BOOK REVIEW INTRODUCTION TO ARABIC CHRISTIAN LITERATURE Author: Pilar González Casado From the reader report by: Rafael Falasco Pilar González Casado presents a critical overview of the Arab-Christian literature in a book that is the fruit of her erudition honed over decades of studies on the theme. The Arabic in the title refers to the language rather than to ethnicity, although the book also includes the “profane” writings of Christian Arabs, not necessarily dealing with matters of faith. It is a book of synthesis that intends to provide general interpretative clues about the main texts and literary groups over a long period of time. A gathering under a single critical-theoretical umbrella of a great number of writings that, until then, lacked an organization capable of making sense, of contextualizing and working out their singularities and interrelations. The book consists of a prologue, fifteen chapters organized by themes, a chronology with historical and political references, broad bibliography, and an index. Importantly, the edition discloses exceptional care in the last section in providing to the reader an index of names, authors, works, passages from the Bible and the Koran, Arabic terms, and a general index with the numerous subheadings itemizing the chapters. This feature is an extremely useful tool for researchers and readers seeking to delve deeper into a particular source, or one-off recurrence. Except for the last chapter, which is devoted to the writings produced between the 16th and 19th centuries, the bulk of the work covers the Medieval period, with emphasis on the 7th and 15th centuries. Although it is not intended for the general public, the book will serve the Brazilian readers on three fronts: Medievalist scholars, scholars of the Christian faith and its influence on Islam, and scholars of the Arab world, a field that has been growing and needs works of synthesis.
PUBLISHED IN NEW SPANISH BOOKS BR
148 · |
