Reflecting the variety of modern Spanish literature, these stories range from the sharp insights of Gabriel García Marquez"s "María dos Prazeres" to Isabel Allende"s powerful evocation of the oral traditions of the Amerindian "Walimai," the deceptive simplicity of Javier Marías"s "On the Honeymoon," and the philosophical speculation of Laura Freixas"s "Absurd Ending."