Venezuela's preeminent educator, politician, and most important author Romulo Gallegos (1884-1969) left a lasting imprint on how Venezuelans conceive of their national history and identity. Jenni Lehtinen offers the first full-length study of Gallegos's later Venezuelan novels, 'Canaima' (1935), 'Pobre negro' (1937), and 'Sobre la misma tierra' (1943), which have been up to now eclipsed by the critical attention devoted to 'Dona Barbara' (1929). By combining close-readings organized around national allegory and narrative structure with discussions about Gallegos's socio-political essays, the...

Venezuela's preeminent educator, politician, and most important author Romulo Gallegos (1884-1969) left a lasting imprint on how Venezuelans conceive of their national history and identity. Jenni Lehtinen offers the first full-length study of Gallegos's later Venezuelan novels, 'Canaima' (1935), 'Pobre negro' (1937), and 'Sobre la misma tierra' (1943), which have been up to now eclipsed by the critical attention devoted to 'Dona Barbara' (1929). By combining close-readings organized around national allegory and narrative structure with discussions about Gallegos's socio-political essays, the...