Barbara Ras Books

BITE EVERY SORROW is a multihued book full of both a strange sadness and the glowing wonder of laughter. "If there are oceans to saddle/ if you could get there, catch the horse/ if you are holy, long enough/ the suger will be taken from your right hand." Ras writes. She provides the saddle, and if you are holy enough, it will certainly give you an exhilarating ride through the lush scenery of her soul.

Ras discribes everyday life as if it were all genuine feelings. Wonderful discriptive language that paints many bright colored pictures.

A good read when visiting the country. I enjoyed/understood the stories much more when I visited Costa Rica and therefore the context in which they were written albeit that many of the stories were written in the earier part of the 20th century. Short stories were a good idea when travelling around

BEFORE TRAVELLING overseas, I always try and read some literature from the places I'm visiting, so I certainly applaud the spirit of the "Traveler's Literary Companion" series. As there doesn't seem to be much in the way of Costa Rican literature available in translation, this anthology is invaluable. However, I'm afraid I didn't find it as illuminating as the reviewers below. While the idea of grouping the 26 short stories by geographical region sounds like a good idea, in practice, I didn't find regional differences embodied in the stories to be distinctive enough to warant such arrangement. Perhaps a better grouping would have been coastal, inland, mountainous, and urban, I'm not sure. Another possible reason I might not have found the selections very evocative is their length. There are 26 stories by 20 authors (six have two stories in the collection) over 220 pages, so one gets more a sense of vignettes with fleeting impressions than a solid sense of what the people or places are like. The one aspect that does appear in the many of the stories is the importance of nature in Costa Rica, both as a source of beauty and as something to struggle against.

The two most invaluable books I read prior to vactioning in Costa Rica were this one, and a social history with magnificent photos called, "Costa Rica: The Last Country the Gods Made."

The funny thing is that they compliment each other almost exactly in their selection of the geographical areas in Costa Rica that they both chose to explore; so you can read the essay, "Travels from the Interior" in "Last Country" then read the corresponding short story set in the highlands of the central plateau in "Literary Companion"!

I read both books alternating back and forth like that....talk about opening up the country before your eyes!

A fascinating variety of styles and topics. We especially enjoyed the way the stories are arranged, by region. Sleepy, pick a short story. If you wonder what it might be like to labor with a machete or to live in a small house in the jungle. If you want to know what it might be like to be the only white girl, or the only brown boy. Read this. This book will change the way you see the uniformed schoolchildren, the mysterious round rocks, the lizards... There is more to Costa Rica than identifying birds and eating mangoes.

This small compilation of short stories was a priceless companion on my trip to Costa Rica. The philosophy of the "Traveler's Literary Companion" series is terrific: one of the best ways to really understand a country and its culture is through that country's literature. I highly recommend this book for anyone planning a trip to Costa Rica, or just curious about this glorious and inviting place. ¡Pura Vida y Tuanis!