Reading a work by Cristina Peri Rossi essentially becomes a lesson in literature, art, psychoanalysis, history, philosophy, and biology among many other subjects. The author’s knowledge of various areas clearly comes through the numerous allusions that can be seen throughout the genres, including short stories. Staying loyal to the usual themes found in her literature, Peri Rossi’s short stories address love, passion, feminism, sexuality, and eroticism, as well as political oppression, exile, personal identity, and social commentary. The very first work of literature published by the author was the collection of short stories called Viviendo: Relatos (Living: Stories), in 1963 at the mere age of 22. Only a few years later, the author won her first literary prize, Arca Publishers Prize for Young Authors, with the collection called Los museos abandonados (Abandoned Museums). Once Peri Rossi moved to Spain, she begin to heavily criticize the Uruguayan dictatorship through works such as the La rebelión de los niños (The Uprising of the Children) published in 1980. Apart from political commentary, the author returned several times to the themes of exile in collections such as El museo de los esfuerzos inútiles (The Museum of Useless Efforts) and Una pasión prohibida (A Forbidden Passion). Although the topics of Peri Rossi’s writing tend to melancholic and serious, the author uses humor, parody, and irony to enliven the situations. Throughout her career, Peri Rossi has won various awards for her achievements in short story writing, including Gabriel Miro Narrative Award, ForeWord Book of the Year Gold Medal Award, and Mario Vargas Llosa International Narrative Award. In 2007, editorial house Lumen released a complete collection of Peri Rossi’s short stories called Cuentos Reunidos.
1963 Viviendo: Relatos, Montevideo, Alfa.
1969 Los museos abandonados, Montevideo, Arca.
1970 Indicios pánicos, Montevideo, Nuestra América.
1976 La tarde del dinosaurio, Barcelona, Plaza y Janés.
1980 La rebelión de los niños, Caracas, Monte Ávila.
1983 El museo de los esfuerzos inútiles, Barcelona, Seix Barral.
1986 Una pasión prohibida, Barcelona, Seix Barral.
1988 Cosmoagonías, Barcelona, Laia.
1992 La ciudad de Luzbel y otros relatos, Madrid, Compañía Europea de Comunicaciones e Información.
1994 Por fin solos, Barcelona, Lumen.
1997 Desastres íntimos, Barcelona, Lumen.
2000 Te adoro y otros relatos, Barcelona, Plaza y Janés.
2007 Cuentos Reunidos, Barcelona, Lumen.
2012 Habitaciones privadas, Barcelona, Menos Cuarto.