Book Review: Literature and the Experience of Globalisation: Texts Without Borders by Svend Erik Larsen

Abstract

This review focuses on the book Literature and the Experience of Globalisation: Texts Without Borders (2017) by Svend Erik Larsen. It brings out the fundamental argument that literature is an important medium in understanding the role of globalisation, shaping culture, emotions and society. Larsen argues that literature does more than merely reflect on cross-border experiences; it also humanises globalisation by posing questions of self-identity, memory, migration, communication, and translation. Moreover, the review describes the book in its two parts, demonstrating how Larsen makes literature a place of confluence of global and local realities, where dominant narratives are problematized, and where readers are encouraged to rethink reality, nuances of belonging, and cultural mobility. Furthermore, a critical perspective is provided in a review. It notes that Larsen pays limited attention to the role of literature in reproducing global inequalities, the work of translators and publishing industries, and that of women’s writing and feminist translation studies. It also suggests that the book does not sufficiently discuss the impact of globalisation on family forms and intimate relationships, especially in Eastern cultural contexts.