Product Description
One of the most celebrated novels of Spanish literature, LA VIDA DE LAZARILLO DE TORMES, informs us of what life was like in sixteenth-century Spain through the eyes of a wily scoundrel named Lazaro. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

disappointed
I never got the English edition which is what you advertise on the web site.

Every Young Guy Needs a Role Model...
and mine was Simplicius Simplicissimus. But if I'd needed a second choice, it might have been Lazarillo de Tormes, the most resilient and resourceful rogue (pícaro) in Spanish literature.

The Tormes River runs (crawls, actually) below the ancient walls of Salamanca. A highway now spoils the opposite bank, but a low-maintenance path lets university types jog along the stream most of the year, and gypsies often camp there during August and September, the fair months. You can rent a canoe in Salamanca, get the operator to shuttle you some miles upstream, and paddle down to the city. With the oldest university in Spain, Salamanca is the party town of Spain during the winter. Architecturally, it ranks with Segovia as the most beautiful Renaissance city in Iberia; all the palaces and convents are built of a lovely warm ochre stone quarried locally.

Little Lazarus (Lazarillo) was born in the middle of the River Tormes, in a mill operated by his father, whose sly habit of stealing grain got him arrested and sent to fight the Moors. He never returned. Lazaro's mama moved into the city and started doing laundry and other services for university students. Eventually she found an 'opportunity' for her boy, as the guide/servant of a blind beggar, a crafty but stingy rogue who taught Lazarus everything he needed to know about roguery. Even today, a guide for the blind is called a "lazarillo," and that's not the only word or image that survives in the Castillian language taken from this classic picaresque novella.

Written sometime half way between "La Celestina" and "Don Quixote" - in the 16th Century Golden Age of Spanish literature, art, music, architecture, and colonial plunder - "Lazarillo de Tormes" is as iconic for Spaniards as "Huckleberry Finn" for Americans, and equally funny. No author has been firmly identified, but the likeliest candidate is a disgruntled friar named Juan de Ortega, since the book is both clearly knowledgeable about church ritual and plainly skeptical about church sanctity. Three pirated editions of it were published in the year 1554. In 1559, sales were boosted magnificentlywhen the book was banned by the Inquisition. It has never been out of print since. Numerous sequels and continuations have been attached to Lazarillo, but none of them have captured the salty tang of the original, a patent demonstration of just how finely written the original is.

This is a dual-language edition, intended for intermediate learners of the Spanish language. The translation is 'not half bad' though it lacks the coy, ironic 'formality' of the original. The word 'formal' in Spanish carries a special sense of being opportunistically proper, and that's exactly what Lazarillo aspires to be, as his means of survival -- the smoothest rogue in the pack. Modern spellings and punctuation have been applied to the Spanish text, making it far more available to readers with even a single good year of college study. Even if your Spanish is limited to 'burrito' and 'toreador', however, you'll find Lazarillo de Tormes a tale to relish and a time-machine in which to visit an age of cultural marvels.

El Lazarillo De Tormes
The book arrived in excellent state.The book binding is very good and the content reveals life in medieval Spain.This interesting piece of literature is presented in early Spanish.

Classic, classic!Foundation for an entire genre
I couldn't write a word without Lazaro, the omnipresent narrator of this slim volume.When I want to feel a character is a true rogue I turn to Lazaro.He puts me in the mood.He's funny.He's pitiful.He survives.

I first read "Lazarillo de Tormes" years ago in grad school.I never tire of him.And this bilingual edition is so wonderful.The original Spanish is pretty archaic and difficult, but with this edition you can flip back and forth between English and Spanish allowing better comprehension and faster reading.

Fairlee Winfield
Author of BUFFALOed
www.fairleewinfield.com


Of course Lazarillo is the foundation for all the picaresque novels from Cervantes, to Twain, to more recent unmentionables.He was banned by the inquisition, sanitized and allowed to reappear under a new title "Lazarillo castigado."Sounds something like the present, doesn't it. Lazaro is my inspiration.

