The Cambridge Companion to Gabriel García Márquez (ebook) by Philip SwansonGabriel García Márquez is Latin America's most internationally famous and successful author, and a winner of the Nobel Prize. His oeuvre of great modern novels includes One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. His name has become closely associated with Magical Realism, a phenomenon that has been immensely influential in world literature. This Companion, first published in 2010, includes new and probing readings of all of García Márquez's works, by leading international specialists. His life in Colombia, the context of Latin American history and culture, key themes in his works and their critical reception are explored in detail. Written for students and readers of García Márquez, the Companion is accessible for non-Spanish speakers and features a chronology and a guide to further reading. This insightful and lively book will provide an invaluable framework for the further study and enjoyment of this major figure in world literature.
Isabel Allende by C. Correas de ZapataSketches Isabel Allende from her childhood discovery of stories and characters that are later reflected in her writing. It also offers an analysis of Allende's literary works, her ideas on literature, on literary success, and the tragic death of her daughter Paula.
Laura Esquivel's Mexican Fictions by E. M. WillinghamIn-depth review and assessment of Laura Esquivel criticism, and it has won the Harvey L. Johnson Book Award for 2011 conferred by the South Central Organization of Latin American Studies at its 44th annual Congress in Miami, Florida (March 9, 2012). In the book outstanding essayists - from diverse critical perspectives in Latin American literature and film - explore Esquivel's critical reputation, contextualize her work in literary movements, and consider her four novels and the film based on Like Water for Chocolate. The book begins with An Introduction to Esquivel Criticism, reviewing 20 years of global praise and condemnation. Elena Poniatowska, in an essay provided in the original Spanish and in translation, reflects on her first reading of Like Water for Chocolate. From unique critical perspectives, Jeffrey Oxford, Patrick Duffey, and Debra Andrist probe the novel as film and fiction. The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray explores Esquivel's spiritual focus, while cultural geographer Maria Elena Christie uses words and images to compare Mexican kitchen-space and Esquivel's first novel. Elizabeth Coonrod Martinez and Lydia H. Rodriguez affirm divergent readings of The Law of Love, and Elizabeth M. Willingham discusses the contested national identity in Swift as Desire. Jeanne L. Gillespie and Ryan F. Long approach Malinche: A Novel through historical documents and popular and religious culture. In the closing essay, Alberto Julian Perez contextualizes Esquivel's fiction within Feminist and Hispanic literary movements.
Critical overview of key texts, authors, themes, and contexts as discussed by leading scholars in the field. Demonstrates the relevance of Latina/o literature for a world defined by the migration of people, commodities, and cultural expressions.
Comprehensive, encyclopedic guide to the authors, works, and topics that includes over 400 entries written by experts in the field of Latin American studies.