Chaos and Coincidence in Contemporary Spanish Fiction

This book is an investigation of contemporary Spanish fiction, specifically a group of fictional texts (written and film) that appeared in Spain in the first decade of this century (2001- 2010). The author focuses on textual analysis and studies how chaos and coincidence appear in these narratives and shape them. The texts analyzed are Soldados de Salamina (2001) by Javier Cercas, Tu rostro manaña (2002-2007) by Javier Marías, La catedral del mar (2006) by Ildefonso Falcones, Volver (2006) directed by Pedro Almodóvar, Instrucciones para salvar el mundo (2008) by Rosa Montero and El asedio (2010) by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, with reference to other texts by these authors also included. Though very different storytellers, these authors share an interest in chaos as a theme and as a narrative device. This work shows that the recurrence in their stories of the theme of chaos indicates a move away from postmodern apathy to a growing sense of empowerment, both for characters and for their readers.

Auteur

Anne L. Walsh studied both as an undergraduate and postgraduate at University College Cork (Ireland) where she subsequently worked as lecturer in the Department of Hispanic Studies. She is currently senior lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies, School of Languages and Cultures, University of Sydney (Australia). She published various articles/book chapters in the area of Spanish contemporary narrative and she is the author of Arturo Pérez-Reverte: Narrative Tricks and Narrative Strategies (2007) and co-editor of Guerra y memoria en la España contemporánea/War and Memory in Contemporary Spain (2009).

Contenu

Contents: Chaos theory - Spanish Narrative of the twenty-first century - Memory/Dismemory - History - New Trend beyond Postmodernism - 'Tired heroes'.