What a great, unexpected find. I understand if you generally avoid short story collections. Nowadays, more than a few such collections end up presenting as technically accomplished, but also sterile, indulgent, and rather pointless. Not so here. While of course the appeal of the various stories can vary, one is mostly guaranteed to find stories that are whimsical, slightly edgy, and peppered with a generous and worldly sense of humor. The tales are written in a variety of styles, reflect various points of view, and cover a wide range of genre and topic territory. Some are frankly humorous tales; some are slyly humorous confessionals, some are deadpan sendups of such icons as Borges or of overused tropes of magical realism, and some bring about a sudden realization or feeling out of the blue, These are refreshingly original and singular, and a bracing breath of fresh air and invigorating playfulness. Reading Agualusa feels like being taken into his confidence and sharing a private joke with him. What a treat.

Each story was woven in a way that invested the reader deeply in the characters. Another great read from Archipelago!

Jose Eduardo Agualusa is one of my favourite novelists. I discovered him by having A General Theory of Oblivion pressed into my hand by a customer who told me I had to read it. To read his short stories is a treat. They are clever, witty and very original. The writing is beautiful, and you never know where you will be taken in the tale.

This is genuinely magical. What a stunning ability to weave a tale with mere word this author has. Genuinely beautiful

DNF'd at 34%.
One quickly notices a repeating pattern, even in the stories that might be called speculative. The narrator meets a prodigious location or person, doesn't believe in the prodigious powers, and the story ends way too early, with the narrator returning to ordinary life.
Of course, not all stories in the book follow this pattern (and again, I only made it to 34% of it). But they do invoke at least some of the same elements. A point is reached where one dreads the start of the next story because it can be bet that it will end too early.

the stores in this collection are utterly refreshing, rejuvenating with a fresh perspective and a compelling voice. from the very first story, where we encounter Borges in banana plantations, I knew I was in good hands and couldn't stop reading the stories. Each story is unique and has a tone of its own, yet collectively, they also tell a take of the human condition.