Hurricanes and Carnivals

”In Mexico,” writes Ilan Stavans in the introduction to this provocative new collection, ”[the essay] is embraced as passionately as a sport.” While the American essay may be personal and confessional or erudite and academic, it is presumed to be truthful. By contrast, the Mexican essay pushes the boundaries between fact and fiction as writers seek to make their opinions heard in literary journals, in newspapers, and even on cereal boxes. ”What is real and what isn’t in a Mexican essay, only God knows,” concludes Stavans.

Although creative nonfiction is widely thought to be an American art form, this collection proves otherwise. By blending fact and fiction, story and fantasy, history and mythology, these writers and others push the limits of the essay to present a vision of Mexico rarely seen from this side of the border. For readers interested in a literary view of contemporary Mexico, as well as students of the creative nonfiction genre, this volume is essential.