Carlos Monsivis: Culture and Chronicle in Contemporary Mexico
by Linda Egan
Category: Literary Criticism

One of MexicoÕs foremost social and political chroniclers and its most celebrated cultural critic, Carlos Monsiv‡is has read the pulse of his country over the past half century. The author of five collections of literary journalism pieces called cr—nicas, he is perhaps best known for his analytic and often satirical descriptions of Mexico CityÕs popular culture. This comprehensive study of Monsiv‡isÕs cr—nicas is the first book to offer an analysis of these works and to place Monsiv‡isÕs work within a theoretical framework that recognizes the importance of his vision of Mexican culture. Linda Egan examines his ideology in relation to theoretical postures in Latin America, the United States, and Europe to cast Monsiv‡is as both a heterodox pioneer and a mainstream spokesman. She then explores the poetics of the contemporary chronicle in Mexico, reviewing the genreÕs history and its relation to other narrative forms. Finally, she focuses on the canonical status of Monsiv‡isÕs work, devoting a chapter to each of his five principal collections. Egan argues that the five books that are the focus of her study tell a story of ever-renewing suspense: we cannot know Òthe endÓ until Monsiv‡is is through constructing his literary project. Despite this, she observes, his work between 1970 and 1995 documents important discoveries in his search for causes, effects, and deconstructions of historical obstacles to MexicoÕs passage into modernity. While anthropologists and historians continue to introduce new paradigms for the study of MexicoÕs cultural space, EganÕs book provides a reflexive twist by examining the work of one of the thinkers who first inspired such a critical movement. More than an appraisal of Monsiv‡is, it offers a valuable discussion of theoretical issues surrounding the study of the chronicle as it is currently practiced in Mexico. It balances theory and criticism to lend new insight into the ties between Mexican society, social conscience, and literature.