AustLit

'A connection to Spain and its land is also played out through food, as characters pull ingredients from just outside their homes and consume such regional fare as jamón serrano (8) and aguardiente (9), each representing one of the few instances of Spanish language in the text. " The Dream Girl" focuses a great deal on the protagonist's growing love of reading and his writing aspirations. [...]The Dream Girl" has the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the artist's narrative with its focus on language; the Galician-speaking protagonist is forced to negotiate Spain's desire to homogenize the country's language.' (Publication abstract)