Good translation
This review is not about the Lazarillo, which is a timeless classic, but about this particular dual-language edition, featuring a translation, prologue, and notes, by Stanley Appelbaum.
It presents this classic in a very proficient way to an English speaker. In a short, to-the-point introduction, the author explains which edition has been chosen for the Spanish version and why. He gives just enough historical and literary context about the Lazarillo to make it more enjoyable, and explains some very reasonable spelling choices.

The English translation itself is sober, and totally unpretentious, but somehow manages to keep much of the freshness and general rowdy spirit of the original. Footnotes are strategically added, without ever becoming overbearing, to give some historical context or explain some pun difficult to translate.

Even a cultured, non-specialist Spanish speaker like myself can benefit from the concise information contained in this little book. I found myself often resorting to the English translation (presented always on the right-side pages) to better understand some archaism or difficult expression.

Lazarillo is one of those little books everyone should read, simply because of the amount of concentrated wisdom it contains in little space.
Appelbaum respects that spirit, and his translation doesn't hinder that wisdom transmition. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

A Pleasure To Read In Espanol!
When i first started reading Lazarillo de Tormes on my own, i immediately was amazed with how quick the language and style of the novel caught onto me. I am in a Spanish 3 class, and while reading this, it made me wonder why we NEVER read spanish literature like this! We always read very pointless short stories that are poorly written, and just have a poor cheap plot in general. So it was very refreshing to read a real piece of Spanish literature for the first time in my life. I believe Lazarillo will have a special place in my bookshelf just like that of Don Quixote and other famous works of world literature. If you like Huckleberry Finn, and a story that is full of brutality yet wit and satire, this novel will give u that and more! I didn't realize until now that this is one of the first picturesque novels of Spain, and the story itself became a canvas for other contemporary characters and novels that somewhat has similar characeristics to Lazarillo. Any determined intermediate level Spanish student could read this novel just fine, you may have to have your Spanish dictionary beside you, but all in all it's not an extremely difficult or tedious novel to read in its native language. I highly recommend this book! I believe that Lazarillo de Tormes is highly underrated, and should get just as much hype, respect, and attention as Don Quixote.

better than it seems
Had to read this book for class. It was not as bad as some other old Spanish texts from this period. An interesting and often funny look at the simple life of a picaro and the tricks of the trade. The reader follows Lazarillo from his childhood as the son of a thief and his simple struggle to survive and make his life moderately bearable. The author is very critical of his contemporary Spanish society, and especially the church (this book was banned by the Inquisition). Fear not students, this book is worth the read.

Classical literature is NOT boring
Nobody knows for sure who wrote this early novel. But we should be glad he did. This book takes the form of an autobiographical tale, where Lazaro de Tormes tells his misadventures. He is a street-boy, an orphan in constant risk of starvation in a poor Spain, where the richess of the New World never trickled down to the poor inhabitants not connected to the Conquest.

Lazarillo, then, makes a living -if you can call that to make a living- as servant to different miserable characters who exploit and abuse him. But he is anything but a fool. Lazaro is always on the move to cheat and deceive his masters, if only to be able to put something into his stomach and avoid starvation. His adventures are not nice, but brutal. Be it with a blind master, or an avaricious and poor priest, Lazaro is always having funny and hysterical adventures. The best thing about the book is Lazaro's attitude: deep inside, the guy is a winner, not a loser, and he is willing to do anything to go up in life, as far as he can, which is not much: he ends up marrying a priest's mistress (check the mock at the Church) and landing a job which required him to accompany prisoners to their execution (not the nicest of jobs, but at least he got a salary). The adventures are hilarious, the character unforgettable by any means. Besides, you can get a good glimpse at the state of Spanish society at the time, but never forget that, even in rich societies, miserable people abound, and the Lazarillos are still out there, in the streets, living day by day, having adventures not funny at all. Good literature with a great social landscape.

