Latin American Mystery Writers: An A to Z Guide (review)

Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies 271 in spite of the fact they are given credit as being the creators of the first surrealist science fiction magazine Crononauta (in Mexico) in 1964. Perhaps rhey should be considered for subsecuent editions, especially since lately Jodorowsky has developed rhe science fiction genre into a poopular comic srrip. Although Lockhart does not include the aforementioned authors in rhis volume, he does rightly include the profile of many women writers and other non-canonical figures. In sum, as rhe editor explains, in this index of writers it is possible to identify the influence of foreign models on the Latin American science fiction writing along with its own homegrown roots that have molded the genre into the singular genre it is today. Therefore, this book serves well as a tool for identifying who's who in Hispanic science fiction literature. Vania Barraza Toledo The University of Arizona Latin Ameruan Mystery Writers: An A to Z Guide Greenwood Press, 2004 Edited by Darrell B. Lockhart As it is stated in its preface, Latin American Mystery Writers: An A to Z Guide is an attempt to bring together in one volume a comprehensive inventory of Latin American mystery writing to this date. The scope of this work reaches from the writers of classical forms of detective fiction to those of contemporary detective fiction in the line of the hard-boiled style of writing. As Lockharr srates, this book, like its companion volume, Latin American Science Fiction Writers: An Ato Z Guide, has a twofold purpose. First, it underscores the breadth and scope of this type of writing, which has been practiced on several continents and by a vast number of writers for more than a century. Second, mystery or detective fiction, long considered a sub-lirerary form due to its mass distribution and consumption, has been lumped into the category of popular culture and therefore is often overlooked in more "serious" academic circles. This book seeks to vindicate mystery fiction's low-brow status and to represent a body of fiction that is not only notably one of the most prominent literary forms being practiced in Latin America during the past three decades, but increasingly is receiving the critical attention it rightly deserves. Latin American Mystery Writers: An A to Z Guide is the result of a collaborative effort of 24 different scholars of detective fiction in die United States, Latin America, and Europe. Considering the vast quantity of mystery fiction published in Latin America, a volume of this nature cannot be all inclusive. Nonetheless , the contributors' selections demonstrate an interest in highlighting the writers of counrries in which the genre is less practiced and writers of counrries that enjoy a long and consistent tradition of mystery fiction, such as Argentina , Cuba, and Mexico. Moreover, attention has been given to both well-known, "canonical" writers, such as Borges, Bioy Casares, Carlos Fuentes, Mempo Giardinelli, Ricardo Piglia, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, and Rodolfo Walsh and writers who are virtually unheard of, to those whose writings closely adhere to the established codes of mystery fiction and to those who incorporate only some of them into their texts. This volume opens with Lockhart's translation of Mempo Giardinelli's excellent essay on hard-boiled fiction in Latin America, "The Hard-boiled Detective Novel in Latin America." The bulk of the book is made up of fifty-four biographical enrries on authors of mystery fiction from seven different countries, principally Argentina and Mexico. Each one begins widi a brief biographical sketch of the author followed by a summary of his or her contribution to the genre and closes with a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. The last section provides a wonderful bibliography of literary anthologies and criticism that covers Latin America in general and each individual counrry. Giardinelli's essay serves particularly well as the introduction for this book as it discusses important issues relating to nature and 272 Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies development of Latin American hard-boiled fiction. First of all Giardinelli addresses the issue of whether or not a Latin American hardboiled genre actually exists. He goes on to validate this question and give a...