The Chinese Tall Tales of Rafael Acevedo: The Novelization of World Literature Theory in Flor de ciruelo y el viento (novela china tropical)

Abstract: This paper examines how Rafael Acevedo's Flor de Ciruelo y el viento (novela china tropical) (2011) engages with world literature theory by novelizing the processes of researching, editing, and translating a fictional manuscript. Drawing from Mariano Siskind's concept of the globalization of the novel and the novelization of the global, I argue that Acevedo takes this a step further by novelizing world literature theory itself—using fiction to critique how world literature constructs images of the global. Through the strategic use of "China" as a fluid signifier, and the novel's parody of academic and editorial labor, Acevedo challenges and reimagines dominant frameworks of world literature, particularly those proposed by Siskind, David Damrosch, and Doris Sommer. Expanding beyond Flor de Ciruelo y el viento I explore how Acevedo reflects on the conditions of Caribbean literature in relation to global literary traditions, canons, and theories. I argue that he engages with world literature not by seeking inclusion but by questioning the root causes of the exclusion and highlighting the cruel optimism at the heart of desiring for inclusion. Situating Acevedo's fiction alongside other contemporary Spanish Caribbean authors like Pedro Cabiya, Mayra Santos Febres, and Rita Indiana, I propose the notion of "Caribbean world literature" as a framework that considers how Caribbean writers strategically engage with global canons and world literature theory to challenge traditional notions of literary value, circulation, and cosmopolitanism. Ultimately, this study highlights ways contemporary Spanish Caribbean fiction reimagines its relationship with world literature beyond national or regional identities.