Foreigners in the Homeland

Book excerpt: Foreigners in the Homeland analyzes the reception of the Latin American Boom novel in Spain. It argues in favor of an expanded concept of national literature that is not restricted to the native production of citizens but also takes into consideration the importance and nationalization of foreign cultural products. Charting the courses of interliterary relations between Spain and Spanish America, the book analyzes the conditions of the literary market during the 1960s and 1970s, follows the appropriation and canonization of Latin American authors and texts by readers and writers, and examines their impact on the resurgence of regional literatures within Spanish territory.