Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Francisco Goldman

Quote by Francisco Goldman

“Narco fiction novels have a reputation, at least here in Mexico among some of the writers I know, of being somewhat rushed productions, usually written in one way or another like crime thrillers, with something cheesily exploitative about them. It feels exploitive - taking this horrible and ongoing tragedy and trying to turn it into something entertaining. Or trying to turn it into something that might earn the writer a reputation of the sort that many writers believe they aspire to. Or earn them money.”

Quote by Francisco Goldman

Create image

Author

Francisco Goldman
Francisco Goldman

Francisco Goldman is an American novelist known for his profound insights into Latin American political and social issues. His works often blend literary value with political commentary, earning him praise from readers and critics alike. more

You May Also Like

“Great fiction has been written out of the very darkest circumstances of our narco violence, and nothing written in either fiction or nonfiction has penetrated that darkness so memorably - you can even say beautifully, a relentless riveting forensic dark beauty that some readers in fact find themselves unable to endure - as Roberto Bolaño's 2666. Especially in "The Part about the Crimes." But here's the thing: nobody would call 2666 a "narco novel."”

DarkDarknessNovelViolenceCrimeCircumstancesEndureRelentless
Author:Francisco Goldman
Create image

“Mexico just needs more journalists, and especially more good places to publish and exhibit. There are all kinds of censorship practiced in Mexico, not just violent repression. Perhaps the biggest threat to good journalism here is the massive power of the country's media monoliths - Televisa and TV Azteca - who have 80% of the market. They endlessly saturate the country with propaganda and inanity.”

KindCountryThreatViolentAll KindsJournalismJournalistPropagandaCensorshipPublish
Author:Francisco Goldman
Create image

“I feel a responsibility, as I get older, to be responsible to what I've experienced, to what I've lived and been in a position to witness. I realize now that as a consequence of having lived the life I have, quite apart from the one, as I understand it, lived by most American writers, maybe I now know some things and have some stories to tell that others don't know about or wouldn't be able to tell. Maybe there's an intrinsic value in that lived experience and knowledge, though of course what you do with it is everything.”

ValuesRealizingResponsibilityConsequenceResponsibleWitnessBeing ResponsibleAmerican Writer
Author:Francisco Goldman
Create image

“I don't impose political responsibilities on my fiction. The last thing I would ever want to do, for example, is write a novel that would appear to want to tell people what to think about the immigration debate, and I would never write a novel whose sole ambition was to give a "positive" view of immigrants. I'm for open borders, by the way - down with the nation state!”

PeopleThinkingGivingWritingPoliticalResponsibilityNovelAmbitionDebateImmigration
Author:Francisco Goldman
Create image

“The Peña Nieto government is not going to investigate itself; there's no true autonomy in the investigative and justice branches of the government in Mexico. The recent Mexican crimes and scandals, is profoundly structural, and you'd have to change the way Mexico is run, create a truly independent special prosecutor's office, to even have a chance to get close to achieving justice. People, including the families and many others throughout Mexican society, aren't going to give up in fighting for just that kind of change.”

PeopleGivingKindRunningFightingJusticeChanceAchieveSpecialCrimeOfficeGiving UpIndependentAutonomyMexican
Author:Francisco Goldman
Create image