Essa was not the type who had an easy life. He had his own "problems" and on top of that, his depression, his cold war with his wife, his son in a psychiatric institution. This unfortunate man was also seeking his inner peace through travels in India and Eastern philosophies. Perhaps this "give and take" with the fairytales of Calima led him to write his own fairytales in a depth of thirty and some years and present them to us.
Fairytales or stories (however one takes them) are read slowly and not in one go because they weigh heavy on the stomach. Following the tradition that fairytales are not addressed to children with a happy ending where "everyone lived well and we even better", the 22 stories of Essa (at least most of them) are dark, sometimes violent, with an ending that is not so carefree, with dragons and wild beasts, with wounded and disoriented heroes.
The philosophical quests of the author, his introversion and generally his psychoanalytical searches are scattered in almost all of his stories. Death and loneliness, the passing and loss of time are a basic theme of his. But as black and spider-like as they may be, they still hold a ray of light inside them.
Since the "fairytales" cover a large time period (I was a child and an old man in one thing), and since they are presented in the book in this way (in chronological order), one can also catch the changes of Essa. Towards the end, he becomes more concise, more sarcastic, more pessimistic, perhaps also more mature. However, I loved the "immature" side of him. The first pieces were more interesting to me.
In conclusion, I liked them. We said they are not read all together, but there were times when I got tired. "Sintarta" continues to be the masterpiece. The translation is bingo! Beautiful! 3.5/5 is fair, but in the case of Essa, the half always goes in favor of the student.