Latin American literature: a question.

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05-24-2011, 08:23 PM
Oudis

Latin American literature: a question.

Hello everybody,

First of all I'd like to say hi to everyone -this is my first posting (well, with exception of my self-introduction).

I wonder if anybody can help me. I'm looking for a good book about Latin American literature; either a book of essays or a «History of...»; once I have a title I'll try to order it online.

I'd appreciate any suggestion.

Oudis
05-24-2011, 09:12 PM
JCamilo

I dunno how the title where translated), but Borges has two books named "Universal History of Infamy" and "Universal history of eternity". And essays seems like Borges.
05-24-2011, 09:37 PM
Oudis

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCamilo

I dunno how the title where translated), but Borges has two books named "Universal History of Infamy" and "Universal history of eternity". And essays seems like Borges.

Hi Camilo,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I know them, I even have them; one of them is a book of short stories (apocryphal biographies you may call them), the other includes essays about various topics (time and eternity, The Arabian Nights, the metaphor) and a short story disguised as a book review.

However, right now I'm looking for essays specifically about Latin American literature, or maybe a historical analysis.

Thanks anyways...

Oudis
05-24-2011, 10:41 PM
JCamilo

Oh, sorry. My mistake.

Anyways, you read borges and liked him? He have several books about latin american literature. Cortazar too. Piglia too. I dunno however how they are published in america, if mixed without stuff or not, but when those guys talk about other literature, they still talk about themselves.
05-24-2011, 11:40 PM
Oudis

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCamilo

Oh, sorry. My mistake.

Anyways, you read borges and liked him? He have several books about latin american literature. Cortazar too. Piglia too. I dunno however how they are published in america, if mixed without stuff or not, but when those guys talk about other literature, they still talk about themselves.

Actually, I'm interested in a non-Latin American viewpoint -that is, an American/European (or African, or Asian) take on Latin American literature. I'd like to know what scholars in Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard (or New Delhi, Cairo, Sydney...) have to say about Borges, García (Marquez), Vargas (Llosa), etc.

Again: any suggestion is welcome.
05-25-2011, 07:02 AM
JCamilo

Umberto Eco mentions Borges often in his esssays. You will have to grab one of his books with several of different books, but wokrs. (About Literature for example)
Italo Calvino's Six proposals for the new Millenium is about all literature, but it is borges all over. Those come up quickly on my mind...
05-25-2011, 01:39 PM
Oudis

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCamilo

Umberto Eco mentions Borges often in his esssays. [...] Italo Calvino's Six proposals for the new Millenium is about all literature, but it is borges all over.

I've probably read... well, everything or almost everything Borges wrote in prose, and yes, I've heard that kind of thing (Calvino -and several others- using Borges as the foundation of their writing) very often.

Six Proposals for the New Millenium: sounds interesting. I'll keep it in mind. However, now I'm looking for something different, more focused on Latin America.

Thanks anyways.
05-26-2011, 04:52 PM
Leobloom

I've just done a quick search and found this:
The Cambridge Companion to the Latin American Novel. It's only 360 pages:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cambridge-Co...6442173&sr=8-1 I'm going to get this myself, it sounds perfect.
It's only £20 in the UK. I don't know where you live but in the US it's $100 so, if you don't mind the wait, I'd get it from Amazon UK.
Hope this helps.
05-31-2011, 06:33 PM
Oudis

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leobloom

I've just done a quick search and found this:
The Cambridge Companion to the Latin American Novel. It's only 360 pages:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cambridge-Co...6442173&sr=8-1 I'm going to get this myself, it sounds perfect.
It's only £20 in the UK. I don't know where you live but in the US it's $100 so, if you don't mind the wait, I'd get it from Amazon UK.
Hope this helps.

Hi Leo,

Sorry -it’s taken me a long time to reply to you; and thanks for your answer.

Yes, “The Cambridge Companion to the Latin American Novel” seems to be quite close to what I’m looking for; it even includes a “Post-Boom” chapter, which is rather important for me. (It’s strange, I had seen it on Amazon but didn’t choose it for reasons I can’t remember, now I checked again and it’s OK).

By the way: you might find my new posting (http://www.online-literature.com/for...15#post1039815) interesting.

That sounded conceited, didn’t it? I’m sorry, what I meant was that you might find its topic interesting, considering the user name you chose.

Cheers,

Oudis