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Carpentier was one of the first novelists to introduce a version of magical realism and the neo-baroque into Latin American fiction.
This study focuses on one of the first novelists to introduce a version of magical realism and the neo-baroque into Latin American fiction. Original research colours eyewitness accounts of Alejo Carpentier's travels through Spainbefore and during the Spanish Civil War and the inspiration that he drew from the Baroque architecture he encountered there. The origins of Carpentier's uniquely 'baroque' style are found in his endeavour to create a period ambience in his historical fictions through descriptions of visual arts and architectural settings, and parodies of the literary style of Spanish Golden Age writers. 'Medusa's gaze' is used as a metaphor for the petrifying power of theBaroque as a weapon of European dominance. By wielding the same weapon in an act of postcolonial defiance, Carpentier enabled a reassertion of Latin American culture, and laid the foundations for the 1960s 'Boom' in the Latin American novel.
STEVE WAKEFIELD is Visiting Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Australia
This study focuses on one of the first novelists to introduce a version of magical realism and the neo-baroque into Latin American fiction. Original research colours eyewitness accounts of Alejo Carpentier's travels through Spainbefore and during the Spanish Civil War and the inspiration that he drew from the Baroque architecture he encountered there. The origins of Carpentier's uniquely 'baroque' style are found in his endeavour to create a period ambience in his historical fictions through descriptions of visual arts and architectural settings, and parodies of the literary style of Spanish Golden Age writers. 'Medusa's gaze' is used as a metaphor for the petrifying power of theBaroque as a weapon of European dominance. By wielding the same weapon in an act of postcolonial defiance, Carpentier enabled a reassertion of Latin American culture, and laid the foundations for the 1960s 'Boom' in the Latin American novel.
STEVE WAKEFIELD is Visiting Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Australia
Price: $120.00
Pages: 228
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Tamesis Books
Publication Date:
11 November 2004
Trim Size: 9.21 X 6.14 in
ISBN: 9781855661073
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
LITERARY CRITICISM / European / Spanish & Portuguese, Literature: history and criticism
Wakefield's exploration of the major developments in Carpentier's writing is another valuable addition to this excellent series- if only all literary and critical studies were as fascinating, accessible and well-written.