Calila
206 pages, 6 x 9
2 b-w, 8 color images
Paperback
Release Date:16 Apr 2021
ISBN:9781684483051
Hardcover
Release Date:16 Apr 2021
ISBN:9781684483068
Calila
The Later Novels of Carmen Martín Gaite
Bucknell University Press
Calila: The Later Novels of Carmen Martín Gaite explores the last six novels by Spain´s most honored contemporary woman writer. Its scholarship is enriched by the voice of Calila herself—as Brown called Martín Gaite, who was a dear friend—as they conversed and exchanged letters during the composition of the novels. The book opens with an introduction to Martín Gaite´s life and literature and ends with a consideration of her legacy. Each central chapter analyzes a later novel in its historical, biographical, and critical contexts. From the young adult fantasy Caperucita en Manhattan (Red Riding Hood in Manhattan) to the post-Transition epistolary masterpiece Nubosidad variable (Variable Cloud), the Transition-era saga La Reina de las Nieves (The Farewell Angel), the Proustian reminiscence Lo raro es vivir (Living’s the Strange Thing), the narrative tapestry Irse de casa (Leaving Home), and the memoir of family secrets Los parentescos (Family Relations), these fascinating novels evoke themes that resonate today.
This insightful monograph on Martín Gaite’s final six novels is part-literary criticism and part-personal anecdote based on the extended friendship between the author and Brown who draws from a variety of scholarly sources, personal correspondence and photographs to provide readings of her works.
'As I read Calila: The Later Novels of Carmen Martín Gaite, I had to battle the temptation to put the volume aside in order to re-read the novels that Brown analyzes in the book. There can hardly be a greater testament to a literary critic’s skill than her capacity to communicate to the reader her love and enthusiasm for the texts she analyzes. Brown’s central argument in Calila is that Martín Gaite’s novels of the 1990s deserve to be read, and the book will, without a doubt, bring new and returning readers and inspire renewed critical interest in the writer’s later work.'
Martín Gaite’s works are now studied all around the world, especially in further education establishments. More and more students are researching her latest novels and Calila will be an indispensable read as Brown combines the critical study of the author’s texts, with their socio-historical background, and a personal view of the process of writing.'
Calila: The Later Novels of Carmen Martin Gaite is a fascinating window into the life and later works of one of the most eminent Spanish novelists of all times. Joan L. Brown combines relevant history, original analysis and personal anecdotes from 'Calila’s' personal letters into a compelling and delightful rendition.
Calila: The Later Novels of Carmen Martin Gaite is a fascinating window into the life and later works of one of the most eminent Spanish novelists of all times. Joan L. Brown combines relevant history, original analysis and personal anecdotes from 'Calila’s' personal letters into a compelling and delightful rendition.
Martín Gaite’s works are now studied all around the world, especially in further education establishments. More and more students are researching her latest novels and Calila will be an indispensable read as Brown combines the critical study of the author’s texts, with their socio-historical background, and a personal view of the process of writing.'
'As I read Calila: The Later Novels of Carmen Martín Gaite, I had to battle the temptation to put the volume aside in order to re-read the novels that Brown analyzes in the book. There can hardly be a greater testament to a literary critic’s skill than her capacity to communicate to the reader her love and enthusiasm for the texts she analyzes. Brown’s central argument in Calila is that Martín Gaite’s novels of the 1990s deserve to be read, and the book will, without a doubt, bring new and returning readers and inspire renewed critical interest in the writer’s later work.'
This insightful monograph on Martín Gaite’s final six novels is part-literary criticism and part-personal anecdote based on the extended friendship between the author and Brown who draws from a variety of scholarly sources, personal correspondence and photographs to provide readings of her works.
Joan L. Brown manages with Calila: The Later Novels of Carmen Martín Gaite to refresh and update the already extensive bibliography about the writer with a very documented, very well written and very personal essay. And, above all, she manages to encourage us to look for her novels and read them, to vindicate the validity of the narrative of Carmen Martín Gaite to enjoy reading and understand the end of the twentieth century.
JOAN L. BROWN holds the Elias Ahuja Chair of Spanish at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. She graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Hispanic studies and earned MA and PhD degrees in romance languages-Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania. Her publications have explored canon formation, literature by women, the contemporary Spanish novel, and language and literature pedagogy. Previous books include Secrets from the Back Room: The Fiction of Carmen Martín Gaite, Women Writers of Contemporary Spain: Exiles in the Homeland (editor), Confronting Our Canons: Spanish and Latin American Studies in the 21st Century, Approaches to Teaching the Works of Carmen Martín Gaite (editor), and, with Carmen Martín Gaite, the textbook Conversaciones creadoras: Mastering Spanish Conversation.
List of Illustrations
Introduction: Calila and Her Later Novels
1 Backstory: Carmen Martín Gaite’s Earlier Life and Literature
2 Caperucita en Manhattan: A Young Adult Novel of Recovery
3 Nubosidad variable: Contemporary Feminism in Post-Transition Spain
4 La Reina de las Nieves: Rewriting a Tragedy of Spain’s Transition
5 Lo raro es vivir: Existential Questions in Uncertain Times
6 Irse de casa: Back to the Future in Democratic Spain
7 Los parentheses: Fractured Families in the Twenty-First Century
Conclusion: The Later Novels and Martín Gaite’s Legacy
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Introduction: Calila and Her Later Novels
1 Backstory: Carmen Martín Gaite’s Earlier Life and Literature
2 Caperucita en Manhattan: A Young Adult Novel of Recovery
3 Nubosidad variable: Contemporary Feminism in Post-Transition Spain
4 La Reina de las Nieves: Rewriting a Tragedy of Spain’s Transition
5 Lo raro es vivir: Existential Questions in Uncertain Times
6 Irse de casa: Back to the Future in Democratic Spain
7 Los parentheses: Fractured Families in the Twenty-First Century
Conclusion: The Later Novels and Martín Gaite’s Legacy
Notes
Works Cited
Index
