The night of the senses: literary (dis)orders in nocturno de chile

• Published in: Journal of Latin American cultural studies : travesía Vol. 18; no. 2-3; pp. 141 - 154
• Main Author: Dove, Patrick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.2009
• Subjects: Chile; Dictatorship; France; Politics; Repression (Political); Sovereignty
• ISSN: 1356-9325; 1469-9575
• DOI: 10.1080/13569320903361804

An examination of Roberto Bolano's novel, Nocturno de Chile (2003), focuses on the relationship between literary language, aesthetics, & politics. French thinker Jacques Ranciere's work is considered to shed light on the politics of literary aesthetics. The distinction Ranciere makes between "politics" & "police" suggests that his thinking about politics & aesthetics exhibits "the poetics of sovereignty while also illuminating the failure of the logic of sovereignty." Ranciere's ideas are applied to Bolano's novel that is a personal memoir & deathbed "pseudo-confession" of a priest/literary critic whose recollections provide a picture of the 1873-89 military dictatorship in Chile. Attention is given to the meaning behind the purple wig, as well as the problem of responsibility; the motif of "extraterrestoriality"; & Bolano's criticisms of literary institutions. It is contended that various scenes in the novel can be summarized under "general headings of literary symptomatologies of exclusion, repression, & silence." A comparison is made between literary reflections on logos in Bolano's novel & Ranciere's notion of the "democratic disorder of literariness." Chile (2003), focuses on the relationship between literary language, aesthetics, & politics. French thinker Jacques Ranciere's work is considered to shed light on the politics of literary aesthetics. The distinction Ranciere makes between "politics" & "police" suggests that his thinking about politics & aesthetics exhibits "the poetics of sovereignty while also illuminating the failure of the logic of sovereignty." Ranciere's ideas are applied to Bolano's novel that is a personal memoir & deathbed "pseudo-confession" of a priest/literary critic whose recollections provide a picture of the 1873-89 military dictatorship in Chile. Attention is given to the meaning behind the purple wig, as well as the problem of responsibility; the motif of "extraterrestoriality"; & Bolano's criticisms of literary institutions. It is contended that various scenes in the novel can be summarized under "general headings of literary symptomatologies of exclusion, repression, & silence." A comparison is made between literary reflections on logos in Bolano's novel & Ranciere's notion of the "democratic disorder of literariness.". Adapted from the source document.