Assignment Content
Choose a Latin American novel from this list and write a review of it.
The book review should be 1250–1500 words in length and include the following:
Introduction
The introduction, which may be one paragraph or longer, should begin to evaluate the novel, and it should allude to the central concept of the review. What issues does the novel raise? What do you see as the main purpose of the novel? What are its major themes? Remember that the reader may not have read the book—you need to give them enough information about the novel to understand the analysis you will lay out in the following paragraphs.
Analysis
A good review of a novel should include some necessary summary, but should focus on analysis:
How did the themes, plot, characters, and/or places in the novel elucidate the themes of this course’s readings and multimedia?
Did anything in the novel help reinforce or contradict what was discussed in the readings this semester? If so, how?
If you chose a novel and a film that paired well, how do the two relate to one another?
You may choose to comment on how narrative or style devices affected your experience of the novel:
Was the novel a straightforward telling of a tale or was it ironic or sardonic?
Did the novel incorporate magical elements into an otherwise realistic setting? If so, what affect did this have on your understanding of the events, characters, or story of the novel?
Conclusion
The closing of the book review should remind the reader of your general thoughts and impressions of the novel and briefly summarize its strengths and weaknesses.
Citations
You may use any scholarly citation style you choose (Chicago/Turabian, MLA, APA, AP, ASA, etc.) so long as the citations are correct and consistent. Information on citations can be found on the citations page of the NIU University Libraries website. Citations do not count towards the word count of the review.
