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  • Utopian Dreams, Apocalyptic Nightmares: Globalization in Recent Mexican and Chicano Narrative
  • Paul Fallon
Utopian Dreams, Apocalyptic Nightmares: Globalization in Recent Mexican and Chicano Narrative. Purdue University Press, 2008. By Miguel López-Lozano.

Miguel López-Lozano argues that Mexican and Chicano writers at the turn of the millennium use dystopian fictions to critique the exploitative and exclusionary aspects of modernity manifesting themselves from colonial times to the contemporary era of globalization. Through this thematic focus, his study accessibly brings together a discussion of Carlos Fuentes's Cristóbal Nonato (1987), Alejandro Morales's The Rag Doll Plagues (1992), Carmen Boullosa's Cielos de la tierra (1997), and Homero Aridjis's La leyenda de los soles (1993) and ¿En quién piensas cuando haces el amor? (1996). A clear introduction presenting a solid historical and discursive framework, and a short conclusion depicting the novels as part of a larger recent tendency in Mexican literature bookend the straightforward analyses.

López-Lozano characterizes the works he examines as responses to a long tradition of utopian images projected broadly onto the Americas, taking the 1992 signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a culminating moment and the definitive historical background. Echoing the dystopian strategies of science fiction classics by authors such as Yevgeny Zamyatin, George Orwell, and Ray Bradbury, the analyzed works criticize the "project of modernity" underlying colonial views of the New World, industrialization, the Mexican Revolution, and globalization. For López-Lozano, each novel recognizes the impact of history and memory on the future, shows concerns about media image and information manipulation, and affirms the possibilities of grassroots efforts bettering society. In addition, all of the works address the insistent portrayals of women, indigenous peoples, and nature as the Others of modernity and culture.

Each chapter discusses distinct emphases that specific authors' works place on these shared thematic threads. Chapter one discusses how Fuentes' novel depicts the difficult relationship anthropology (like many other institutional forms of knowledge) has with indigenous cultures and the State. Focused on The Rag Doll Plagues, the second chapter signals how the work demonstrates the limitations of mestizaje and transculturation as ideals for resolving problems of social injustice. The third chapter takes up the way Boullosa's novel dramatizes the apocalyptic consequences arising from the erasure of indigenous knowledges, national and cultural differences, and language itself, occurring in a society overdependent on technology. Chapter four connects Aridjis's two novels with the concept of harmonious, ecologically-friendly living called "biosophy" through the way the works critique the violence, corruption, and environmental pollution occurring in Mexico. [End Page 289]

Despite this unity and focus, problems of breadth and depth also mark this study. Most notably, Alejandro Morales stands as the only Chicano/a author whose work receives analysis here. Some treatment of dystopian fictions by other Chicano/a authors would aid in substantiating the broader claims made. In addition, while López-Lozano's study insistently establishes as a point of contention the hegemonic view linking the environment, women, and indigenous peoples and opposing them to modernity, it does little to problematize such associations, principally noting instead that these connections have been inverted and affirmatively adopted by ecofeminists. Given the prominence López-Lozano accords this issue, it merits more in-depth analysis (the fact Jerry Hoeg's study dealing specifically with the issue appears in the bibliography but goes uncited highlights this lack).

On the whole, López-Lozano's thematic approach offers a new perspective that brings together potential points of connection between Mexican and Chicano narrative. Most effective in situating the dystopian strategies within Mexican historical and literary contexts, the study provides helpful starting points for broader comparative work. The clear introduction and accessible readings in particular raise questions that invite future investigation into writing on both sides of the border.

Paul Fallon
East Carolina University
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