Jason Weiss

The Lights of Home by Jason Weiss

An interesting book detailing a long list of exiled writers from Latin America who found a "home" in Paris, France.

The writer, Jason Weiss, explores the effect of exile on a writer's work; the interplay between European and American experience. The writers he examines are both famous and obscure: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Julio Cortazar, Mario Vargas Llosa, Octavio Paz, Pablo Neruda and Alejo Carpentier are all internationally recognized giants , while Severo Sarduy, Copi, Julio Ramon Ribeyro, Juan Jose Saer and Lisa Futoransky, Edgardo Cozarinsky are less known.

For anyone with a deep interest in Latin American fiction or poetry this is a worthwhile book to get through. It relates some historical perspective to the giants and introduces the reader to some new characters. All the writers described have interesting histories and different perspectives.
As a reader of Latin America I was familiar with many here but I had never been aware of the Peruvian, Ribeyro, and will seek out some translations if they do exist.

Often the book appears to be a doctorate thesis rather than a piece of journalism, criticism or history but its holds value for those “students” of Latin American fiction.… (meer)