Book Review: The Global South and Literature

The essays approach this question from a variety of perspectives, maintaining a useful critical gaze on the central term of the collection; as Russell West-Pavlov notes in his Introduction, “‘Global South’ is a shifty, shifting term that one is well advised to treat with caution, while remaining open to the potential meaning-making it may nevertheless have the power to release” (7). The volume is divided into three sections: the first, “Origins,” explores the history of the global south and its conceptual, spatial, and temporal dimensions; the second, “Developments,” continues this exploration, while deepening the critical gaze on the central concept; the third, and longest, section, “Applications,” gives contributors a freer rein and includes essays that reflect on the idea of the global south in and through a multiplicity of contexts, texts (literary and otherwise), and examples. The essays as a whole avoid the temptation to discuss the global south in sweeping terms; instead, they are each quite specific, offering a range of remarkable case studies, from the architecture of affordable housing developments in Jakarta (Simone) to the romantic relationships of migrant domestic workers (Cruz-del Rosario).