{"product_id":"play-and-the-picaresque","title":"Play and the Picaresque","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis study takes a fresh look at the picaresque genre as seen in three important contemporary Latin American novels, Cortázar's \u003cem\u003eLibro de Manuel\u003c\/em\u003e, Skármeta's \u003cem\u003eMatch Ball\u003c\/em\u003e, and the first picaresque novel, \u003cem\u003eLazarillo de Tormes\u003c\/em\u003e. Gordana Yovanovich considers the genre in relation to the concept of play and shows how the traditional picaresque genre has been replaced by a distinctly modern version.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlay and the Picaresque\u003c\/em\u003e contends that within Latin American culture humour and play serve as forms of empowerment and means of survival for those who are marginalized in society. Like the \u003cem\u003epícaros\u003c\/em\u003e of sixteenth-century Spanish novels, the proletarian characters in the Latin American fiction known as Magical Realism embody a playful and spontaneous approach to life and literature. The relationship of the magical to the real in Latin American fiction is, the book argues, comparable to the 'let's pretend' world and toys in play. The act of playing and living in these novels is a re-creative experience - a concept which has not been adequately explored in contemporary criticism.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Toronto Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Product","offer_id":54228939702616,"sku":"9780802047045","price":72.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780802047045__67ac8a8db6748.jpg?v=1741135514","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/play-and-the-picaresque","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}