''The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and her Heartless Grandmother'' ( es, La increíble y triste historia de la cándida Eréndira y de su abuela desalmada, link=no) is a 1972

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by Colombian writer

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

Plot summary

This is the story of a twelve year old who accidentally sets fire to the house where she lives with her grandmother. The grandmother decides that Erendira must pay her back for the loss, and sells her into prostitution in order to make money. The story takes on the characteristics of a bizarre fairy tale, with the evil grandmother forcing her Cinderella-like granddaughter to sell her body. They travel all over for several years, with men lining up for miles to enjoy her. Meanwhile, Erendira falls in love. Her lover tries to poison the grandmother with arsenic in a birthday cake and to blow her up with a homemade bomb, but she survives all this and continues to dominate, until Erendira's lover finally stabs the grandmother to death. By the time he regains his composure, Erendira has fled alone.

Adaptations

The short story was adapted to the

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

art film '' Eréndira'', directed by

Ruy Guerra Ruy Alexandre Guerra Coelho Pereira (born August 22, 1931) is a Portuguese-Brazilian film director and screenwriter. Guerra was born a Portuguese citizen in Lourenço Marques (today Maputo) in Mozambique, when it was still a Portuguese colony. ...

Irene Papas Irene Papas or Irene Pappas ( el, Ειρήνη Παππά, Eiríni Pappá, ; born Eirini Lelekou ( el, Ειρήνη Λελέκου, Eiríni Lelékou, link=no); 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred ...

acted as the Grandmother and

Cláudia Ohana Maria Cláudia Silva Carneiro (born February 6, 1963), known professionally as Cláudia Ohana (after the maternal surname of her mother, Nazareth Ohana Silva), is a Brazilian actress and singer of Portuguese and Jewish origin. In Brazil, she is ...

as Eréndira.

Violeta Dinescu Violeta Dinescu (born 13 July 1953, in Bucharest) is a Romanian composer, pianist and professor, living in Germany since 1982. Romania Violeta Dinescu began her studies of music in 1972 at the conservatory ''Ciprian Porumbescu'' in Bucharest, c ...

's opera '' Eréndira'', to a German-language

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

, premiered in 1992 in Stuttgart.Christian Baier
"Hologramm existentieller Befindlichkeiten – Violeta Dinescus ''Eréndira''"
in: ''

Österreichische Musikzeitschrift The ''Österreichische Musikzeitschrift'' (ÖMZ, Austrian music magazine) was a monthly music magazine published in Vienna, Austria, by Verlag Musikzeit. It was established in 1945 by the Austrian cultural politician and music critic . It appear ...

'', vol. 48, nos. 10–11 (October 1993)

References

External links

''The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother''
''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', 18 April 2014
Book review
in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' 1978 novels Colombian novellas Colombian novels adapted into films Short stories by Gabriel García Márquez Novels about Colombian prostitution {{1970s-story-stub