Una década de cuentos compilada en un libro / Valentina Salazar

A Decade of Short Stories Compiled in a Book



Over the past decade, Venezuela has been the protagonist of a boom in fiction writing. The names of unknown authors, topics that profoundly explore idiosyncrasy and the reconsideration of previous writers, are all part of the literary bonanza that is being generated.

The fiction anthology De qué va el cuento: Antología del relato venezolano 2000-2012 (Alfaguara, 2013), edited by Carlos Sandoval, contains the 40 most relevant titles in Venezuelan literature today.

In his prologue, Sandoval explains that he made this selection based on the handling of stories and characters, the construction of atmosphere and thematic variety, changing the way the reader was accustomed to interacting with the prose of its creators. The common stage is Caracas, where a middle class is reflected in a struggle for survival in the social imbalance of these years and in a critique of its attitudes. This point is the central link between the short stories and their similarities, differences and displeasures.

“I have the critical hunch that if the authors compiled here insist, their names will become part of the history of our short story in the 21st century,” says Sandoval.




{ Valentina Salazar, Tal Cual, 16 July 2013 }