La vida de un huerfano
Esta novela es un ejemplo perfecto de la tradicion de la novela picaresca.Lazarillo es un huerfano que trata de servir diferentes amos, pero todos son coruptos y no le tratan bien.Muestra una critica fuerte de la sociedad espanola durante el siglo 16.Toma lugar en Espana por supuesto, y en la ciudad de Toledo tambien.Es cerca de Madrid y es una ciudad hermosa pero aqui muestra la corrupcion de la sociedad.Esta novela es muy importante en la historia de literatura de Espana y si quieres entender la historia de Espana, esta novela es necesario. This novel is a perfect example of the picaresque tradition in literature.Lazarillo is an orphan who tries to serves his masters, but they are corrupt and don't treat him very well.It shows a strong criticism of spanish society in the 16th century.It takes place in Spain of course, and also more specifically, in the city of Toledo.It is close to Madrid and is a beautiful city but here it shows the corruption of society.This novel is very important in the history of literature in Spain, and if you want to understand the history of Spain, this novel is neccesary.

gives really old stuff a good name
As a Spanish student, I used to get scared off ot the "old stuff."You know, the stuff you may not be interested in but are forced to read in college, anyways.This book changed it all for me,though.You don't often think of Neo-classic literature as"laugh-out-loud-funny," but that's what I found myself doingwhile reading Lazarillo.If you're one of the rare people who really gotthe physical comedy of Don Quixote while still appreciating the pathos,please please read try this book, too! ... Read more

Product Description
The two short novels in this volume follow the adventures of two unlikely heroes-delinquent pícaros living by their wits among corrupt priests and prostitutes, beggars and idle gentlemen, thieves, tricksters, and murderers. Lazarillo de Tormes (1554), published anonymously, provided a literary model for Cervantes' Don Quixote and describes the ingenious ruses employed by a boy from Salamanca to outwit a succession of disreputable masters. Francisco de Quevedo's The Swindler (1626) is a comic yet brutal and sordid account of a servant who wants to become a gentleman but ends up a cardsharp and common criminal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Picaro
These two picaro novels are one of the earliest examples of a novel written in confessional form.Lazarillo de Tormes tells of a poor boy's rise to success, while The Swindler details the fall into a life of crime.Both are well-translated, fast reads that keep the reader amused and entertained even while learning of the terrible hardships facing someone at the bottom of society in the 16th century.

Wonderful translation, brilliantintroduction
I find it simply miraculous being able to render into a foreign language such as English both the richness and flavour of the world of El Lazarillo de Tormes. Congratulations.

Lazarillo de Tormes
All I can say is that I never would have believed that this story (short and not so sweet) was written in the 1500s! Truthfully, not much has changed as far as "the church" and "the nobility" are concerned. There is a reason this little story has endured and it is because the world's problems, like the world's fashions, instead of petering out and dying, seem to recycle themselves for the sake of posterity (lest we forget).
Like Voltaire's "Candide," this short story offers a scathing social commentary paired with an expert knack for dark comedy. I literally laughed outloud all the way through. The abuses ofyoung "Lazaro" are unfortunate but irresistable...and not without truth.
This is a two to three hour read at most. You have absolutely nothing to lose. If you have a good sense of humor and do not take the "powers that be" too seriously, you would be a fool not to give it a try.

Great examples of an old literary tradition
I picked this book up on a whim, having a certain fondness for literary tales of thieves and con-men, and I was not disappointed.The forward of the book would give you the impression that the Spanish invented the picaresque novel, a point on which I would differ, given that Petronius' The Satyricon, which while not a novel per se, is still the very spirit of the picaresque literary theme and is older by far. Nonetheless, I found these two short novels both entertaining and surprisingly educational, showing us if nothing else that human motivations and susceptibility to temptation and trickery really never change. The cons and tricks employed by the "heroes" of both novels are easy to identify with, being as many are the Renaissance era equivalents of modern day identity theft and business fraud.And as smaller examples of the literary style of the time, they also fit well alongside the much more famous work of the period, Cervantes' Don Quixote, in both the feel of the culture of that time and place and of the universal traits of human nature that transcend time and place. The translation is well done and reads quite smoothly, even though as it notes in the foward that some jokes, puns and other comic references were so tied to the language and the time that only lengthy footnotes could attempt to explain them in context, which would have marred the readability considerably.

My only disappointment, and it is a minor one, is that The Swindler ends referring to a second volume which apparently was never written. This may have been intentional, a literary device of sorts.Or, since DeQuevedo never intended The Swindler to be published in the first place, and when it did appear, never claimed authorship, it may simply be that he never got around to writing the alluded-to second volume.Still, that aside, both short novels are worth reading for anyone who has a fondness for the picaresque or for pieces of that period of Spanish literature.

