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Publishers Weekly Review

Universidad de Costa Rica professor Corts has selected short stories by eight writers to present a panorama of the past 60 years of Costa Rican literature. The chronologically arranged anthology begins with stories by two members of the "Generation of 1940," whose work is characterized by rural settings and social realism: Carlos Salazar Herrera's "Un matoneado" ("The Murdered") and Fabi n Dobles's "El puente" ("The Bridge"). The other selections, by a younger generation of writers dating from 1960 onward, show how national fiction has shattered the idyllic costumbrista (folk literature) texts and become more urban, polyvalent, and increasingly disillusioned. Carmen Naranjo's "Y vendimos la lluvia" ("And We Sold the Rain"), for example, is a bitter parody of a country near collapse. Fernando Dur n Ayanegui's political allegory, "Mambo," concerns the disaster that ensues when the Republic of Volubia loses in the qualifying round of the World Cup. Alfonso Chase employs Costa Rican street slang to reproduce a prostitute's stream-of-consciousness monolog in "Con la msica por dentro" ("With the Music Inside"). Corts also includes contributions by Myriam Bustos and others, as well as a concise introduction and brief bibliography on Costa Rican fiction. Recommended for academic and public libraries collecting Central American fiction or serving the Costa Rican community.David Pardue, Univ. of Kansas Libs., Lawrence (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved