. Obraz maestras de la literatura espaaenola al cuidado de Francisco Rico. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.…