Latin American Literature: Modernism to the Boom

Posted on Oct 4, 2024 in Latin

1. Modern Prose

  • In the early twentieth century, Latin American literature felt the imprint of modernism and then a progressive rejection of cosmopolitanism, leading to an American quest for greater simplicity and style.
  • Modernist prose found its best expression in the short story. Dario himself is the author of valuable stories with fantasy themes and modernist taste. The lure of the decadent and precious style is seen in other authors such as Leopoldo Lugones and Horacio Quiroga.
  • The decline of Modernism occurred gradually and resulted in the “Novel of the Earth.” Prose abandoned fantasy to give way to narratives of a social nature, focusing on historical events or the marginalization of indigenous peoples.

2. Novel of the Earth

  • The search for national identity led to exploring the essence of American folklore and customs.
  • The common theme is humanity’s attempt to dominate the almighty American nature. This disproportionate struggle reached epic proportions and often ended with humanity’s defeat.
  • However, the three great novels of the land reached different conclusions:
    • The Vortex by Jose Eustasio Rivera ends with humanity’s impotence before nature.
    • Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos suggests that, in certain circumstances, human action can overcome the natural world.
    • Don Segundo Sombra by Ricardo Güiraldes yearns for a natural environment that has been overcome by human progress.

3. Social Novel

  • The historical circumstances of various Latin American countries were depicted in various accounts. However, the most significant influence was the Mexican Revolution.
  • The novel of the Mexican Revolution focuses on the events unfolding in Mexico since 1910. This historical phenomenon went through several phases, involved popular leaders (Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata), and became a source of significant conflict.
  • Initially, novels about the revolution were testimonial in nature. Later, they became attempts to interpret a period that marked the social and national constitution of modern Mexico.
  • In testimonial novels, a realistic and sober style stands out, sometimes rough and dry. This is evident in the novel The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela, which offers a distant and disillusioned view of the Revolution’s ideals.
  • Furthermore, the so-called “Indian novel” addressed the problems faced by indigenous peoples: the denunciation of oppression and exploitation is a central theme in novels such as Raza de Bronce by Alcides Arguedas, Huasipungo by Jorge Icaza, and The World is Broad and Alien by Ciro Alegria.

4. Narrative Renewal

  • From the 1940s onwards, Latin American narrative was renewed and enriched by the assimilation of technical procedures from American and European novelists, by the daring avant-garde aesthetic, and by the change in artistic perspective brought about by Surrealism.
  • This change coincided with a period of transformation in the social life of American countries and the growth of cities.
  • Between 1940 and 1960, different trends coexisted. On the one hand, there were important metaphysical stories by authors like Borges. On the other hand, an existentialist narrative developed with authors like Onetti. Additionally, some trends from previous decades continued, giving rise to fine works by authors such as Juan Rulfo, a follower of the Mexican novel who wrote Pedro Páramo, and Alejo Carpentier, who continued to explore indigenous themes.

4.1. Narrative Metaphysics

  • This category includes the work of two writers: Jorge Luis Borges and José Lezama Lima.
  • Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) gained fame as the author of short stories, including A Universal History of Infamy and The Book of Sand. In his stories, Borges goes beyond realism and incorporates fantastic elements, classical references, the use of symbols (tigers, mirrors, labyrinths, libraries), paradoxes, and intellectual games. The book, as a metaphor for the world, occupies a central place in his texts, suggesting that the keys to the universe are within reach but simultaneously demonstrating the impossibility of accessing the mysteries of reality.
  • José Lezama Lima was a poet, essayist, and novelist. His essays include The Imaginary Eras and The Amount Bewitched. As a novelist, he became famous after the publication of Paradiso. In it, using baroque language, he exposes the protagonist’s complex life from infancy to the age of 25. The inquiry into memories and feelings serves to develop his particular worldview.

4.2. Existential Narrative

  • This section focuses on two important existentialist writers: Juan Carlos Onetti and Ernesto Sabato.
  • Juan Carlos Onetti (1909-1994) authored over forty short stories and a dozen novels. A pessimistic conception of life is a general feature of his work. His stories are filled with lonely individuals who cannot find hope in a gray and dreary existence. Many of his stories have elements of the detective genre, weaving intrigue and false leads for the reader. His notable works include: La vida breve, Goodbyes, and The Body Snatcher.
  • Ernesto Sabato, a scientist and political activist, had a gloomy vision of reality and a deep concern for social injustices. Ethical inquiry is one of the main focuses of his work. Among his works are On Heroes and Tombs and The Tunnel.

4.3. Magical Realism

  • In the second half of the century, the most striking feature of Latin American narrative was a break with traditional realism, manifested by the appearance of mythical, legendary, and fantastic elements.
  • Magical realism became a way to explore and define American identity. Myths become part of reality from the moment a community believes in them and they influence the daily lives of individuals.
  • Miguel Angel Asturias exemplifies the coexistence of magical realism, social criticism, and avant-garde techniques in his work. His most famous novel, El Señor Presidente, is a well-known example of the dictator novel, a genre where the protagonist is a dictator.
  • Alejo Carpentier is one of the pinnacles of twentieth-century Latin American narrative, both for his mastery of the Spanish language and for his narrative innovation. His first novel, Ecue-Yamba-Ó!, is set in the context of indigenous culture and showcases avant-garde techniques, an interest in primitive rituals, and a social purpose. In his second novel, The Kingdom of This World, the lives and beliefs of Haitian slaves lead to the novelization of myths and witchcraft, which are presented as living magical elements within the raw political reality of the revolution.
  • Julio Cortázar is characterized by the inclusion of fantastic elements in his texts. His skill in writing short stories resulted in masterpieces of the genre, such as Bestiario and Secret Weapons. His break with convention also takes place at the technical level, incorporating formal innovations and daring as evidenced in his novel Hopscotch. Juan Rulfo represents the culmination of the Mexican Revolution novel. However, his refined style and ability to penetrate the human psyche transcend the limits of the genre. His work consists of a book of short stories, El Llano en Llamas, a short novel, Pedro Páramo, and screenplays, including El gallo de oro and other material for cinema.

