"Using concepts from urban and cultural studies, City Fictions examines the representation of the city in the works of five important late-twentieth century Spanish American writers: Octavio Paz, Julio Cortazar, Christina Peri Rossi, Diamela Eltit, and Carlos Monsivais. While each of these writers is influenced at least partially by a specific Spanish American city - be it Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, or Santiago - they share ways in which they fictionalize the city. They all equate language and body with urban space. In these metaphors, language breaks down and the body disintegrates, creating a disturbing picture of violent decline. Amanda Holmes demonstrates how representation of the city through metaphors of linguistic and corporeal rupture as well as of new vital human possibilities, reflects a response to both political violence and untenable economic policies in Latin America during the last three decades of the twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.