Rudolfo A. Anaya ― A Critical Companion

Rudolfo A. Anaya's seven novels can all be viewed in terms of the Chicano literary tradition though their rich texts have earned Anaya a place of respect in mainstream modern American literature. Fernandez Olmos guides the reader through Anaya's literary world with clear signposts, illuminating the mythical, cultural, and linguistic complexities of his astounding stories. From his coming of age masterpiece Bless Me, Ultima (1972) to his most recent work Shaman Winter (1999) Anaya's writing with its rich spiritual symbolism is brought down to earth and made accessible to the student reader by Fernandez Olmos's insightful analyses. This work devotes a chapter to each novel, enabling Fernandez Olmos to guide the reader through each, showing both the patterns and variations of literary devices in Anaya's works, while offering interesting alternative interpretations of Anaya's writing.

Margarite Fernandez Olmos is Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, where she teaches courses in Spanish and Latin American Studies. She has coedited numerous volumes including The Latino Reader: An American Literary Tradition from 1542 To The Present (1997) and Remaking A Lost Harmony: Short Stories From The Hispanic Caribbean (1995) for which she was coeditor and translator, and has written a wealth of articles for both Spanish and English language journals.