Granta issue 113

The Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists is certainly a bold claim, but given Granta's track record in spotting future literary heavyweights perhaps they can afford to be bold. Ian McEwan, Martin Amis and Kazuo Ishiguro, to name but a few, were amongst those included in Granta's Best of Young British Novelists nearly thirty years ago. This time, though, Granta is offering us a sneak preview of the future of Spanish language writers - included in this eye-catching collection of short stories and extracts may be tomorrow's García Márquez, Allende, Vargas Llosa, or Borges.

That said, these new writers mark a break from what we have grown accustomed to in Spanish language writing - gone are the heady jungle scenes, and apocalyptical hurricanes; gone, in short, is magical realism. What was once inventive and original had become tired and clichéd; these young writers have reinvigorated Spanish language writing.
In the place of conceptual and structural games is a focus on daily life, on the act of writing itself, on relationships, and on sex and violence. With such a range of contributors, there are inevitably one or two stories that fall flat, but what stands out is the overall quality of prose and control of form. A particular highlight is 'The Coming Flood' by Andrés Barba, in which a plastic surgery addict spirals into a surreal obsession with a horn.

With contributors from eight Spanish speaking countries, this collection is broad in its range and particularly so in its inclusion of writers living in and writing about the USA. In this and the predominately urban setting of each story is reflected Spain and South America's changing literary face.