Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eye of the Heart | 1973 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 2 | Magical Realist Fiction | 1984 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 3 | The Penguin Book of Latin American Short Stories | 1992 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 4 | An Exploration of Horror: Foundations of Fear | 1992 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 5 | Foundations of Fear: Volume II: Worlds of Fear | 1994 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 6 | The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories | 1997 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 7 | The Picador Book of Latin American Stories | 1999 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 8 | Vintage Book of Latin American Stories | 2000 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 9 | Bordering Fires: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Mexican and Chicana and Chicano Literature | 2006 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 10 | A Very Mexican Christmas | 2022 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
Carlos Fuentes’s short fiction appears in numerous anthologies of Latin American writing, reflecting his status as one of the region’s most important literary figures. These collections span nearly fifty years, from Eye of the Heart (1973) to A Very Mexican Christmas (2022), and place his work alongside other major authors from across Latin America.
Several of these anthologies are considered standard reference works for Latin American literature. The Penguin Book of Latin American Short Stories and The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories are both widely used in university courses and include Fuentes as a core contributor. Other entries, like Magical Realist Fiction and the horror-focused Foundations of Fear collections, show the range of genres that have claimed Fuentes as an influence. Bordering Fires (2006) specifically focuses on Mexican and Chicano writing, providing a narrower look at the literary tradition Fuentes did so much to shape.