An Entertaining Read
I tend to take more chances with my purchases on shorter
works and was rewarded in my impulse buy in this one.

These two novellas of scraggly characters trying to connive
their way to the top (or merely survive) are a pleasure to read,
fast-paced, full of wit, and a wonderful portrait of Spanish society in the 1600s. ... Read more

Product Description
La vida del Lazarillo de Tormes, y de sus fortunas y adversidades, se pública por primera vez en 1554 cuando España era un imperio bajo la monarquía de Carlos V.El humorismo, la ironía, el chiste, la burla y la parodia constituyen en su conjunto la clave de esta historia.Considerada una de las joyas de la literatura española, esta obra nos cuenta la vida y las aventuras de un pícaro: El Lazarillo de Tormes.La moraleja en la vida, fortunas y adversidades del Lazarillo es que no hay que tomarse en serio el poder político independientemente de su origen profano o sagrado. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1554, Lazarillo de Tormes, a slim, unassuming little volume, unsigned by the author, made its first published appearance in the bookstalls of several important mercantile centers in Spain and the Netherlands. Since then, as narratives of pícaros—and pícaras—continued to follow in the footsteps of Lázaro's fictional life, picaresque literature developed into a major genre in literary studies that remains popular to this day.

Yet the genre's definition is anything but simple, as the diversity of this volume demonstrates. Part 1, "Materials," reviews editions and translations of Lazarillo and other picaresque works, as well as the critical and historical resources related to them. The essays in part 2, "Approaches," explore the picaresque's place in language and literature classrooms of all levels. Some contributors contextualize Lazarillo in the early modern Spanish culture it satirizes, investigating the role of the church and the marginalization of Muslims and Jews. Others pair Lazarillo with Alemán's Guzmán de Alfarache or Quevedo's El buscón to concentrate on the genre's literary aspects. A cluster of essays focuses on teaching the picaresque (including the female picaresque) to nonspecialist students in interdisciplinary courses. The volume concludes with a section devoted to the picaresque novel's influence on other literary traditions, from early modern autobiographies, such as Teresa of ávila's Libro de la vida, to post Spanish Civil War texts to twentieth-century Latin American novels and 1950s American beat narratives. ... Read more

Product Description
Spain has produced two books that changed the course of world literature: Don Quixote and Lazarillo de Tormes. Lazarillo is the first picaresque novel ever written, and to this day, one of the greatest. After its first publication in the 1550s, the book was banned by the Inquisition, but copies surfaced throughout Europe and were widely imitated, even by Cervantes himself. This edition was rendered in English by accomplished translator W. S. Merwin.

Sold to a blind beggar as a child, then passed off to a priest, a squire, a friar, an indulgence-seller, a chaplain, and a constable — each more sadistic and incompetent than the next — the young hero must pilfer and deceive to survive, and is usually punished for his pains. But, like his successors Pinocchio or Huck Finn, Lazarillo endears himself to the reader as he learns to fake miracles and mouse infestations, to expose hucksters and the absurdities of the feudal code of honor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Looking at the positive in face of adversity
I read this book years ago and really enjoyed it.The stories are full of humor and the ending has a good outlook on life - be happy with what you have because things can always be worse. Life isn't perfect and Lazarillo experiences and explains selfishness and greed in humanity in a voice that knows of what he speaks. This is a very easy and quick read that is hard to put down once you start it.

A precursor to Huckleberry Finn
I read this short comic masterpiece as part of a survey course in Spanish and Latin American literature along with more monumental and recognized works of the genre (Cervantes' Don Quijote, Unamuno's Fog, and Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, to name a few.)

To my surprise, this little tome was the liveliest, most engaging, and by far, the most digestible of the lot (although the other three are indispensable reading and highly recommended as well).

Lazarillo de Tormes ranks as one of the true cornerstones of world literature yet (INHO) it is still riproaringly funny and insightful without being heavy-handed or tedious. Even though I read Lazarillo in Spanish and cannot commment on this translation, I imagine the story would translate without much ado into English. As a first-year Spanish student, I devoured it in a single afternoon.

