La novela española de los noventa: alternativas éticas a la postmodernidad (review)

La novela española de los noventa: alternativas éticas a la postmodernidad offers the reader a chance to understand the changes Spanish narrative underwent during the 1990's in clear opposition to the previous decade, that of the 1980's. At the core of this opposition, the author places Postmodernism and its many nuances. According to Peregrina Pereiro, during the 1980's, the peninsular narrative was depoliticized and morally relativistic. However, during the 1990's, there is a clear shift towards a more transcendental and socially conscious type of literature. To illustrate this change, the author analyses the work of four contemporary authors: Paloma Díaz-Mas (El sueño de Venecia), Javier Marías (Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí), Cristina Fernández Cubas (Con Agatha en Estambul) and Rosa Montero (La hija del Caníbal).

After an introduction heavy on postmodern theory, the rest of the book is divided into four chapters, each one dealing with one of the aforementioned works. In each one of these chapters, the author focuses on one aspect of postmodernism and uses the book in question to illustrate and / or justify her theory.

The book is well written and structured, it reads easily and it delivers exactly what its title announces. However, there are some issues, in my opinion, that must be addressed. The first one is the randomness of the chosen works analyzed. The 1990's is a rich and powerful decade for the Spanish narrative, and though the works here portrayed are commendable, there is really nothing in this book that justifies the use of these novels above others. The second issue is that this study does not add anything new to the field. All that is left of postmodernism, something that is still relevant nowadays and that keeps evolving, is its ethical content, and this idea is at the heart of Pereiro's study. But this is not new; this is something that has been formulated before and in much more depth.

Pereiro, Peregrina's La novela española de los noventa: alternativas éticas a la postmodernidad is a basic approach, maybe due to its brevity, to the development of postmodern ethics in the Spanish narrative of the 1990's. Though well written and structured, it is only recommended for those without previous knowledge of the subject, or for those who are looking for a basic approach to this theme.