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Soledad Puertolas Adios a las novias Barcelona. Anagrams. 2000 238 pages. ISBN 84-339-2453-2
SOLEDAD PUERTOLAS HAS chosen the misleading title Adios a las novias for her collection of twenty-one short stories, only one of which, the homonymous last entry, relates to girlfriends as such. Consequently, erstwhile romantics like myself, who relish a series of romance tales replete with the obligatory nostalgia elicited by golden oldies songs, will initially feel woefully deceived. Nevertheless, those blessed with intrepidity and an open mind who read on will discover impeccably written stories that capture the tone of the kaleidoscopic Spanish society at the beginning of Y2K.
While each story has its own personality, common threads bind them together. In all but four the protagonist is a woman whose voice...