<i>A broken mirror </i>: Fragmentation and unity in the new short narrative of Central America

Abstract

The article presents an analytical and panoramic reading of thirty stories collected under one symbolic title, which convey a way of thinking and feeling in Central American individuals in the XXI century as well as a fragmented and united perspective of a region marked by its historical and cultural contrasts, but also by their similarities. The central objective is to show how this unity is manifested not only in the stories themselves, but in the words of the authors, included at the end of each story. Reading was conducted by a theoretical conception about literature as a social practice and at the same time as a representation of different visions about individual and collective identity. It also assumes a historical-cultural perspective of the region. The thirty stories were read by a broad thematic thread, leaving future scholars a detailed analysis of each one. The result is a vision of Central America as capable of providing the universal literature suggestive and revealing complex manifestations.