Not to Read
Alejandro Zambra
Fitzcarraldo Editions
Part of being twelve is knowing that, from here on, your school bag will be heavier. This is still the case in times of peace as it was in 1980s Chile. ‘Downtown Santiago received us with tear gas bombs, but we weren’t carrying rocks, we were carrying bricks by Baldor or Villee or Flaubert,’ recalls Alejandro Zambra in ‘Obligatory Readings.’ This piece about his childhood opens Not to Read, a collection of Zambra’s non-fiction that is, boiled down, a look at the books he keeps in his bag.
There are essays here on the fiction of Natalia Ginzburg, Macedonio Fernández, Diamela Eltit; on the poetry of Enrique Lihn, Roberto Bolaño, Pope John Paul II; on diaries, letters, wine reviews. The whole thing is like hearing someone smart and engaging talk about literature: we might not know all the names, we might not care to look them up, we might occasionally yawn and roll our eyes, but it is nonetheless good to listen.
It might simply be that it is reassuring to know there are others who like to read. Because although it is true that reading adds weight to our load, the books we carry with us are the bricks we build a refuge out of when downtown Santiago receives us with tear gas bombs.
Words: Olen Bajarias
