SOURCE: McMurray, George. Review of Misterios de la vida diaria, by Jorge Ibargüengoitia. World Literature Today 72, no. 4 (autumn 1998): 806.

In the following review, McMurray asserts that although Misterios de la vida diaria is well written, it explores historical Mexican issues that are of little interest to contemporary readers.

One of Mexico's most distinguished writers of his generation, Jorge Ibargüengoitia died in a plane crash in 1983 at the age of fifty-five. He is perhaps best remembered for his satire, an example of which is his hilarious novel about the Mexican Revolution, Los relámpagos de agosto (1964).

Misterios de la vida diaria consists of selected articles Ibargüengoitia published in Excelsior between 1968 and 1976. The book is divided into five sections, which in their entirety convey trenchant comments on issues of interest at the time of their publication. The tone of these pieces ranges from the humorous, the ironic, and...