The Decline and Fall of the Lettered City: Latin America in the Cold War

Convergences: Inventories of the Present

by Jean Franco

The cultural Cold War in Latin America was waged as a war of values--artistic freedom versus communitarianism, Western values versus national cultures, the autonomy of art versus a commitment to liberation struggles--and at a time when the prestige of literature had never been higher. The projects of the historic avant-garde were revitalized by an anti-capitalist ethos and envisaged as the opposite of the republican state. The Decline and Fall of the Lettered City charts the conflicting universals of this period, the clash between avant-garde and political vanguard. This was also a twilight of literature at the threshold of the great cultural revolution of the seventies and eighties, a revolution to which the Cold War indirectly contributed. In the eighties, civil war and military rule, together with the rapid development of mass culture and communication empires, changed the political and cultural map.

A long-awaited work by an eminent Latin Americanist widely read throughout the world, this book will prove indispensable to anyone hoping to understand Latin American literature and society. Jean Franco guides the reader across minefields of cultural debate and histories of highly polarized struggle. Focusing on literary texts by García Marquez, Vargas Llosa, Roa Bastos, and Juan Carlos Onetti, conducting us through this contested history with the authority of an eyewitness, Franco gives us an engaging overview as involving as it is moving.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Latin American Literature

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

Reviews

[apócrifa]

Un estudio que se lee de maravilla, porque se aleja del tono manual para desarrollar un recorrido coherente y completo. Muy buena lectura.

[Hyrum Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Latin American literature, history, or politics interest you (and you’re not afraid of a rigorous read) I highly recommend this book. As a cohesive work tracing the historical context of the Cold War and its impact on Latin American disillusionment in the post-revolutionary era, it is exceptional.

This was exactly what I was looking for: an authoritative account of how Latin America moved from a politically committed, idealistic literary movement to a wave of lamentations born of frustrated revolutions and unrealized promises.

As we edge further into a digital age where autocracy increasingly encroaches on public and private life, and where our attention spans are eroded by endless scrolling, readings like this feel more urgent than ever. Understanding the struggle to enter and shape “the lettered city” becomes not just an intellectual exercise, but a matter of social and ideological survival.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

goated

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread this for a book review. Great overview of works of literature and culture throughout Latin America from the Cold War era to the era of neoliberalism. Particularly I like the argument that when art is relegated to the market economy and seen as simple entertainment rather than critical works which engage with human experience its so detrimental to the arts.