The Review of Contemporary Fiction

Points of Departure: New Stories from Mexico by Mónica Lavín, Ed. Trans. Gustavo V. Segade
Sophia A. McClennen

Mónica Lavín, ed. Points of Departure: New Stories from Mexico. Trans. Gustavo V. Segade. City Lights, 2001. 159 pp. Paper: $15.95

This collection of seventeen short stories brings together Mexican writers born in the fifties and sixties, many of whom have never been translated into English. The collection is a testament to the thriving short-story genre in Mexico, and it provides the reader with a broad selection of literary strategies and thematic issues. Most important, the collection demonstrates to readers who tend to assume that all Latin American writers practice magical realism that there are a vast array of aesthetic practices present in contemporary Mexican writing. While the writers included reside in different regions of Mexico, the majority are from the capital. Consequently, many of the stories take place in urban settings and show a raw edge similar to the grittiness found in contemporary Mexican films like Amores perros. We see the frustration, urgency, and tensions of a woman who falls in love while in prison in “Queen of Shadow” (Bernardo Ruíz), as well as the despair and pessimism of an entrepreneur who owns a failing paint business in “The Big Brush” (David Toscana). These stories show a Mexican culture hard to romanticize and exoticize. Some of the stories tell of failed romances, but they display none of the melodramatic tendencies often associated with Mexican culture. Mónica Lavín’s “Why Come Back?” is a harsh tale of a couple’s reconciliation after adultery, and Josefina Estrada’s “June Gave Him the Voice” is a haunting tale of a husband who finds his wife dead. These two stories dispel many myths of Mexican romance and they provide us with disturbing visions of failed marriages. This collection of stories makes a valuable contribution to Latin American texts in translation; it provides readers with a glimpse of the range and intensity of contemporary Mexican literature. [Sophia A. McClennen]


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The Review of Contemporary Fiction Points of Departure: New Stories from Mexico by Mónica Lavín, Ed. Trans. Gustavo V. Segade Sophia A. McClennen Mónica Lavín, ed. Points of Departure: New Stories from Mexico. Trans. Gustavo V. Segade. City Lights, 2001. 159 pp. Paper: $15.95 This collection of seventeen short stories brings together Mexican writers born in the fifties and sixties, many of whom have never been translated into English. The collection is a testament to the thriving short-story genre in Mexico, and it provides the reader with a broad selection of literary strategies and thematic issues. Most important, the collection demonstrates to readers who tend to assume that all Latin American writers practice magical realism that there are a vast array of aesthetic practices present in contemporary Mexican writing. While the writers included reside in different regions of Mexico, the majority are from the capital. Consequently, many of the stories take place in urban settings and show a raw edge similar to the grittiness found in contemporary Mexican films like Amores perros. We see the frustration, urgency, and tensions of a woman who falls in love while in prison in “Queen of Shadow” (Bernardo Ruíz), as well as the despair and pessimism of an entrepreneur who owns a failing paint business in “The Big Brush” (David Toscana). These stories show a Mexican culture hard to romanticize and exoticize. Some of the stories tell of failed romances, but they display none of the melodramatic tendencies often associated with Mexican culture. Mónica Lavín’s “Why Come Back?” is a harsh tale of a couple’s reconciliation after adultery, and Josefina Estrada’s “June Gave Him the Voice” is a haunting tale of a husband who finds his wife dead. These two stories dispel many myths of Mexican romance and they provide us with disturbing visions of failed marriages. This collection of stories makes a valuable contribution to Latin American texts in translation; it provides readers with a glimpse of the range and intensity of contemporary Mexican literature. [Sophia A. McClennen]

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