- A Companion to José Enrique Rodó by Gustavo San Román
Published around the centenary of José Enrique Rodó's untimely death in 1917, Gustavo San Román's book reconstructs an intellectual legacy that has had enormous influence on Latin American thought. There are many reasons to celebrate the publication of the "first full-length study in English" (1) devoted to the Uruguayan essayist and philosopher, not the least of which is the fact that its comprehensive scope allows a scholar to reassess Rodó's work as a lasting cultural critique coming from a peripheral country within the world-system. As such, San Román's monumental study is a welcome contribution to an already massive bibliography dedicated to Rodó's complex responses to modernity in Latin America from various theoretical standpoints. San Román dedicates himself to the task of analyzing Rodó's writings with the specific purpose of finding in them a cohesive, articulated discourse which examines, among other topics, the function and guiding principles of modern literary criticism, modernismo at the crossroads between aesthetic and ethical values, the role of the peripheral intellectual in societies dominated by small-minded politics, the philosophical debate involving religious freedom vs. secularism, and the roots of Latin American cultural identity vis-à-vis North American imperialism. By combining thorough archival work with close readings of Rodó's published and unpublished writings, San Román's book makes a compelling case for restoring Rodó's significance at a time when the humanities are being undermined by the increasing emphasis on the acquisition of a purely utilitarian skillset for the job market. Indeed, each chapter of A Companion strives for reading Rodó against the background of the current corporatization of higher education.
The introduction establishes the conceptual framework that guides San Román's arguments throughout the book. It is important to recognize that "Rodó's work contributed significantly to his country's respect for culture and education, and for reasoned assertiveness and consensus in democracy and in diplomacy" (4). Here, San Román highlights Rodó's iconic status in Latin America and makes the case for a closer examination of Rodó's ideas in times of global uncertainty and intolerance toward other people's beliefs. This rhetorical move allows the reader to follow a cluster of arguments that consistently places Rodó at the center of any discussion about the dynamics between the particular and the global in Latin American modernity. San Román boldly intertwines canonical readings of Rodó as a prominent player in debates on "Latin American/Uruguayan cultural identity" with more contemporary references to the Uruguayan soccer team that participated at the 2010 World Cup (4), or with sections of former Uruguayan President José Mujica's inauguration speech (469–70), a political figure widely recognized across the world. What is implied in such an analogy is that a strong ethic of sacrifice, hard work, and humility trumps any Calibanesque attempt at circumventing the foundational values sustaining the national/continental community.
At the same time, the author lays out the groundwork for another of the book's objectives, offering an informed response to intellectuals such as Carlos Quijano, Carlos Fuentes, Roberto González Echevarría, and Gordon Brotherston, who [End Page 315] have questioned Rodó's stance on a number of political, ideological, aesthetic, and racial issues (3). As a result, San Román sets forth the basis of his reading by claiming that "Rodó was deeply engaged with the political and social circumstances of his day, and that there was a religiosity to his outlook which has been largely unrecognized hitherto" (6).
The book is divided into 10 chapters tackling Rodó's life and works in chronological order. Intended as an "intellectual biography" (6) that depicts its subject as a sort of moral hero within his multiple public roles as writer, teacher, and politician, San Román's A Companion is characterized by a clear, expository writing style that artfully combines applied and textual criticism to deal with the vast amount of information found in Rodó's papers. The reader will...