 Ink-scented fingerprints section |
Only those who have tried to make a living from them know the difficulty of writing a short story. Many imagine, wrongly, that its complexity grows directly proportional to the length of the story. That is because they do not know how difficult it is to write a mini-story. Not to mention the challenge of publishing a book with texts of less than one page.
An example of this is Vicios del Tiempo (Vices of Time), Sanlope Publishing House 2008, by the writer María de Antoms. This is one of those books that can be read in one sitting, but that we keep repeating throughout the days due to the themes and vices that we see and experience during our journey through this land.
Each story is built on a message; some, on several diverse ones. María exploits this characteristic of the mini-story, so it does not end with the final point but continues to develop in the reader's mind. It is the very "Hemingwayesque" (one might call it that) quality of creating stories with an immense and deep undercurrent of meaning in the vast majority of the texts. The others could be seen as a great divertimento. The sweet spot, the note that balances this menu concert.
The author presents us with literary fruits of various themes-vice that have surrounded human beings throughout the ages and with which we can identify, either directly or indirectly. She presents us with stories full of tenderness and innocence as a paradox, which at the same time have a great emotional charge and meaning for all Cubans.
Philosophy, humor, and sex (with emphasis on the latter), as part of the main vices of humanity, are not lacking in this selection of 25 stories. María reflects the idiosyncrasy of the Cuban in this publication. She makes us laugh, think, remember, and -maybe- even cry, which is good and difficult to achieve.
The texts are short, and simple, but not simple at all. Perhaps the pagination is little, but the immensity of the content exceeds it. We find ourselves before a worthy proposal, as great as the vices of the times in which we live.
