Peruvian Short Stories

A native of Pomabamba, Peru, Dorila A. Marting grew up surrounded by the tales of her native city as told by family members and local Quechua storytellers. In Peruvian Short Stories, Marting brings these childhood accounts to life with a narrative that is as distinctively authentic as it is universally relatable.

"This Peruvian legend has many versions depending on who is telling, the story. I will relate to you what I heard a long, long time ago, as a child, from an elderly storyteller Quechua woman named
Mama Cunchina ... "
-The Cave of Maria Josefa


With voices spanning from the small and elderly mouse (The Emigration of Domestic Animals) to the all-encompassing Mama Patcha
(Mother Earth), every story is uniquely enchanting while still supporting the overall parable that is weaved throughout the collection. Marting illustrates her memories with the ease of the Quechua storytellers of her youth, and indeed these accounts of love, loss, family, nature, friendship, and respect are as crucial and resonant today as they were during the inception of Peruvian Folklore.

I invite you to navigate to a foreign land and to a foreign culture and enjoy these stories as much as I have ... "

-Mary L. Jones, Introduction