Moutinho, Isabel. The Colonial Wars in Contemporary Portuguese Fiction. Woodbridge, UK: Tamesis, 2008.

Abstract

Moutinho’s work combines such an original approach to the subject with such rigorous and thoughtful referencing of secondary criticism that I cannot envision teaching or writing about any of these works again without drawing heavily on her contribution. Indeed, the book is structured perfectly so that readers can focus on only the particular close reading in which they are interested on any occasion, while following a logical, narrative flow that entices them to begin at the beginning and read right through to the end. Its usefulness, particularly in the anglophone university setting, is both as the first monograph in English to tackle the subject, and also because of the meticulous way in which Moutinho explains cultural references and intertextual allusions, revealing an immense erudition in Comparative Literature.