Understanding José Donoso

In this volume, Magnarelli provides a comprehensive study of Donoso's major works which have been translated into English. These include 'Coronation, ' 'Hell Has No Limits, ' 'This Sunday, ' 'The Obscene Bird of Night, ' 'A House in the Country, ' 'Sacred Families (a collection of three short novels), and 'Charleston and Other Stories' (a volume of short stories). The close readings of 'Understanding José Donoso' explicate the individual texts, yet the critic never loses sight of the broader context of Latin American and Western culture, civilization, and thought. Magnarelli continually draws the reader's attention to the interrelations among the works and places those works within the frame-work of other Latin American writing, recent sociopolitical events in Latin America, and contemporary trends in Western literature and ideas. As she traces the development of Donoso's major themes and motifs from his early short stories to his recent 'Curfew, ' Magnarelli highlights Donoso's recurrent issues of mask, power, and perception."--Back cover.