Overol, Cuaderno de Lecturas / Overall, a Reading Log

«Me interesa la no ficci?n porque me interesa la ficci?n: quiero decir, la zona de grisura donde esas dos versiones de un pacto cognitivo con la realidad se tocan.

Los ensayos de este libro fueron escritos entre 2019 y 2024. Su objeto principal, mas no ?nico, es la narrativa mexicana publicada durante la ?ltima d?cada. El marco de referencia es adrede caprichoso: m?s que reiterar est?ndares acad?micos, me interesa interrogar al fen?meno literario contempor?neo sin sucumbir a la obviedad, la uniformidad y el aburrimiento. Overol est? dividido en tres partes: "Contexto", que incluye ensayos extensos sobre t?cnica y ambiente cultural; "Lecturas", que compila art?culos m?s breves, dedicados a un solo autor; y "Relecturas", con tres ensayos sobre autores o libros de d?cadas anteriores, y sobre el modo en que esos materiales platican con el presente. Los llamo "apuntes" no por su falta de profundidad, sino por el predominio de lo casual en la elecci?n de los relatos sobre los que discurro. El lector constatar? la ausencia de algunos de los t?tulos m?s vendidos y pol?micos de la actualidad. Este es un truco que le aprend? a George Steiner: la convicci?n de que escribir sobre libros que te gustan y sobre las razones por las que te gustan vuelve m?s interesante y menos amargo el trayecto de la cr?tica. Casi siempre. -Juli?n Herbert ENGLISH DESCRIPTION "I am interested in non-fiction because I am interested in fiction: in other words, the gray area where these two versions of our cognitive pact with reality intersect."



The essays in this book were written between 2019 and 2024. Their main, if not only subject, is Mexican literature of the last decade, but this is a somewhat arbitrary frame of reference. My goal is not academic analysis but rather an interrogation of contemporary literature without being obvious, conventional or boring. Overol, therefore, is divided into three parts: "Context," which includes lengthly musings on technique and cultural context; "Readings," shorter essays focusing on a single author; and "Re-readings," three pieces about earlier books or authors and how they speak to the present. I call these "notes," not because they lack profundity but because of the casual choice of works addressed. As the reader will notice, these do not include recent bestsellers or controversial titles. This is a trick I learned from George Steiner: the conviction that writing about books you like and why you like them makes the job of the critic more interesting and, certainly, less bitter. Almost always. - Juli?n Herbert