Day 24: Grandma Edits My Book Review
In the port of Veracruz, Alessandra (A), who reviews books online, asks her grandmother Hortensia (B), a retired literature teacher, to read her review of a new novel before she posts it.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Spanish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Abue, ¿me lees mi reseña? Es de la novela que fue premiada en España.
Grandma, will you read my review? It's about the novel that was awarded a prize in Spain.
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B
Está ingeniosa, mija, pero destrozas la novela. Y, perdóname, dudo que la hayas terminado.
It's clever, sweetheart, but you tear the novel to pieces. And, forgive me, I doubt you've finished it.
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A
¡Claro que sí! Bueno, me salté unos capítulos, pero el final me pareció un disparate.
Of course I have! Well, I skipped a few chapters, but I thought the ending was absurd.
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B
Ahí está: esos capítulos explican el final. La novela fue escrita para leerse despacio.
There you go: those chapters explain the ending. The novel was written to be read slowly.
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A
Pero mis lectores me siguen justamente porque no me ando con rodeos.
But my readers follow me precisely because I don't beat around the bush.
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B
Una cosa es ser franca y otra, ser injusta: no se juzga lo que no se ha leído.
Being frank is one thing and being unfair is another: you don't judge what you haven't read.
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A
Está bien, maestra: la reseña espera hasta que termine la novela. Ojalá el final se haya arreglado solo.
All right, Miss: the review can wait until I finish the novel. Let's hope the ending has fixed itself.
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