America unbound : encyclopedic literature and hemispheric studies / Antonio Barrenechea.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barrenechea, Antonio, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

America--In literature.

America.

American fiction--History and criticism.

American fiction.

Mexican fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

Mexican fiction.

French-Canadian fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

French-Canadian fiction.

Literature.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xiv, 231 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, 2016.

Summary:

This original contribution to hemispheric American literary studies comprises readings of three important novels from Mexico, Canada, and the United States: Carlos Fuentes's Terra Nostra, Quebecois writer Jacques Poulin's Volkswagen Blues, and Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko's Almanac of the Dead. The encyclopedic novel has particular generic characteristics that serve these writers as a vehicle for the reincorporation of hemispheric histories. Starting with an examination of Moby-Dick as precursor, Barrenechea shows how this narrative genre allows Fuentes, Poulin, and Silko to reflect the interconnected world of today, as well as to dramatize indigenous and colonial values in their narratives. His close attention to written documents, visual representations, and oral traditions in these encyclopedic novels sheds light on their comparative cultural relations and the New World from pole to pole. This study amplifies the scope of "America" across cultures and languages, time and tradition.

Contents:

Introduction

The great(er) American paradigm: Moby-Dick and the Summa Americana

From terra incognita to terra nostra: Carlos Fuentes's Reinvention of America

Jacques Poulin's archival pathways: Volkswagen blues as discovery chronicle

Leslie Marmon Silko's Council book: hemispheric forces in Almanac of the dead

Greater America in the classroom: comparative literature, theory and praxis.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Barrenechea, Antonio author. America unbound

ISBN:

9780826357588

082635758X

OCLC:

948548921