Subversión y de(s)construcción de subgéneros en la narrativa de Rosa Montero by Genaro J. Pérez (review)

In Subversión y de(s)construcción de subgéneros en la narrativa de Rosa Montero Genaro Pérez provides a knowledgeable and fascinating analysis of the works of the renowned Spanish author, Rosa Montero. Pérez’s text is clear, concise, and doesn’t get bogged down by heavy theoretical jargon. His use of textual analysis, replete with appropriate examples from eight novels and six short stories of Montero, combined with his applications of science fiction, the detective novel, and chivalric novels, create a fascinating and thought-provoking read. Pérez writes so well that if one has not read any of Montero’s work, one can still thoroughly understand his evaluation of the Spanish author’s narratives thanks to the clarity and detail with which he analyzes each text. Pérez leaves the reader with a desire to read or even reread the works of Montero through the lens of detective fiction, science fiction, chivalric novels, and through his astute analysis of the salient themes of memory, love, identity, and power that Montero underlines in all of her works.

Pérez artfully divides his text into a very thorough introduction of the works of Montero followed by a systematic explanation of the following four chapters that comprise his work. The first three chapters examine Montero’s parodic subversion of the detective novel, her science fiction and her innovative approach to the chivalric novel. Pérez divides chapter 4 thematically, as mentioned above, to analyze relevant themes in Montero’s characters defined as witches such as memory, love, identity and power. The four chapters are followed by a very brief exemplary conclusion where he summarizes his findings in a concise and orderly manner.

In chapter 1, Pérez establishes a clear definition of detective fiction, concluding that the genre can be divided into the classic “whodunit” novel, “tough guys fiction,” or “hard-boiled fiction,” and detective crime fiction. The reader can appreciate that this literary critic has no problem adapting to new theories and his first sentence of the chapter admits to his alteration of the original detective models posited in his text, Ortodoxia y heterodoxia de la novela policíaca hispana. Pérez underscores the subversive nature of Rosa Montero’s detective fiction because she uses the genre as a platform against abuse of women by employing literary devices such as metafiction and intertextuality where she questions traditional patriarchy. Although Pérez’s examples are relevant, some of his text was already published in his earlier articles or books and should be tweaked to reflect the contemporary climate. So much has changed in the field of Spanish women writers of detective fiction and crime thrillers where authors such as Alicia Giménez Bartlett, Eva García Sáenz de Urturi and Dolores Redondo, among others, reach the best seller lists in Spain indicating that the traditional hegemonic patriarchal genres and their definitions need to adapt to current Spanish reality. It is also of note that most readers of novels tend to be women.

In chapter 2, Pérez analyzes the genre of science fiction comparing Montero’s Temblor with her more recent novel, Lágrimas en la lluvia. Pérez provides wonderful textual examples from both novels and really delves deep into the parallelisms between Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Blade Runner comparing them to Lágrimas en la lluvia where Montero borrows freely from the aforementioned short story and movie. Montero has also written two more novels with Bruno Husky as the protagonist and it would be interesting to see an analysis by Pérez using the same structure and motifs as he did in Lágrimas en la lluvia. In chapter 3, Pérez examines Montero’s foray into chivalric novels, El corazón del tártaro (novela caballeresca) and Historia del rey transparente (novela...