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Overview
In the early twentieth century, a technological revolution as well as new ideas in science and philosophy, precipitated a radical change in narrative fiction in Latin America. The avant garde novels that appeared by the 1920s forever changed discourse and structure, or the way of creating narrative fiction, and heavily influenced the creation of the internationally recognized Latin American novel of the modern era. However, this early movement has received little attention or recognition as a literary period, although it is as significant to the development of twentieth century literature as the Modernist movement was in the U.S. and Europe. Before the Boom: Latin American Revolutionary Novels of the 1920s proposes a postmodern analysis of the early twentieth century or avant-garde novel by authors from four different Latin American countries: Arqueles Vela in Mexico, Martín Adán in Peru, Pablo Palacio in Ecuador, and Roberto Arlt in Argentina. Each chapter details the socio-political context of each novel, chronicling the events that led to an artistic desire to create an entirely new voice in Latin American fiction.
Editorials
Hispanic Outloook
On many levels, this is definitely a must-read. Dr. Martínez has done a fine job of rescuing a forgotten morsel of Latin American literature. Her book makes it possible to enjoy novels that not only preceded, but actually carved the way for the Boom and for many other 'postmodern' writers.— Francisco H. Vazquez, Sonoma State University
Latin American Research Review
Coonrod Martínez's thorough analysis…helps clarify complex and at times obscure issues that have often been misunderstood by critics and non-specialized readers alike.— Alejandro Meter, University of San Diego
Feministas Unidas
Coonrod Martinez opens each chapter of her study with a presentation of the literary movements surfacing in particular regions; she intricately traces the relationships between competing literary reactions to social stimuli, as well as referencing the cultural climate abroad. What results is a complete study of the innovative trends in Latin American Vanguardia narrative, as well as a detailed presentation of the moment surrounding each writer's literary production.— Deanna Mihaly, Emory & Henry College
Revista Hispanica Moderna
Very few, if any scholars have seen fit to analyze all these novels as a convincing corpus, due either to conceptual reliance on generic constraints, or to the way in which those usually short novels flout aesthetic or ideological alliances of any kind. In this excellent, elegantly revisionist book Elizabeth Martínez shows her lucid awareness of those interpretative gaps, and patiently conflates pertinent precedents with her solid insights and thorough research...Choice
....Martinez seeks to demonstrate, these Boom novels were in fact preceded by the vanguardist movement, whose concerns represented not only an obvious reaction to modernista poetry but also constituted a new approach to fiction. All academic collections.— J. Walker, Queen's University at Kingston
Hispania
This well-researched book is a valuable addition to the scarce body of criticism, particularly in English, on Latin American avant-garde fiction... It brings important new insights into Latin American fiction and supplies many missing links for the understanding of Boom literature and the postmodern Latin American novel. It is a major contribution to the field, and should be welcome by Latin Americanists in a number of disciplines. Most of all, Martínez’s book provides an essential key for additional studies of Vanguardia writers in the future.— Carlota Caulfield, Mills College