General & Miscellaneous Latin American Literature - Literary Criticism, 20th Century French Literature - Literary Criticism

Marcel Proust and Spanish America

Name: Marcel Proust and Spanish America
Author: Anna Wilson
ISBN: 9780838754856

by Craig, Herbert E.

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Overview

"The multivolume novel of Marcel Proust A la recherche du temps perdu (1913-27) began to receive attention in Spanish America in 1920, and, as Herbert Craig meticulously shows, this French Connection would continue throughout the twentieth century. He traces it both through the literary criticism devoted to Proust in the New World and through the impact of the Recherche upon the Spanish American novel, which according to Alejo Carpentier was simply revolutionary." Craig begins by attributing the early introduction of the Recherche to the intimate friendship between Proust and the pianist-composer Reynaldo Halm, who was born in Caracas. He then shows in chapter 1 how literary critics of the principal newspapers and literary magazines of such countries as Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile examined this French text, which we know today as one of the fundamental works of modernism. Shortly thereafter interest in the Recherche spread to Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay, and Colombia. Eventually it would be read in all parts of the New World. Over the years Spanish Americans have continued to write about the Recherche and have published several noteworthy books on it, which are included in the comprehensive bibliography which serves as an appendix.

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Booknews

Two aspects of the relationship between French novelist Proust (1871- 1922) and Spanish-speaking America attract Craig's attention. One is the reception and interpretation of his in popular and academic contexts. The other is the attempt by many Spanish American writers to incorporate his modernist ideas and techniques into their own literary texts. A specialist in Spanish language and literature, he visited several countries researching the study. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)