Review by Choice Review
On the first page of the introduction to this "new edition" of A Companion to Spanish-American Literature (CH, May'00, 37-4993), Hart (University College London, UK) states that he "designed [the volume] for the moderately specialized reader of Spanish and Portuguese who wants an introduction to the main works of the Latin American literary canon." In writing this, he distinguishes the book from The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature, 3v, ed. by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria and Enrique Pupo-Walker (CH, May'97, 34-4967). He offers this new edition as a "refresher course" for students preparing for master and doctoral examinations. Divided chronologically into seven chapters, the book begins with Amerindian literature and continues through to selected postmodern works. Unlike more traditional histories of Latin American literature, Hart's study incorporates Brazilian efforts into each section as part of the entire Latin American literary experience rather than as a separate entity. The "Suggestions for Further Reading" section lists especially valuable resources for those desiring to delve more deeply into a topic. A postlude and extensive bibliography complete the volume. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate and research libraries that do not own the previous edition. F. Colecchia Duquesne University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
