<DIV><P>These seventeen stories represent the best of the generation of Mexican writers born in the 50s and 60s. Magical realism and exoticism are nowhere to be found in this collection of sophisticated, very contemporary stories. Rather, the surreal contradictions and juxtapositions of daily life in Mexico are a permeating presence. A sharp sense of irony, incongruity, and hilarity pervades many of the scenarios offered here, along with an acid-tongued fatality in the harsh face of a life where poverty, lawlessness, and urban decay coexist alongside innocent dreams of love.</P><p><B>Mónica Lavin</B> (Mexico City) is a writer and journalist, a dedicated cultural organizer and commentator, and president of the Association of Iberoamerican Writers.</P><p>Contributors include:</P><p>Bernardo Ruíz<BR> Josefina Estrada<BR> Rafael Pérez Gay<BR> Humberto Rivas<BR> Daniel Sada<BR> Rosa Beltrán<BR> David Toscana<BR> Juan Villoro<BR> Mónica Lavín<BR> Juvenal Acosta<BR> Álvaro Uribe<BR> Rosina Conde<BR> Eduardo Antonio Parra<BR> Mauricio Montiel<BR> Ethel Krauze<BR> Enrique Serna<BR> Francisco Hinojosa</P></DIV>