Zambra, who will appear Jan. 8 at the Coral Gables Books and Books, is an ecumenical storyteller, and he remains grounded in "My Documents" even when his imagination takes a grotesque turn (as in the disturbing "Artist's Rendition") or he plays with the basic act of tale-spinning ("I Smoked Very Well" and "Artist's Rendition," in particular).

There is plenty of truth to be found in "My Documents," Zambra's widely praised 2013 collection of short fiction, published in English last year by McSweeney's. Born in 1975, Zambra sets many of his stories during the Pinochet years (1973-1998), and the dictatorship falls upon them like a shadow. The threat of physical and psychological violence is often present in the lives of Zambra's characters, most of whom are young when the stories begin and all of whom are busy trying to make sense of themselves and the people around them. Intimacy, and not retreat, prove to be their best means of coping with oppression.

Alejandro Zambra will appear 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, at Books and Books, 256 Aragon Ave., in Coral Gables, FL. Admission is free. 

Read more here.