Not To ReadIn Not to Read, Alejandro Zambra outlines his own particular theory of reading that also offers a kind of blurry self portrait, or literary autobiography. Whether writing about Natalia Ginzburg, typewriters and computers, Paul Lautaud, or how to be silent in German, his essays function as a laboratory for his novels, a testing ground for ideas, readings and style. Not to Read also presents an alternative pantheon of Latin American literature Zambra

'All we could see was the dust on the road ahead and ourselves on the bike

Metapolitics argues that one of the main tasks of contemporary thought is to abolish the idea that politics is merely an object for philosophical reflection

” set mostly in Philadelphia

overflows with his signature wit and his gift for crafting short novels that manage to contain whole worlds

it seemed too ridiculous to take seriously

As a species we always seem to be struggling to face the reality of base and delusive human instincts

reaching far beyond our childhoods

our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal

millions have one severe enough to seriously endanger their health

and intellectual history—Wang Hui

Borges the movie critic

The Story of Southeast Asia tells how the peoples of the region have crafted their diverse societies and cultures over thousands of years