Points of Departure

These seventeen stories represent the best of the generation of Mexican writers born in the 50s and 60s. Magical realism and exoticism are nowhere to be found in this collection of sophisticated, very contemporary stories. Rather, the surreal contradictions and juxtapositions of daily life in Mexico are a permeating presence. A sharp sense of irony, incongruity, and hilarity pervades many of the scenarios offered here, along with an acid-tongued fatality in the harsh face of a life where poverty, lawlessness, and urban decay coexist alongside innocent dreams of love.

Mónica Lavin (Mexico City) is a writer and journalist, a dedicated cultural organizer and commentator, and president of the Association of Iberoamerican Writers.

Contributors include:

Bernardo Ruíz
Josefina Estrada
Rafael Pérez Gay
Humberto Rivas
Daniel Sada
Rosa Beltrán
David Toscana
Juan Villoro
Mónica Lavín
Juvenal Acosta
Álvaro Uribe
Rosina Conde
Eduardo Antonio Parra
Mauricio Montiel
Ethel Krauze
Enrique Serna
Francisco Hinojosa