In many ways, it seems to me to be the precursor to Hucklebery Finn. I came away from reading this short tome with the same sense of empathy for the character of Lazarillo as I had had for Huck Finn. Like HF, the tale of Lazarillo de Tormes is episodic in nature with a series of adventures featuring quirky antagonists who are each (the reader later realizes) satiric portraits of the various social classes of the day (the priest, the gentleman, the beggar thief, etc.) Both books inspired laughter, pathos, sympathy, empathy -- and ultimately, an overarching sense of the flawed yet ultimately endearing human qualities that imbue us all-- and transcend the centuries. Even though Lazarillo de Tormes predates Twain's masterpiece by three full centuries, I found it equally accessible, being a delightful and extremely quick read. In short, it is one of the earliest examples of the proto-novel, and to mymind-- still one of the best.

Highly recommended for all readers of all ages.

An historical curiosity
This brief book is something of an historical curiosity by virtue of being (supposedly) "the first picaresque novel ever written."But from the standpoint of contemporary literary interest or reward, it is not particularly noteworthy.Because it satirized the nobility and the Roman Catholic Church -- two powerful institutions of the day (it was published in 1554) -- its author chose to remain anonymous and to this day there is no consensus as to his identity.The chapter on the seller of indulgences, who in league with a constable operates an elaborate charade to con the initially skeptical masses into purchasing indulgences by the fistful, is rather scathing and moderately entertaining.But among modern novels there are countless more cutting and uproarious works that I, with the sensibilities of a literate middle-aged American, would rather read.So, my recommendation is to give this a pass unless you are interested in the history of the novel or the social milieu of Sixteenth-Century Spain and its Inquisition.

Inspiring English translation
One of the finest renditions into the English language of the Spanish novel "The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes", the fountainhead of the Picaresque in modern European narration. ... Read more

Product Description
The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities (La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades) is a Spanish novella, published anonymously, in 1554. The novella is a masterpiece of the picaresque genre.

This is the Spanish version. ... Read more

Product Description
A reader for intermediate Spanish students

Lazarillo de Tormes is a classic picaresque novel that introduces students to a panorama of Spanish history, customs, and traditions of the 1500s. An audiocassette helps students enjoy one of the masterpieces of Spanish literature. The reader is softcover, 6” × 9”, and 64 pages in length. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Picaresque classic
Along with Guzman del Alfarache, this is the novel that began a rich tradition of rogue literature, everything from Simplicissimus and Felix Krull in Germany, to Moll Flanders and Roderick Random in England, andeventually Huck Finn in the U.S.The plot will seem a bit disjointed tocontemporary readers: the picaresque genre is characterized by aquick-moving, episodic style, a series of disconnected adventures, andsudden eruptions of extreme violence.But the story's charm is stillundeniable, and there's something inherently pleasant about following theearly life of a character who flouts conventions and lives entirely by hiswits."Lazarillo" is a forgotten gem, and one of the mostinfluencial pieces of the Spanish Golden Age. ... Read more

Product Description
_Lazarillo of Tormes_ appeared in sixteenth-century Spain like a breath of fresh air among hundreds of insipidly sentimental novels of chivalry. With so many works full of knights who were manly and brave enough to fight any adversary, bu ... Read more

Product Description
Since its publication in 1554, Lazarillo de Tormes has continued to fascinate and confuse its readers: is it an autobiography or the product of a creative mind, thus, a work of fiction?Is the author really anonymous?Was a new genre created with Lazarillo, or is it a mere precursor?This novella is read, studied, and taught as a canonic work of the picaresque although some scholars ascertain that the genre was born five years later with Mateo Alemán's Guzmán de Alfarache.By using a postmodern looking glass it may become possible to calibrate much of what has been said about Lazarillo de Tormes.The awareness of the historical moment can make the reader come to the realization that Lazarillo speaks openly about an unfortunate if not despicable reality fraught with famine and abandonment in a society ruled by prejudice and persecution in the name of God, the Monarch, and the Church.Four editions were published in 1554 (Alcalá, Amberes, Burgos y Medina del Campo), yet the Spanish Inquisition prohibited the book in 1559; it was not until the 1800s that it was brought back to light, even though it was translated and reprinted continuously throughout Europe.For over four and a half centuries, Lazarillo has provoked polemics having to do with realities that are not removed from our present-day world.This new edition seeks to present the so-called picardías of the young lad that sets forth the title of this timeless text while discovering the connection that it continues to have with the outcasts, in particular the abandoned and abused children of all times.This edition by prof. Asima F. X. Saad Maura includes a clear foreword, an exhaustive set of notes and a detailed chronology that allows the modern reader understand in depth the text and fully enjoy reading this cornerstone of the hispanic literature. ... Read more

