2 books found
Foreigners in the Homeland analyzes the reception of the Latin American Boom novel in Spain. It argues in favor of an expanded concept of national literature that is not restricted to the native production of citizens but also takes into consideration the importance and nationalization of foreign cultural products. Charting the courses of interliterary relations between Spain and Spanish America, the book analyzes the conditions of the literary market during the 1960s and 1970s, follows the appropriation and canonization of Latin American authors and texts by readers and writers, and examines their impact on the resurgence of regional literatures within Spanish territory.
A landmark collection of essays on the Nobel laureate's conception of Latin America, past, present, and future Throughout his career, the Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa has grappled with the concept of Latin America on a global stage. Examining liberal claims and searching for cohesion, he continuously weighs the reality of the continent against the image it projects, and considers the political dangers and possibilities that face this diverse set of countries. Now this illuminating and versatile collection assembles these never-before-translated criticisms and meditations. Reflecting the intellectual development of the writer himself, these essays distill the great events of Latin America's recent history, analyze political groups like FARC and Sendero Luminoso, and evaluate the legacies of infamous leaders such as Papa Doc Duvalier and Fidel Castro. Arranged by theme, they trace Vargas Llosa's unwavering demand for freedom, his embrace of and disenchantment with revolutions, and his critique of nationalism, populism, indigenism, and corruption. From the discovery of liberal ideas to a defense of democracy, buoyed by a passionate invocation of Latin American literature and art, Sabers and Utopias is a monumental collection from one of our most important writers. Uncompromising and adamantly optimistic, these social and political essays are a paean to thoughtful engagement and a brave indictment of the discrimination and fear that can divide a society.