The Contemporary Spanish-American Novel: Bolano and After

The contemporary Spanish American novel is much talked about,” claims the introduction to the book, but all too little seriously understood. This book seeks to remedy this situation by providing an in-depth guide to recent outstanding fiction from the Spanish-speaking Western Hemisphere. In this, The Contemporary Spanish-American Novel fulfills its goals . In addition to the three main editors, a good number of academics make up the team, and the critical overview of the new literature in Spanish of the Americas is overjoying due to its evident richness, intelligence and originality. Perhaps the main usefulness of this project resides in the group of authors studied . When the United States began to be interested in what was being published in the remote Latin America, the authors who were worth reading were not many; today, if we believe the study, they occupy a large room in the universal library. — Alberto Manguel El Pais (Bloomsbury translation) What has been happening in Latin American fiction in recent years? A very full answer is provided in this invaluable book. The combination of regional overviews (by the editors) and author essays (by a variety of critics, including the editors) brings the reader up-to-date, especially the English-only reader. Most of the novels discussed here have not been translated into English-and the few that have only spottily reviewed-which makes this book a revelation for those of us north of the border interested in new developments in the novel. The Contemporary Spanish-American Novel belongs in all academic libraries. — Steven Moore, author of The Novel: An Alternative History This book sheds light on our knowledge of contemporary Latin American narrative, which is already entering the twenty-first century with great vitality and innovativeness. Through its pages we can understand what is new and original, the authors who have arrived and stayed. A serious and well- thought study. — Sergio Ramirez, author of Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea Picking up the story of the Spanish-American novel from after the Boom, this book has everything you could ever want to know about McOndites, Crackites, Donositos, Bolanites, urban neorealism, desert storytellers, sicaresque narratives, all dizzying, shifting parts in what is inarguably the most vibrant body of writing in the Americas today. — Siddhartha Deb, author of The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of the New India