Fictions of Totality

Ryan F. Long is Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of Oklahoma. His research focuses on culture and politics in Mexico, especially the late twentieth century. He has published articles on a range of topics, including the conflict in Chiapas, Mexican cinema, and a number of writers, such as Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Alvaro Mutis, and Luis Gonzalez de Alba.

Chasqui 41.2 (Nov. 2012): 195-98. It is no accident that these investigations [Fictions of Totality by Ryan F. Long and Naciones intelectuales by Ignacio M. Sanchez Prado] into the relation between Mexican literature and the Mexican state should have been published toward the end of the first decade of the 21st century (and should have seen the light at the same press). ... These books trace thus a sort of map that orients us toward the intersection between literature, history and politics in 20th-century Mexico. [the invitation of Sanchez Prado's book: ] by means of "intellectual nations," he proposes "a space of thought about Mexico that doesn't rely on mestizaje and stereotypes." It is an invitation that must be accepted. Long has created a solid work and his book consititutes without doubt a contribution to the interpretation of this literary period in Mexico. These critics [Long and Sanchez Prado] have accepted the challenge to construct a serious criticism, professional and attentive to the object of study, avoiding both the interpretation "de moda" in academic circles and one that is merely descriptive or exempt from hermeneutic risk. And they have come out with flying colors, with two contributions that are very important to the better understanding of a Mexico that needs them. --Pablo Brescia, University of Florida