The Sea of Becoming

One of the most powerful and original of the women authors who have emerged in post-Franco Spain is Esther Tusquets. Her work has awakened an ever-growing interest among American Hispanists, but, due to the recent publication of her work, published substantive studies of her books are still relatively few. The present volume responds to a perceived need for a unified body of serious critical work, from a variety of perspectives, on the literary production of this dynamic and original writer. It includes ten essays, interviews, and an annotated bibliography--the first ever available on Tusquets. The contributors are all major Tusquets scholars working in the United States. Their studies bring the insights of distinct critical angles to bear in the elucidation of Tusquets' complex texts. Two of the essays shed new light upon Tusquets' first novel, El mismo mar, which has been the subject of the greatest amount of scholarship. One essay treats her second novel, Love is a Solitary Game; another essay examines the little-studied volume Siete miradas. Five essays address topics connected to Tusquets' newest work, Para no volver, on which almost no published critical work exists. Finally, the tenth essay discusses a particular recurring theme in Tusquets' fiction. The volume is completed by a first of its kind annotated bibliography of material by and about Tusquets. This volume will be of interest to scholars and students of contemporary Hispanic narrative, Hispanic women writers, women's studies, comparative literature, and twentieth century Spanish culture.