Art and Anger : Essays on Politics and the Imagination

Rating:
Summary: A problematic but interesting collection of essays
Review: "Art and Anger: Essays on Politics and the Imagination" is a frequently fascinating, frequently annoying volume of essays by Jewish Mexican writer Ilan Stavans. Stavans, who moved to the United States and writes in English, has a complex perspective which is reflected in this book.

Much of this book deals with Latin American literature. Stavans' essays are informative, and frequently rich in intriguing insights. But I often found his style pompous and arrogant. I particularly disliked his many nasty comments about other Latino/Hispanic writers: he calls Mario Vargas Llosa a "dilettante" (in "Two Peruvians"); he dismisses Cherrie Moraga's work as "highly predictable and often stale" ("Art and Anger"); he refers to the career of Gabriel Garcia Marquez as "curiously disappointing," and says that this author's "Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor" is "forgettable and poorly structured" ("The Master of Aracataca"). Some of his cruelest comments are directed at Octavio Paz, whom he accuses of having a "relentless need to be worshiped and applauded." I have no doubt that many educated readers will disagree with these and other highly subjective statements.

Other essays in the collection are also troublesome. "The Latin Phallus: A Survey" contains interesting comments on such gay Latin American writers as Reinaldo Arenas and Jose Lezama Lima. But the essay as a whole is poorly structured (to steal one of Stavans' phrases) and ultimately unsatisfying.

Still, there are many good points in this collection. I was particularly intrigued by "Tongue Snatcher," about Argentine-born Hector Bianciotti, who writes in his adopted language of French. Overall, I recommend "Art and Anger" to those interested in Latin American studies, but I suggest that it be read with a critical eye.

Rating:
Summary: A problematic but interesting collection of essays
Review: "Art and Anger: Essays on Politics and the Imagination" is a frequently fascinating, frequently annoying volume of essays by Jewish Mexican writer Ilan Stavans. Stavans, who moved to the United States and writes in English, has a complex perspective which is reflected in this book.

Much of this book deals with Latin American literature. Stavans' essays are informative, and frequently rich in intriguing insights. But I often found his style pompous and arrogant. I particularly disliked his many nasty comments about other Latino/Hispanic writers: he calls Mario Vargas Llosa a "dilettante" (in "Two Peruvians"); he dismisses Cherrie Moraga's work as "highly predictable and often stale" ("Art and Anger"); he refers to the career of Gabriel Garcia Marquez as "curiously disappointing," and says that this author's "Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor" is "forgettable and poorly structured" ("The Master of Aracataca"). Some of his cruelest comments are directed at Octavio Paz, whom he accuses of having a "relentless need to be worshiped and applauded." I have no doubt that many educated readers will disagree with these and other highly subjective statements.

Other essays in the collection are also troublesome. "The Latin Phallus: A Survey" contains interesting comments on such gay Latin American writers as Reinaldo Arenas and Jose Lezama Lima. But the essay as a whole is poorly structured (to steal one of Stavans' phrases) and ultimately unsatisfying.

Still, there are many good points in this collection. I was particularly intrigued by "Tongue Snatcher," about Argentine-born Hector Bianciotti, who writes in his adopted language of French. Overall, I recommend "Art and Anger" to those interested in Latin American studies, but I suggest that it be read with a critical eye.

Rating:
Summary: Unique
Review: Stavans is one of the best essayists of our time. His pieces are always stimulating and informative. I would compare him with Lionel Trilling. The essays on translation and poliglotism alone are worth the price.