Review on "Discourses and Identities in Romance Fiction"
Congratulations to María Isabel González Cruz, the editor of the book "Discourses and Identities in Romance Fiction", for receiving a review from Francesca Pierini appearing in 'Journal of Popular Romance Studies,' vol. 12. (2023):
[...] this collective volume edited by María-Isabel González-Cruz, is a study of import not only to the field of (popular) Romance Studies, but to literary criticism 'tout court.' Published in a bilingual edition—in Spanish and English—and comprised of eight chapters that explore a corpus of romance novels published in English and set mostly in the Canary Islands—and to a lesser extent in the Portuguese island of Madeira—the volume might be mistakenly assumed to keep its focus narrow. In truth, despite its circumscribed geographical scope, it opens a window on the Anglophone literary construction of Southern Europe as a space in partial discontinuity with the modern and the postmodern worlds, a setting particularly appropriate for intercultural encounters and love stories that incorporate a component of time-travelling, of going back in time to reconnect with an allegedly simpler dimension of traditional ideals and values. As such, the study, by shedding light on recurring descriptive patterns and discursive tropes employed in recreating the Canarian archipelago, brings to the surface meaningful assumptions and ideologically grounded views on the cultures and peoples of Southern Europe in general and islanders specifically. [...]
[Extract from book review appearing at the 'Journal of Popular Romance Studies,' vol. 12. (2023). Reviewer: Francesca Pierini]
Read the whole review here.
The book is available to order here: Discourses and Identities in Romance Fiction
Subtitle Visiones Anglófonas de Madeira y Canarias / Anglophone Visions from Madeira and the Canaries
Edition 1st
ISBN 978-1-64889-454-1
Published in September 2022
Page last updated on May 17th 2023. All information correct at the time, but subject to change.
