This illuminating book compiles some eighty* texts written by Lola Pons Rodríguez between 2020 and 2022. Among other things, I learned that
- Alfonso X el Sabio (1221—1284) arrived to the Moon before Neil Armstrong;
- until 15 Century, there was no nosotros and vosotros in Castilian;
- 1492 was the year when, apart from other Spanish achievements, the first ever grammar of a modern European language, Gramática de la lengua castellana by Antonio de Nebrija, was published;
- in some parts of Canary Islands, Valencia and Colombia, they use hayn (as in hayn dulces que me sientan mal), a plural form of hay;
- sobrecastellano is yet another name of the Spanish language, invented by Miguel de Unamuno.
Best of all, the texts (or chapters, or stories, whatever you call them) are short and pleasure to read in any sequence you like. My favourites are: Bienvenidos al Museo de los Engaños; Borgesque† 26 de agosto de 1992: un día de furia y libros; and Nazis y peronistas organizan una cita a ciegas, a touching love (and philology!) story of María Rosa Lida and Yakov Malkiel.
| * | Well, I counted only 79. |
| † | I suppose the correct, or more correct, term should be Borgesesque composed of the proper name Borges and suffix -esque, i.e. “in the style of Jorge Luis Borges”. Except it’s quite a mouthful. I prefer Borgesque in a hope that nobody interprets it as “resembling the Borg”, those infamous “Resistance is futile!” cyborgs of Star Trek. |
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