Product Description
Pocas son las paginas de esta preciosa novela pero en todas ellas rebosa la gracia y ostenta sus galas la rica lengua castellana.Los caracteres estan delineados de mano maestra, las descripciones ofrecen brillantisimos toques y basta un conocimiento superficial de aquella epoca para comprender toda la verdad de semejantes cuadros y tipos arrancados a la vida real; Lazaro muchachuelo despierto y de agudisimo ingenio, pero condenado a servidumbre por su pobreza, refiere con gracia inimitable la odisea de sus, ya tristes, ya burlescas aventuras, sufriendo bajo el poder de un ciego, maestro en toda clase de astucias, de un clerigo miserable y de un hidalgo, tan vanidoso como escaso de recursos, tipos todos muy corrientes en aquel tiempo. El animo mas hipocondriaco no puede defenderse de la risa al leer las ingeniosas invenciones del malaventurado Lazarillo para burlar la astucia y sagacidad del ciego y la miserable vigilancia del clerizonte.Esto explica la boga extraordinaria que llego a alcanzar este libro del que se hicieron en breve numerosas ediciones en todas las lenguas extranjeras, siendo dificil averiguar las que se han hecho en lengua castellana. Aun cuando la segunda parte es inferior a la primera tanto por la invencion, como por la pintura de los personajes, descripcion de los cuadros y pureza del estilo hemos creido conveniente, no separarla de la primera, pues ambas figuran juntas en gran numero de ediciones. Abrigamos el convencimiento de que los lectores no podran menos de recorrer con el mayor gusto y deleite las paginas brillantes de esta preciosa novela en que se ostenta en toda su galanura el ingenio de Mendoza por un lado, y por otro la gallardia de la lengua castellana. ... Read more

Product Description
A short novel which appeared first in Spain in 1554, anonymously. An early translation by Merwin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Looking at the positive in face of adversity
I read this book years ago and really enjoyed it.The stories are full of humor and the ending has a good outlook on life - be happy with what you have because things can always be worse. Life isn't perfect and Lazarillo experiences and explains selfishness and greed in humanity in a voice that knows of what he speaks. This is a very easy and quick read that is hard to put down once you start it.

A precursor to Huckleberry Finn
I read this short comic masterpiece as part of a survey course in Spanish and Latin American literature along with more monumental and recognized works of the genre (Cervantes' Don Quijote, Unamuno's Fog, and Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, to name a few.)

To my surprise, this little tome was the liveliest, most engaging, and by far, the most digestible of the lot (although the other three are indispensable reading and highly recommended as well).

Lazarillo de Tormes ranks as one of the true cornerstones of world literature yet (INHO) it is still riproaringly funny and insightful without being heavy-handed or tedious. Even though I read Lazarillo in Spanish and cannot commment on this translation, I imagine the story would translate without much ado into English. As a first-year Spanish student, I devoured it in a single afternoon.

In many ways, it seems to me to be the precursor to Hucklebery Finn. I came away from reading this short tome with the same sense of empathy for the character of Lazarillo as I had had for Huck Finn. Like HF, the tale of Lazarillo de Tormes is episodic in nature with a series of adventures featuring quirky antagonists who are each (the reader later realizes) satiric portraits of the various social classes of the day (the priest, the gentleman, the beggar thief, etc.) Both books inspired laughter, pathos, sympathy, empathy -- and ultimately, an overarching sense of the flawed yet ultimately endearing human qualities that imbue us all-- and transcend the centuries. Even though Lazarillo de Tormes predates Twain's masterpiece by three full centuries, I found it equally accessible, being a delightful and extremely quick read. In short, it is one of the earliest examples of the proto-novel, and to mymind-- still one of the best.

