'The short stories in So Much Smoke owe much to Félix Calvino’s own experiences as a migrant who moved from the Galicia region of Spain to Australia, a country and culture radically different from the peasant village he left behind. The majority of the stories chronicle the hardships and small joys of village life, while the Australian stories tell of the migrant experience in which all that is known is forfeited in the search for material security.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'A connection to Spain and its land is also played out through food, as characters pull ingredients from just outside their homes and consume such regional fare as jamón serrano (8) and aguardiente (9), each representing one of the few instances of Spanish language in the text. " The Dream Girl" focuses a great deal on the protagonist's growing love of reading and his writing aspirations. [...]The Dream Girl" has the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the artist's narrative with its focus on language; the Galician-speaking protagonist is forced to negotiate Spain's desire to homogenize the country's language.' (Publication abstract)
'A connection to Spain and its land is also played out through food, as characters pull ingredients from just outside their homes and consume such regional fare as jamón serrano (8) and aguardiente (9), each representing one of the few instances of Spanish language in the text. " The Dream Girl" focuses a great deal on the protagonist's growing love of reading and his writing aspirations. [...]The Dream Girl" has the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the artist's narrative with its focus on language; the Galician-speaking protagonist is forced to negotiate Spain's desire to homogenize the country's language.' (Publication abstract)