5. Narrative Since 1960

  • During the 1960s, there was an international recognition of Latin American narrative. The growing interest in these writers can be attributed to the residence of many of them in Europe.
  • It could be said that these novelists assimilated the technical innovations that occurred in the universal novel throughout the twentieth century. They are also indebted to earlier American literature and, in many cases, to Spanish literature.
  • Gabriel García Márquez combined journalism with writing short stories and novels. In these stories, the hallmarks of his narrative are evident: a blend of real and imaginary elements, myths, history, etc. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.
  • Carlos Fuentes‘ first novel, Where the Air Is Clear, demonstrates his intention to experiment with new narrative techniques and his interest in Mexican reality. Technical innovation, the critical exploration of reality, and the search for explanations of myths are constant features in his novels.
  • Mario Vargas Llosa‘s first novel, The Time of the Hero, inaugurated the Latin American Boom of the 1960s. This book, set in his native Peru, satirizes the closed and violent world of a military academy.
  • Finally, we include a short list of other notable authors of this period: Mario Benedetti, Isabel Allende, José Donoso, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, and others.
  • The Boom of the Latin American Novel
  • The 1960s marked the peak of the Boom.
  • Works such as The Time of the Hero by Vargas Llosa, One Hundred Years of Solitude by García Márquez, and Hopscotch by Cortázar emerged during this period.
  • These works achieved international dissemination and great publishing success, hence the term “Boom” to describe this phenomenon.
  • Alongside the aforementioned authors, a line of narrative renewal continued, focusing on Latin American reality.
  • Several approaches to narrative were employed, from the lyrical to the grotesque.
  • Real elements were mixed with fantastic events.

Narrative Techniques

Rupture of Time and Space: Events are presented out of chronological order, with different time levels, and the reader must piece together the puzzle.

  • Variety of Perspectives: Different narrative voices are combined, sometimes even incorporating all three grammatical persons.
  • Diversity and Mix of Styles: A polyphony of voices and styles reinforces different atmospheres.
  • A Mixture of Real and Mythical: Myths often play a prominent role in the construction of the plot.
  • Combination of Linguistic Registers and Creation of New Terms: This reflects the social and geographic diversity of the continent and explores the limits of language and communication.
  • Active Participation of the Reader: The reader is actively involved in the process of creation and personal interpretation.

Isabel Allende: Works

  • The House of the Spirits (1982): The saga of a powerful landowning family in Latin America, first in its glory and then in its years of suffering and decay.
  • Of Love and Shadows (1984): Written during her exile in Venezuela, it is an impassioned plea for faith in freedom and dignity.
  • Eva Luna (1987): The life of the girl Eva Luna, sometimes tragic, sometimes comic, is a story full of other stories that include a series of heartwarming, disturbing, or grotesque characters.
  • Stories of Eva Luna (1989): In bed with her lover, Eva Luna is asked by him to tell her a story “never told before.” And the improvised Scheherazade has no choice but to invent 23 lives, covering the entire spectrum of emotions possible in the human soul.
  • The Infinite Plan (1991): Gregory Reeves is a “gringo” who seems destined to navigate the sea of marginalization faced by “Hispanics” in California. From his father, a doctor of natural sciences who traveled throughout North America during World War II aboard a truck, he has inherited the “Infinite Plan,” which he transforms into a personal quest through poverty, political activism, the sexual revolution, and the trauma of the Vietnam War.
  • Paula (1994): A memoir about the illness that kept her daughter in a coma until the end of her days.
  • Aphrodite (1997)
  • Daughter of Fortune (1998)
  • Portrait in Sepia (2000)
  • City of the Beasts (2002)
  • Kingdom of the Golden Dragon (2003): The sequel to City of the Beasts.
  • Isabel Allende is a very controversial writer. In literary circles, she is considered a commercial writer, but her readers and followers admire her books and the passion with which she writes.
  • There is a wide divergence in the critical reception of her work, as the opinions of individual critics differ greatly from each other.
  • Isabel Allende belongs to the generation of 1972, also known as the “Novísimos Narradores,” which is formed by Latin American writers born between 1935 and 1949. Other members of this generation include Mario Vargas Llosa, Reinaldo Arenas, Gustavo Sainz, Marta Traba, and Rodrigo Quijano.
  • She does not usually define herself as belonging to any particular generation, stating that she does not fit into the established literary groups and classifications.
  • It is clear that her work has strong elements of magical realism, especially prominent in her work The House of the Spirits, employing the same magical realism that Gabriel García Márquez used in One Hundred Years of Solitude.