The Mexican Who Would Be Dickens
Late Literary Lion Carlos Fuentes on L.A., London, and the Book He Wished He Could Have Written
When the Mexican novelist and essayist Carlos Fuentes, who died May 15, visited Zócalo for an interview with Andrés Martinez in the fall of 2007, he talked about place, and places.
Los Angeles, he said, was a “confusing and beautiful” city that left him disoriented, puzzled, and still “very much at home.” He spoke of his life in London, and his appreciation both for its literary history (Dickens was his favorite) and for its “cold” and “miserable” present; the lack of warm people and good food made it an easy place …
