Title: Volver para contarlo
Description: Javier Torre Aguado is a professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Denver (USA). He obtained his degree in Hispanic Philology at the University of Valladolid and a PhD from the University of Virginia (USA). He specializes in contemporary Spanish literature and, particularly, in the exploration and travel narrative. The travel narrative is a fascinating genre that portrays the transformations that Spain and the Spanish have experienced throughout the twentieth century, as well as their relationship with the rest of the world. This monographic study focuses on travel stories written by some of the most representative and outstanding writers of the genre, mainly Julio Camba, Víctor García de la Serna, Miguel Delibes, Manu Leguineche and Luis Mateo Díez. With a varied theoretical approach, ranging from imagology to cultural and postcolonial studies, the author analyzes the texts, offering original readings and surprising revelations. The subjects studied in detail are the representation of the Otredad, the porous frontier between the truth story and the fiction story, and the ideological prism that determines the traveler's gaze. In the book, parameters are offered to understand the evolution of gender: chronological stages are distinguished, conflicting ideological positions are identified and methods of artistic experimentation are analyzed in texts that mark new paths.
Subjects: Travel writing, History, Travelers' writings
Time periods: 20th century