Diasporic Marvellous Realism

History, Identity, and Memory in Caribbean Fiction

Series: 

Diasporic Marvellous Realism highlights the interesting switch in perspective found in contemporary literary production where the supernatural is regarded from a diasporic perspective as marvellous rather than magical. The titular term is applied to the influence of transterritorialization on the works of first- and second generation immigrant writers when approaching and exploring the myths and legends of their culture of origin. The texts included in this analysis show that the employment of this literary philosophy and narrative technique in contemporary literature involves a fruitful refocusing of the rhetorical gaze regarding the importance of cultural heritage as vindicatory resistance to the lacunae of history and as celebratory re-enfranchisement of diasporic communities in host countries such as Canada and the UK.
Copyright Year:
2015
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-30239-6
Publication:
14 Jul 2015
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-30108-5
Publication:
17 Jul 2015
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"In this book, María Alonso Alonso develops a fresh methodological approach to the works of immigrant and transnational writers, particularly those from the Caribbean. While this volume offers numerous insights into diaspora, identity, memory and trauma studies, Alonso’s main contribution undoubtedly lies in her articulation of a non-Eurocentric world vision, indeed a “literary philosophy” as well as a narrative technique that she calls diasporic marvellous realism (16)."
- Jocelyn Martin, Recherche littéraire/ Literary Research of the International Comparative Literature Association, Vol. 32, Summer 2016).

"Alonso’s account of the twists and turns in the history of magical realism, and the differences between lo real maravilloso and realismo mágico, is one of the best that I have read — proving that much has still to be said on the mode’s evolutionary chronology." - Felicity Gee, Wasafiri 32:2, 2017
Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART I: RECONCEPTUALIZING REALISMO MÁGICO AND LO REAL MARAVILLOSO AMERICANO INTO DIASPORIC MARVELLOUS REALISM
1 Realismo mágico vs. Lo real maravilloso americano
2 The Need for a New Term: Diasporic Marvellous Realism
3 A First Approach to Diasporic Marvellous Realism
PART II: DIASPORIC MARVELLOUS REALISM AND HISTORY
4 Rethinking Historical Epistemology
5 An Overview of Diasporic Marvellous Realism and History in Literature
6 The Rational-Speculative View: Supernatural Beings and the Middle Passage
in Nalo Hopkinson’s The New Moon’s Arms
PART III: DIASPORIC MARVELLOUS REALISM AND IDENTITY
7 The Dilemma of Framing Caribbean Diasporic Identity
8 An Overview of Diasporic Marvellous Realism and Identity in Literature
9 Arcane Disruption of Nature and Its Imaginary: The Land-Spirits of Cyril Dabydeen’s Dark Swirl
PART IV: DIASPORIC MARVELLOUS REALISM AND MEMORY
10 Remembering the Caribbean from the Diaspora
11 An Overview of Diasporic Marvellous Realism and Memory in Literature
12 Repressed Trauma Cannot Escape Memory’s Hauntings: David Chariandy’s Soucouyant
Final Remarks on Diasporic Marvellous Realism
Works Cited
Index
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