Free (ADE-DRM ePub) Doña Bárbara [Vintage Classic Venezuelan Literature Novel]

[ATDrake]

Doña Bárbara by the late novelist and former president Rómulo Gallegos (Wikipedia), translated by Robert Malloy with a foreword by Larry McMurtry (Wikipedia, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist of Lonesome Dove, which was the basis for the popular TV series), is his vintage classic 1929 contemporary literary magical realism novel exploring Venezuelan regional culture and conflicts (Wikipedia), free courtesy of the University of Chicago Press.

This is their featured free ebook of the month for July and is considered a masterpiece and major classic of Latin American literature, with many drama adaptations (Wikipedia), apparently.

Currently free throughout the month of July @ the University of Chicago Press' website (ADE-DRM ePub available worldwide in exchange for your valid email address).

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat… ish) free ebook thread of the day.

Because it's always great to see more stuff from other cultures, and getting a well-known highly influential and beloved classic example of such is cause to

Enjoy, and happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians (and to all the other places which have a holiday on this day, which include a surprising number of "independence day"s)!

Description
Rómulo Gallegos is best known for being Venezuela’s first democratically elected president. But in his native land he is equally famous as a writer responsible for one of Venezuela’s literary treasures, the novel Doña Barbara. Published in 1929 and all but forgotten by Anglophone readers, Doña Barbara is one of the first examples of magical realism, laying the groundwork for later authors such as Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.

Following the epic struggle between two cousins for an estate in Venezuela, Doña Barbara is an examination of the conflict between town and country, violence and intellect, male and female. Doña Barbara is a beautiful and mysterious woman—rumored to be a witch—with a ferocious power over men. When her cousin Santos Luzardo returns to the plains in order to reclaim his land and cattle, he reluctantly faces off against Doña Barbara, and their battle becomes simultaneously one of violence and seduction. All of the action is set against the stunning backdrop of the Venezuelan prairie, described in loving detail. Gallegos’s plains are filled with dangerous ranchers, intrepid cowboys, and damsels in distress, all broadly and vividly drawn. A masterful novel with an important role in the inception of magical realism, Doña Barbara is a suspenseful tale that blends fantasy, adventure, and romance.

Hailed as “the Bovary of the llano” by Larry McMurtry in his new foreword to this book, Doña Barbarais a magnetic and memorable heroine, who has inspired numerous adaptations on the big and small screens, including a recent television show that aired on Telemundo.

[Andanzas]

Thanks for posting this. I read the Spanish original so many years ago that I am not sure I actually read it.

I am going to take a look at that translation. 4488 pages! I think the translator must have added a few adjectives of his own.

[Dr. Drib]

Got it!

I'm showing 588 pages.

A big 'thank you'!

[Andanzas]

Yeah, the 4488 pages was a typo on the description of the book. It has been corrected and it now says 488.

[ATDrake]

Last day to pick this up if for some reason you haven't already.