The Production of the immigrant as a perpetual guest

García-González, Macarena

The Production of the immigrant as a perpetual guest

Citation

García-González M. The production of the immigrant as a perpetual guest. In: Tisdel M, Fagerlid C, editors. A literary anthropology of migration and belonging roots, routes, and rhizomes. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan; 2020. p. 181-202. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-34796-3_8

Abstract

This chapter inquires into immigration narratives in Spanish-language books for children. After reviewing predominant tropes in books portraying migrant characters that have been published and recommended in different Spanish-speaking countries, the chapter comes to focus on the single autobiographical story that appeared on various recommendation lists. Bully. Yo vengo de Doibirou was written by Bully Jangana, a man from Gambia who has settled in Spain. Using the concept of the “tell-able” (Andrews 2014), the chapter inquires into the possibilities and limits of testimonial writing to subvert (post)colonial perspectives on what belonging, integration and a “good immigrant” are. These limits are explored through a practice of relational reading —in which predominant narratives and tropes are put into tension with a text that is positioned as unique and subversive. The debate on the potential disruption of subaltern voices and their authenticity is here, therefore, addressed, even while acknowledging how difference is today produced for consumption in a context of advanced capitalism.