Nicolás Kanellos has put together quite an impressive survey of Hispanic immigrant literature. However, this book is more an exploration of the history and themes of Hispanic immigrant literature than a description or review of specific novels. Judging by the bibliography, Kanellos is immersed in diverse scholarship, incorporating cultural studies, anthropology, feminism, and folklore. His background includes Spanish and Portuguese, social justice, and Hispanic cultural history. Hispanic Immigrant Literature reflects his wide-ranging interests and expertise.
The book begins with a brief overview of the structure of Hispanic immigrant literature: a naïve immigrant filled with optimism and fantasies about the American dream becomes the victim of the Metropolis and gets taken advantage of by criminals and authorities alike. The plot becomes a channel for cultural nationalism and criticism of the decadence and immorality of American culture. The American woman tends to represent the materialistic Metropolis, while the Latina represents the traditional homeland. According to Kanellos, immigration has “given rise to a specific type of literature while defining what it means to be Hispanic in the United States” (1).
In chapter 1, Kanellos discusses the context of Hispanic immigrant literature, identifying types of transmigrants, their experiences, and how this changes their writing; character types within the literature; effects of globalization; and code-switching. I was particularly intrigued by the section on code-switching, and I appreciated Kanellos practicing this himself in the title of the book (El Sueño del Retorno). Chapter 2 provides an overview of the print culture. Books, pamphlets, and newspaper articles written by Hispanic immigrants were/are predominantly in the natal language and serve a population united by the language. Local and global events are interpreted from the immigrant community’s unique point of view. Writing is frequently nationalistic and critical of the perceived sexual immorality, materialism, and racism of American culture. Kanellos’ description of the labor press was especially interesting to me. Hispanic workers formed strong unions and published numerous books and pamphlets. Manufacturing plants often had a designated reader who would entertain workers with fiction as well as disseminate ideas about labor organizing. I wish Kanellos could have included more information about labor culture and this practice of reading aloud, but then the book would change its stated focus. I’ll have to be content with his nine-page bibliography and excellent footnotes.
Chapter 3 concentrates on the ubiquitous theme of the dream of return to the homeland. Kanellos describes Hispanic immigrant literature as anti-hegemonic, and his analyses of immigrant anxieties about identity loss and didactic moral lessons within the literature convince me. The protagonists in this literature nearly always flee America to go back to the comfort, traditions, and values of the homeland. Those who do not return are inevitably punished with death. Some novels promote hybridization, though, preserving the best-loved and most important traditions while accepting and even enjoying some parts of American culture. Chapter 4 focuses on the narration itself. Clearly drawing from Homi K. Bhabha, Kanellos explores concepts of nation and diaspora. Hispanic immigrant writers “challenge concepts of nationhood as identical to territorial and cultural affiliation” (81). Some literature promotes the idea of a chosen people through messianic nationalism; other literature stakes a claim in the new home, insisting that Hispanic culture is of value and that the nation itself exists where the people do. Concepts like home, authenticity, and cultural integrity are important here.
Chapters 5 and 6 were of greatest interest to me as a feminist scholar. In chapter 5, Kanellos explores female perspectives, and in chapter 6 male perspectives. His analysis does not disappoint. He is well-versed in feminist scholarship and investigates agency, power, and gender roles and stereotypes. Of course, representations of women were discussed in several places before, when Kanellos described how American and Latina women signify the morality and traditions of their respective birthplaces. But in these chapters, he more deeply explores the patriarchy evident in male-authored novels. I was also quite pleased to read a history of women writers and incipient Hispanic feminism. As is common in a marginalizing situation, women writers often supported patriarchy, writing their feminism from the “third-space.” Again, Kanellos calls upon Bhabha, utilizing his concept of a “dialectics of doubling.”
In his afterword, Kanellos explores Gustavo Pérez Firmat’s metaphor “life on the hyphen.” Living life on the hyphen involves “relating to both cultures equally, though selectively… both separating and uniting the identity terms of Cuban and American” (148). This concept describes what Firmat calls the 1.5 generation: Cubans who went into exile as children and grew up in the United States. For Kanellos, “life on the hyphen” is problematic because it holds up the “American dream” and the “melting pot.” Thus, Kanellos states, Firmat’s work is that of an American, not an immigrant, despite having been born in Cuba.
This text is most appropriate for graduate students and scholars. Despite its slim size, it is not an easy book. It’s a book that needs to be savored and studied. This would be an excellent text for a graduate-level survey class on Hispanic immigrant literature and would certainly be a good source for any scholar researching immigrant culture, immigrant literature, or the role of literature in labor organizing. Throughout the analysis, Kanellos gives examples of representative literature, so if readers are particularly interested in a specific theme or time period, they can pursue a novel. I have only one complaint: although Kanellos defines Hispanic culture, I find myself unsatisfied by the definition. He never really explains what he means by the term “Hispanic.” In my own research with Mexican and Mexican-American storytellers, I was told again and again that the term “Hispanic” signifies ties with Spain and is only appropriate on the U.S. Census. However, Kanellos seems to be using it interchangeably with “Latino.” Since he doesn’t clearly say either way, I am left feeling a tad confused. His home is in the University of Houston Department of Hispanic Studies, though, so perhaps he assumes that his way of using the term is well-known and needs no definition. Despite this minor confusion, the book is delightful, thoughtful, well-researched, and a superior source.
Works Cited
Bhabha, Homi K. 1990. “DissemiNation: Time, Narrative, and the Margins of the Modern Nation.” In Nation and Narration, ed. Homi K. Bhabha, 291-322. London: Routledge.
--. 2004. The Location of Culture. New York: Routledge.
Firmat, Gustavo Pérez. 1994. Life on the Hyphen: The Cuban-American Way. Austin: University of Texas Press.
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[Review length: 1064 words • Review posted on February 6, 2012]