The Central American Novel
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2023
Published In
The Oxford Handbook Of The Latin American Novel
Abstract
This chapter traces the development of the novel in Central America from the late nineteenth century to the present. It begins at the moment when romanticism and modernismo are on the wane and Central American writers begin to take up the tradition of social realism to engage with the region’s military regimes and agro-export dependency. From there, the chapter examines the rise of the testimonial novel and the literary transformations that took place from the 1960s to the 1980s, as writers grappled with the wave of state terror and left-wing insurrections that overtook the region. Lastly, the chapter surveys the key novels that address the aftermath of war and the profound social transformations ushered in by Central America’s entry into neoliberal modernity.
Keywords
Central America, novel, literature, Central American history, Central American literature, revolution, war, testimonio, postwar literature
Published By
Oxford University Press
Editor(s)
J. E. De Castro and I. López-Calvo
Recommended Citation
Nanci Buiza.
(2023).
"The Central American Novel".
The Oxford Handbook Of The Latin American Novel.
200-218.
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197541852.013.11
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-spanish/156