Highly recommended for all readers of all ages.

An historical curiosity
This brief book is something of an historical curiosity by virtue of being (supposedly) "the first picaresque novel ever written."But from the standpoint of contemporary literary interest or reward, it is not particularly noteworthy.Because it satirized the nobility and the Roman Catholic Church -- two powerful institutions of the day (it was published in 1554) -- its author chose to remain anonymous and to this day there is no consensus as to his identity.The chapter on the seller of indulgences, who in league with a constable operates an elaborate charade to con the initially skeptical masses into purchasing indulgences by the fistful, is rather scathing and moderately entertaining.But among modern novels there are countless more cutting and uproarious works that I, with the sensibilities of a literate middle-aged American, would rather read.So, my recommendation is to give this a pass unless you are interested in the history of the novel or the social milieu of Sixteenth-Century Spain and its Inquisition.

Inspiring English translation
One of the finest renditions into the English language of the Spanish novel "The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes", the fountainhead of the Picaresque in modern European narration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

well written introduction to the picaresc novel Lazarillo
I had to write an essay about Lazarillo de Tormes and found it quite difficult to get more information about the novel. This critical guide offers good background information about the author, society and especiallychurch in the 16th century and medieval literary tradition.AlthoughDeyermond sometimes risks credibility with some speculations andexaggerates his interpretation it's a pity there are no re-prints. ... Read more

Product Description
Esta es la mejor novela del siglo XVI. (...)El relato es un caso en si, escrito a ruegos de un Vuestra Merced, pero tambien una autobiografia que, con caracter ironicamente ejemplar, esta compuesta por su protagonista para que llegue a un publico lector mas numeroso, como advierte en el prologo. (...)Se cruzan dos temas, interfiriendose, el de la honra y el religioso (...) Que en el Lazarillo existe un fuerte anticlericalismo es un hecho innegable, y es este uno de los soportes satiricos de la obra. La propia constitucion de la obra la hace ambigua, polisemica, el problema radica en saber si el autor pretendio esta ambigüeadad de lectura.(De la Introduccion de Alberto Blecua) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Lazaro o el antiheroe
Situemonos en la Espana antigua, donde los valores, la pobreza, las aventuras, la decadencia son el vivir latente de sus habitantes... Lazaro, apenas un muchacho, sale de hogar a enfrentarse al mundo con el fin de buscar el pan de cada dia; sin embargo, lo que encuentra a su paso es la habilidad para mentir y robar. Con cada uno de sus amos, desde el mas letrado hasta el mas ignorante, comienza su escuela de la vida convirtiendose poco a poco en un maestro del engano y de la astucia. Cruel, cruda y literal, esta novela anonima( pues nadie se atrevio a darle autoria debido a que iba contra todas las reglasde su epoca o porque estaba escrita por alguien perteneciente a alguna institucion de poder que se atrevio a exponer la hipocresia de la sociedad de ese entonces...), lleva al lector en un viaje de agonia en cada una de las aventuras de Lazaro, hasta que este llega a su mayoria de edad. No obstante, todos los sufrimientos, traiciones y tristezas vividos por nuestro protagonista, nos devuelven un producto sencillo, incorrupto y con capacidad de amar con elfin de mostrarnos que, por mas sentimientos negativos que se hayan experimentado, todavia existe una experanza para el hombre....Lazaro nos da la mejor leccion de vida: la reivindicacion del ser humano en todo sentido ... Read more

Product Description
The Life of Lazarillo of Tormes, written by legendary author Robert Rudder is widely considered to be one of the greatest books of all time. This great classic will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, The Life of Lazarillo of Tormes is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy reading timeless pieces of classic literature, this gem by Robert Rudder is highly recommended. Published by Classic Books International and beautifully produced, The Life of Lazarillo of Tormes would make an ideal gift and it should be a part of everyone's personal library. ... Read more