Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnt Water | 1981 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 2 | Myself with Others | 1988 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
| 3 | Constancia and Other Stories for Virgins | 1989 | Carlos Fuentes | Buy |
Carlos Fuentes’s three short story collections appeared during the 1980s, a period when he was already well established as a novelist. Burnt Water (1981) gathers stories that explore Mexican life from different angles, mixing social realism with the surreal and mythological elements that characterize much of his longer fiction.
Myself with Others (1988) blends personal essays with creative pieces, giving readers a window into Fuentes’s intellectual life and literary influences. Constancia and Other Stories for Virgins (1989) is the most overtly fantastical of the three collections, with stories that lean into Gothic and supernatural territory. Together, these volumes show a side of Fuentes’s writing that differs from the grand historical scope of his novels, focusing instead on smaller, more concentrated narratives.