José Donoso Summary

In the following essay, Coleman explores the subtle psychological themes that he contends underlie the apparent realism of Donoso's early stories. It is quite interesting that the work of Jo... Read more

In the following excerpt, Magnarelli interprets Donoso's best known stories—" Paseo" and "Santelices"—as representative of his style and themes. Don... Read more

In the following essay, Magnarelli considers the stories in Tres novelitas burguesas both realistic socio-economic depictions of modern bourgeois society and self-referential works concerned with the ... Read more

In the following essay, which originally appeared in The Creative Process in the Works of José Donoso, edited by Guillermo I. Castillo-Feliú (1982), Callan analyzes the novella Gaspard d... Read more

In the following essay, Alonso views the story "Una señora " as an exploration of the tensions between humanity and city life, as well as the postmodern conceit of literature as &... Read more

In the following essay, Gordon evaluates the existential nature of three of Donoso 's stories—"Tocayos," "Paseo, "and "Santelices". While it ... Read more

Critical Essay by Charles M. Tatum An important aspect of the prose fiction of the Chilean novelist José Donoso is the child point of view which he uses to portray his characters' loss ... Read more

Critical Essay by Richard J. Callan Two of the finest short stories by the Chilean novelist José Donoso …, "Paseo" and "Santelices," deal with humdrum charac... Read more

Critical Essay by John Caviglia [In Donoso's] early fiction, a limpid style and straightforward narrative technique provide the matrix for the portrayal of complex characters, who are often, a... Read more

Critical Essay by Alfred J. Mac Adam Metonymy is oriented toward keeping things moving, while metaphor is oriented toward finality, just as the instinct of self-preservation is in obvious conflict wi... Read more

Critical Essay by Ronald Schwartz If Severo Sarduy's novels may be considered "coldly elusive," José Donoso's are "boldly hallucinogenic."… ... Read more

Critical Essay by Alfred J. Mac Adam José Donoso [with El jardín de al lado] once again shows himself to be a master of the least understood of the major literary forms, the novella... Read more

Critical Essay by Stanley Reynolds The great virgin literary landscape of Latin America for a long time lay unspoiled, beckoning European writers with a taste for the exotic … to use it to bui... Read more

Critical Essay by F.w.j. Hemmings [Coronation] is best described as a 19th-century novel, even though the people in it telephone their grocery orders to supermarkets and may, if they have the fare an... Read more

Critical Essay by Gerald Kersh The reviewer who gets spiritual refreshment out of pecking holes in books is not likely to have much fun with This Sunday. Turn it whichever way you like, it presents a... Read more

Critical Essay by Kirsten F. Nigro [José Donoso] has emerged from the generation of 1950 as Chile's most widely acclaimed contemporary novelist…. [He] is now considered a major f... Read more

Critical Essay by G. R. Mcmurray José Donoso's Historia personal del "boom" [The Boom in Spanish American Literature: A Personal History] provides readers of English with ... Read more

In the following chapter from his book on comparative literature, MacAdam compares and contrasts Joseph Conrad's Nostromo and Donoso's A House in the Country, finding in each work a brea... Read more

In the following essay, Murphy discusses the metafictional purposes of Donoso's use of the mise en abyme structure in A House in the Country. While the Latin American new narrative interroga... Read more

In the following essay, Alegría says that, in his later novel Curfew, Donoso abandons his usual metaphorical technique and offers an obvious condemnation of the Pinochet regime. For years Jo... Read more

In the following essay, Kadir deconstructs the theme of the “other place” in The Garden Next Door, drawing parallels to the work of Dante, T. S. Eliot, Henry James, and George Eliot. ... Read more

In the following introductory chapter to her full-length study of Donoso, Magnarelli discusses several common themes in Donoso's work. Critics disagree, often vehemently, about how to read t... Read more

In the following essay, Castillo-Feliú examines three short stories by Donoso, concluding that the creative deterioration of the characters is influenced less by the outer circumstances of Chil... Read more

In the following essay, Pollard demonstrates how Donoso posits and then subverts the notion of patriarchy as the basis for Chilean society. Majority implies a state of domination, not the reverse. ... Read more

In the following essay, Pérez analyzes the way Donoso critiques gender stereotyping and the cult of machismo by using cross-gender themes and symbols in his writing. Criticism of Donoso to d... Read more

In the following essay, Herrero-Olaizola uses Donoso's novel El jardín de al lado as a commentary on the cultural production of the “Boom” period, with special attention to... Read more

In the following essay, Swanson reviews criticism on Donoso through the early 1980s. The last decade or so has seen a proliferation of critical articles on José Donoso. During this period, d... Read more

In the following essay, Bacarisse examines Donoso's narrative devices to discover the relation of the narrator to the author, as well as the dominant emotional state in El obsceno pájaro... Read more

In the following interview, Donoso talks about such topics as his literary education, changes in his literary techniques, other Latin American writers, and his attitudes toward exile and toward the po... Read more

[In the following interview, Mouat questions Donoso about his novels (particularly Curfew and The Obscene Bird of Night), his feelings about his native Chile, and other topics related to being a write... Read more

[The following obituary presents an overview of Donoso's life and career.] José Donoso, one of Chile's best-known authors, whose novels and short stories used dark surrealism a... Read more

[In the following essay, Kogan relates comments made by Donoso in a Washington, D.C. lecture. Kogan also provides an overview of Donoso's career and details about his wife and family.] Back ... Read more

[In the following essay, Lertora discusses several of Donoso's works, focusing on the unusual approaches in narrative and structure that the author employed. Lertora notes Donoso's depar... Read more

[In the following essay, Rojo defends his idea that The Obscene Bird of Night can be read as a spiritual exercise in which the reader imagines an experience of self-annihilation. Rojo asserts that thi... Read more

[In the following review, Thornton provides a plot synopsis of The Garden Next Door, and defends his view that there is "no better meditation on the agonies of writing" than the one pres... Read more

[In the following article, Streitfield provides a brief commentary on Donoso's life, specifically focusing on the lies he told as a youngster about stomach problems, and his real ulcer later in... Read more

[In the following review, Omang discusses the plot of Curfew, noting that this work is more accessible than any of Donoso's other novels. Containing less "magic realism" than his ... Read more

[In the following review, Agosin discusses Donoso's description of Chile in Curfew, and provides a brief plot summary. Asserting that the novel "manages to combine chaos, absurdity, and ... Read more

[In the following review, Rodman discusses the plot of Curfew. Faulting it for not adequately fleshing out the two main characters, Rodman feels the novel does succeed in the end because of the change... Read more

[In the following review, Coad asserts the political setting of Curfew is a departure from the imaginary worlds typically used in Donoso's novels. Coad praises certain elements of the novel, su... Read more

[In the following review, Wood faults Curfew for being "a discursive and rather windy novel," but credits it for providing an in-depth look at the political history of Chile.] There i... Read more

[In the following essay, Agosin discusses Donoso's Poems of a Novelist, praising the author's willingness to write in a genre that is not his usual form.] Donoso is a narrator of imag... Read more

[In the following brief review, Gonzalez discusses Taratuta and Still Life with Pipe.] This new book by Chilean writer José Donoso comprises two short works: Taratuta, which spins from the n... Read more

[In the following review, Polk lauds the two novellas Taratuta and Still Life with Pipe. He asserts that Donoso continues to focus on the relationship between an artist and his art, and social realism... Read more