Drama! Excess! Men in bee suits! Often erroneously compared to soap operas of the United States, outside of the necessary and sometimes fantastical dramatic story arc, however, the _telenovela_ differs greatly from U.S. soap operas and have regional and cultural distinctions throughout Latin America. In _Telenovelas_, Ilan Stavans has gathered over two-dozen essays covering the _telenovela_ for readers to better understand the phenomenon and its myriad layers. Branching off from _radionovelas_, the _telenovela_ was exported from pre-Castro Cuba during the 1950s. The essays found in _Telenovelas_ covers a broad view of the genre, television's impact in Latino culture, as well as more in-depth discussions of specific _telenovelas_ throughout the Spanish-speaking television audience in the North America. Also explored is how _telenovelas_ depict stereotypes, respond to gender and class roles, and examines the differences in topic and thematic choices as well as production values unique to each country.