A Taste of Ecuador: The Collected Stories of Eugenia Viteri

Okay, so. I really did not enjoy this but I don't know what went wrong for me. I spent a lot of time not understanding what was happening, or what the author was trying to convey. Was that a problem with the writing? Cultural markers or expressions that I didn't understand? Personal limitations? No idea. I found the word choice challenging in places and had to look up a few words. When I looked a word up it was correct, but a more common word could have been used instead. So then I wondered about the translation. Were these more obscure words a choice based on the original writing, or on a not-so-great understanding of English? I think the translation is either very poor, or entirely brilliant, and I have no idea which. I don't want to discourage others from trying this book - I'm hoping people do, and that they review, as I'm curious to know what others' experiences are. Maybe this is all part of the exercise - communication is so much more than words on paper, and it's possible the cultural context had me missing more than I realised. Or maybe I'm just not that bright. :)