The Dialectic of Solitude

The Dialectic of Solitude
by Octavio Paz
Published in 1950

As well as the nine essays on his country's psyche and history that make up 'The Labyrinth of Solitude', this highly acclaimed volume also includes 'The Other Mexico', Paz's heartfelt response to the government massacre of over three hundred students in Mexico City in 1968, and 'Return to the Labyrinth of Solitude', in which he discusses his famous work with Claude Fell. The two final essays contain further reflections on the Mexican government.

Selected by Flis Mitchell

Generation X

Excerpt from Generation X: Tales for An Accelerated Culture
by Douglas Coupland
Published in 1991

Andy, Dag and Claire have been handed a society beyond their means. Twentysomethings, brought up with divorce, Watergate and Three Mile Island, and scarred by the 80s fallout of yuppies, recession, crack and Ronald Reagan, they represent the new generation- Generation X. Fiercely suspicious of being lumped together as an advertiser's target market, they have quit dreary careers and cut themselves adrift in the California desert. Unsure of their futures, they immerse themselves in a regime of heavy drinking and working in no future Mc Jobs in the service industry. Underemployed, overeducated and intensely private and unpredicatable, they have nowhere to direct their anger, no one to assuage their fears, and no culture to replace their anomie. So they tell stories: disturbingly funny tales that reveal their barricaded inner world. A world populated with dead TV shows, 'Elvis moments' and semi-disposible Swedish furniture.

Selected by Mike Pinnington

Funes The Memorious

Funes The Memorious
from Labyrinths (1962) by Jorge Luis Borges
First Published in 1942

Jorge Luis Borges was a literary spellbinder whose tales of magic, mystery and murder are shot through with deep philosophical paradoxes.

Selected by Richard Proffitt

Crow's Account of St. George

Crow's Account of St. George
from Crow by Ted Hughes
Published in 1970

Selected by Laura Robertson