A Companion to Modern Spanish American Fiction by Donald L. Shaw (review)

Abstract

1078 Reviews 'Por lo tanto, el interes por las armas antiguas tiene una clara relacion con la figura paterna'. All this in the space ofjust two pages! As regards style, there is also much that could be improved upon. Too many sen? tences consist of a series of independent main clauses one afteranother separated only by a comma. The author seems to ignore the existence of the semicolon, whose use would help the reader to make sense of what he is reading. This particular reader had to return a number of times to some sentences and repunctuate them simply in order to understand what was being said. As a result, a book that has much to say about Carlos Barral and his poetry and that fillsa real gap in our understanding of Spanish poetry ofthe 1950s and 1960s is not always the pleasurable read that it should be, and that is a pity. University of Birmingham Trevor J. Dadson A Companion toModern Spanish American Fiction. By Donald L. Shaw. (Coleccion Tamesis: Serie A, Monografias) London: Tamesis. 2002. 258 pp. ?40. ISBN 185566 -065-2. Donald L. Shaw's A Companion to Modern Spanish American Fiction is an ambitious book of exceptional significance for the ongoing endeavour of providing a meaningful synthesis of modern Spanish American narrative. Unlike many similar literary-historical overviews, which often sap the vitality of individual works by theorizing rather than analysing, Shaw's book delivers more than its title may promise. On the one hand, true to its encyclopaedic form, the Companion meets the challenge of painting a sweeping panorama of two centuries of Spanish American narrative firmly grounded in carefully researched factual references. On the other hand, Shaw's opus succeeds, almost miraculously, in transcending its monumental format by avoiding the trap of over-generalization. He avoids making abstract claims disengaged from the historical context and moves effortlessly between brief but careful analysis of individual texts, historical references, and polemical exchanges with other critics. Shaw's writing style commands attention not only because he knows a lot, but also because he knows how to tell a compelling story with gusto. You will not find him hiding behind platitudes or seeking refuge in the jungle of theory. His engaging and intelligible prose?which is likely to appeal to a general educated readership?clearly sets his work apart from the stilted, jargon-laden style so common in today's literary criticism. In fact, Shaw himself displays impatience with needlessly obscure musings of his colleagues, to the point of being blunt in equating clarity of expression with enduring value of criticism. Shaw traces the development of Spanish American modern fiction in nine wellconceived chapters plus a brief conclusion: 1. 'Origins'; 2. 'Realism, Naturalism and Modernismo',3. 'Indigenism,Regionalismand the Aftermathof Modernismo',4. 'The 1940s, the Pre-Boom. The Changing View of the Writer's Task'; 5. 'The Boom'; 6. 'The Boom Continued'; 7. 'The Post-Boom'; 8. 'The Post-Boom Continued'; 9. 'Postmodernism'. Shaw's original arguments draw on an extensive bibliography, which furtherenhances the value of the volume as indispensable reference and source of inspiration forany reader?within and outside the academy?interested in explor? ing the wealth of Spanish American fiction. Even though the bibliography is annotated in extremely broad strokes?some of which may raise eyebrows?it is very useful. Whereas in earlier chapters Shaw uses the benefit of hindsight to draw conclusions and offergeneralizations, in the second half of the book he leaves plenty of room for future reassessments of current literary phenomena. In the last chapter he also succumbs to the lure of theory,but again with fruitfulresults, as he manages to show the MLR, 99.4, 2004 1079 richness and intricacy of Postmodernism without equating itwith the Post-Boom. By devoting sequel chapters to the 'Boom' and 'Post-Boom' chapters, not only does he succeed in nuancing his own voice, but he also finds the right structure forconveying the complex and evolving nature of writings usually lumped together under these rubrics. This clever strategy allows foran opportunity to trace the common concerns of a group of writers without shortchanging individual talents or overlooking par? ticular trajectories of recognized 'masters' of the boom...