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  • Cultural Representations of Other-than-Human Nature ed. by Margarita Carretero González and José Marchena Domínguez
  • Jessica Holmes (bio)
Cultural Representations of Other-than-Human Nature. Edited by Margarita Carretero González and José Marchena Domínguez. Translated by Pamela Blanchard Faber Benítez. (Cádiz, Spain: Cádiz University Press, 2018. 538 pp. Paper. €24.00. ISBN 978-84-9828-751-6.)

Margarita Carretero González and José Marchena Domínguez present an impressive compilation of essays on cultural representations of animals, ecosystems, and the natural world, with the goal of shifting from an anthropocentric to a biocentric lens of the "other-than-human." The collection is highly interdisciplinary, including a diverse array of writers and subject areas and approaching cultural representations of the other-than-human (as well as human relations to them) through ecocritical, philosophical, and sociological lenses. While Spanish speakers may want to seek out the original version, Pamela Blanchard Faber Benítez has masterfully translated this work for an English-speaking audience to our great benefit. Collectively, these writers build on and expand contemporary ecocritical scholarship carried out by associations such as Asociación Interdisciplinar Iberoamericana de Literatura y Ecocrítica and Grupo de Investigación en Ecocítica.

At 538 pages in total, this volume provides hefty coverage of various topics and dilemmas concerning the other-than-human. The book is divided into six main sections (comprised of one to six chapters each). Important to note is that chapters are organized thematically rather than by discipline. Because of this structural format as well as the overall methodological approach, this volume will likely prove most helpful for those working from or open to an interdisciplinary framework. While the individual essays certainly provide generative insights, the book's more transformative value lies in its foregrounding of the interconnections between different essays, sections, approaches, representations, disciplines, regions, and species. Additionally, scholars of Spanish history and culture will find ample regional emphasis present throughout many of the chapters as well as excellent representation of contemporary Spanish and Spanish-speaking writers from a variety of fields.

The first section provides an in-depth introduction to the volume and its methodology with the following goal in mind: "To redefine imaginaries with a view to enriching an inclusive culture of peace with pluriversal, other-speciesist, and other-anthropocentric dimensions" (p. 29). José Tomás García lays the foundation for the collaborative pursuit of inclusive reconciliation and respectful cohabitation with interspecies diversity. The second section focuses on speciesism and kyriarchy in representations of the dog, cat, whale, and wolf, respectively. Collectively this section provides a useful juxtaposition of free-living and domesticated animal figures and underscores the ways in which perceived "wildness" contributes to human attitudes toward and representations of other-than-human animals. In the third section, cosmogony, symbology, and economy constitute powerful points of inquiry in which to consider interrelation and integration of humans with the natural world, especially through forms of religion and worship, and with particular attention to animal iconography across wide stretches of time (both prehistoric [End Page 108] and modern). Yolotl González Torres's coverage of various Mesoamerican conceptions of the animal alter ego, or animal spirit companion, is a particular highlight in thinking about the "co-essence" shared by humans and animals and the contrasts between animal presence/absence across various cultural spheres: "The animal presence was so strong in the Mesoamerican world that it impregnated all aspects of their culture: food, clothing, art, religion, as well as symbols of the earth, night, sun, power, hierarchies, death, rebirth, and beauty" (p. 162).

The fourth section of the book foregrounds examples of entertainment spectacles, with humans positioned as the spectators. Discussions of the well-known Spanish cultural practice of bullfighting and the use (and abuse) of rats and mice used in circuses in 19th-century Spain open up difficult questions about the relationship of art and culture to the living, breathing animals they not only frequently represent but also exploit and harm. Various literary representations of other-than-human nature are discussed in the chapters of section 5. These include an illuminating chapter by Serenella Iovino analyzing Anna Maria Ortese...

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