{"product_id":"the-life-of-lazarillo-de-tormes","title":"The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes","description":"Spain has produced two books that changed world literature: \u003ci\u003eDon Quixote\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLazarillo de Tormes\u003c\/i\u003e, the first picaresque novel ever written and the inspired precursor to works as various as \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHuckleberry Finn\u003c\/i\u003e. Banned by the Spanish Inquisition after publication in 1554, Lazarillo was soon translated throughout Europe, where it was widely copied. The book is a favorite to this day for its vigorous colloquial style and the earthy realism with which it exposes human hypocrisy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe bastard son of a prostitute, Lazarillo goes to work for a blind beggar, who beats and starves him, while teaching him some very useful dirty tricks. The boy then drifts in and out of the service of a succession of masters, each vividly sketched and together revealing the corrupt world of imperial Spain. Its miseries are made all the more apparent by the candor and surprising good cheer with which young Lazarillo recounts his ever more curious fate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis version of Lazarillo, by the prizewinning poet and translator W.S. Merwin, brings out the wonderful vitality and humor of this universal masterwork.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe author of\u003ci\u003e Lazarillo de Tormes\u003c\/i\u003e is unknown.","brand":"New York Review of Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55654022676553,"sku":null,"price":8.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0956\/5336\/3785\/files\/4247593482754.jpg?v=1777060113","url":"https:\/\/morebetterbooks.com\/products\/the-life-of-lazarillo-de-tormes","provider":"More Better Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}