After the Despots: Latin American Views and Interviews

In 23 essays and interviews with Latin American authors, Anglo-Argentine writer Graham-Yooll ( State of Fear ) subtly and perceptively portrays the Latin American mosaic. Jorge Luis Borges wearily discusses the prospects for Argentine democracy, while Daniel Moyano recalls his own detention by the Argentine military. Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa suggests that exile prevents provincialism, while Cuban-born Guillermo Cabrera Infante calls England a ``mirror image'' of his homeland. Interviews with lesser-knowns yield arresting observations. Graham-Yooll attributes to Jorge Edwards the ``slightly provincial vanity of the Chilean--a cautious worldliness--which is not the same as the arrogance of the Argentine.'' The essays range from a discussion of Paraguay, with its second-hand Belgium trams, to a report on a writers' conference in Caracas, where a book is launched by pouring rum over it. (Mar.)