Realism | Lecturia

Mario Vargas Llosa: A Visitor

“A Visitor” (Un visitante) is a short story by Mario Vargas Llosa, published in 1959 in the book Los jefes. It tells the story of the unexpected arrival of a man nicknamed El Jamaiquino at a lonely farmhouse where Doña Merceditas, an older woman, lives on the edge of the jungle. Although the visitor initially appears friendly, he soon reveals a hidden agenda: he is on the trail of Numa, a former accomplice. Through a series of tense and enigmatic interactions between the protagonists, Vargas Llosa develops a plot of betrayal and revenge, in which the characters’ pasts and their complex relationships are crucial to bringing to life a suspenseful narrative.

James Baldwin: Sonny’s Blues

“Sonny’s Blues” is a short story by James Baldwin, published in 1957 in Partisan Review. Set in Harlem in the mid-20th century, the story begins when a professor learns that his younger brother, Sonny, has been arrested for selling and using heroin. This news triggers a profound reflection on their shared childhood, family tensions, and the harsh conditions of the neighborhood where they grew up. As he tries to reconnect with Sonny, the narrator is confronted with suffering, isolation, and the redemptive power of music as a form of expression and resistance.

Kate Chopin: Regret

“Regret” is a short story by Kate Chopin, published in May 1895 in Century magazine and later collected in the book A Night in Acadie (1897). The story centers on Mamzelle Aurélie, a strong-willed country woman who has never married and has no desire to do so. One day, her quiet routine is disrupted when she must care for her neighbor’s four young children. With no experience with children and reluctance to show affection, Mamzelle Aurélie begins a forced coexistence that tests her customs, patience, and deepest convictions.

Dorothy Parker: A Telephone Call

“A Phone Call” is a short story by Dorothy Parker, published in January 1928 in The Bookman. Through an anxious inner monologue, a woman desperately waits for the man she loves to keep his promise to call her. As she watches the clock and struggles not to succumb to the temptation to dial him, her mind wanders between hope, pleading, and humiliation. With an intimate and direct style, Parker sharply portrays the emotional fragility, the self-deception, and the intensity of unrequited desire in an everyday but deeply moving situation.

Doris Lessing: An Old Woman and her Cat

An Old Woman and her Cat is a short story by Doris Lessing, published in 1972 in the New American Review. It tells the story of Hetty, an older woman marginalized by her family and society, who survives as best she can on the fringes of London. Proud, eccentric, and free, Hetty finds comfort in Tibby, a stray cat she adopts and makes her only companion. The story focuses on her wanderings through run-down neighborhoods, her struggle to remain independent, and her endearing bond with the animal in an environment that becomes increasingly hostile and indifferent.

Jack London: The Mexican

The Mexican, a short story by Jack London, published on August 19, 1911, in The Saturday Evening Post, narrates the arrival of Felipe Rivera to a revolutionary cell fighting against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico. At first, Rivera, an enigmatic, reserved young man with an implacable look, generates distrust among the veterans, who relegate him to the most humble and degrading tasks. However, his unwavering dedication to the cause soon becomes evident. Rivera, marked by a mysterious past, seems willing to sacrifice to contribute to the revolutionary dream.