The Strange Ones

Darío, Rubén, 1867-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 385K words
Chapters: 39

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Los Raros by Rubén DaríoAuthor: Darío, Rubén, 1867-1916,Language: Spanish, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Nov 1, 2015

Editor's review

Los Raros is a collection of essays on writers that Rubén Darío wrote in Spanish, focusing on a group of kindred spirits he regarded as "odd" or singular, and imbued with a distinct modernist literary sensibility. Criticism and essays interweave throughout the book: it discusses people and works, and also reflects Darío's own aesthetic stance and reading lineage. For Chinese readers, it is more like a window into the late nineteenth-century Spanish-language literary scene: the language is ornate, the judgments subjective, and the personal flavor strong, so it is not to be read as objective literary history. Its value lies in showing how a modernist writer chooses traditions, shapes idols, and positions himself. It suits readers interested in Spanish-language literature, the modernist movement, or critical essays, and also serves as supplementary material for understanding Darío's intellectual background. Read it slowly, heed the rhetoric and bias, and consult basic information on the writers discussed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Spanish-language literature and the modernist movement
Literature lovers who want to understand Rubén Darío's aesthetic taste and critical style
Spanish learners with basic reading ability who are willing to check background information
Readers who enjoy strongly subjective writer criticism and essays

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking systematic literary history or objective writer biographies
Beginners with no Spanish at all who are unwilling to use a translation
General readers expecting plot-driven narrative or light entertainment

Reading tips

Read a brief introduction to a writer under discussion before Darío's essay, and identify his selections and biases.
Treat the book as critical essays rather than historical sources; mark subjective judgments and verify them separately.
Spanish learners can do close reading of short pieces and compile Darío's frequently used evaluative vocabulary and rhetoric.
If reading a translation, follow the original order of pieces as closely as possible and note differences in translated titles and names.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Which writers does this book mainly discuss?

The book discusses a group of writers and literary figures selected by Darío; the exact list follows the original table of contents. It is not a panoramic literary history but a collection of writer essays with a personal bent, so readers can choose pieces according to interest.

Can I read it without any Spanish?

You can grasp the general content through a translation, but Darío's style and rhetoric are a major part of its value and are hard to convey fully in translation. If reading only a translation, consult background on the writers discussed and avoid treating the book's judgments as final.

Is it suitable as Spanish learning material?

It suits intermediate and advanced learners for literary reading practice; the sentences are ornate and cultural references numerous, so it is not suitable as a primer. Use a dictionary and annotations, read short pieces one by one, and compile vocabulary and proper nouns.

Do I need to understand modernism first to read this book?

Not necessarily in a systematic way, but knowing the basic tenets of late nineteenth-century Spanish-language literary modernism makes Darío's choices and stance easier to understand. Read an introductory article first, then go into the main text.

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About the author

Darío, Rubén, 1867-1916 Author

Rubén Darío (Darío, Rubén, 1867-1916) is a central figure of Spanish American modernismo, and his work was foundational for Latin American literature from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The library holds 22 of his works, including the poetry collections Azul..., Prosas Profanas, Cantos de Vida y Esperanza, Los Cisnes y otros poemas, El Canto Errante, and Poema del Otoño y otros poemas, as well as prose and story works such as Cuentos y crónicas, Todo al Vuelo, and La Caravana Pasa. His poetry is polished and musical, rich in symbol and sensory imagery, treating themes of life, hope, autumn, swans, and wandering, with a style both elegant and melancholic; his prose is flexible in tone, recording observations and impressions. He helped renew Spanish-language poetic form and deeply influenced later Latin American and Spanish-language literature. Public information is limited, and details of his birthplace, nationality, and specific experiences are not confirmed.