Latin American Fiction and the Narratives of the Perverse : Paper Dolls and Spider Women

Latin American Fiction and the Narratives of the Perverse contains analysis of sexual perversion and narrative creativity in fictions from the Latin American boom and post-boom. O'Connor's main argument is that orthodox criticism of Latin American literature has neglected the eccentric singularities of other fictive trends in the corpus (especially in the second half of the twentieth-century). At the same time, by examining these eccentric singularities in their relationship to mainstream trends in the Latin American corpus, O'Connor forces his readers to view these master narratives and major trends (such as modernismo or magical realism) from surprisingly new angles. Five of the authors discussed (Puig, Lezama, Lima, Cortazar and Sarduy) have an established place in the Latin American literary canon. A fifth one, Rosario Ferre, may have come close to achieving that status with her earlier fictions. Others (Felisberto Hernandez, Alicia Borinsky, Cristina Peri Rossi and Silvia Molloy) are less well known, but they are certainly highly significant authors for scholars and students of contemporary Latin American fiction. Latin American Fiction And The Narratives Of The Perverse Contains Analysis Of Sexual Perversion And Narrative Creativity In Fictions From The Latin American Boom And Post-boom. Latin American Novelists Of The Twentieth Century Tell Stories About Extreme Male Sexualities - Machismo, Homosexuality, Fetishism, Masochism, Transvestism - In Complex Negotiations With The Stories Told By Freud And Other Sexologists, Exemplifying Some And Queering Others. O'connor Undertakes Close Readings Of Puig, Lezama Lima, Cortazar, Fuentes, Donoso, And Sarduy In Search Of A Perverse Literary History Of Latin America.--jacket. Enter The Spider Woman: An Introduction To The Narratives Of The Perverse -- The Impenetrability And The Glory: Ellipsing Lezama Lima -- The Moving Target Of Fixated Desire: Felisberto's Paper Dolls -- Fashionable And Unfashionable Perversions On The Latin American Rive Gauche: Cortazar And Pizarnik Read The Bloody Countess -- (triple) Cross-dressing The Boom: Fuentes, Donoso, Sarduy And The Queer Sixties -- Lip-synching Woman -- Severo Sarduy's Flaming Creatures -- Conclusions: Perverse Narratives On The Border. Patrick O'connor. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [235]-244) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Enter the Spider Woman: An Introduction to the Narratives of the Perverse....Pages 1-41 The Impenetrability and the Glory: Ellipsing Lezama Lima....Pages 43-73 The Moving Target of Fixated Desire: Felisberto’s Paper Dolls....Pages 75-120 Fashionable and Unfashionable Perversions on the Latin American Rive Gauche: Cortázar and Pizarnik Read “The Bloody Countess”....Pages 121-154 (Triple-) Cross-Dressing the Boom: Fuentes, Donoso, Sarduy, and the Queer Sixties....Pages 155-192 Conclusion/Epilogue: Perverse Narratives on the Border....Pages 193-209 Back Matter....Pages 211-252 Latin American Fiction and the Narratives of the Perverse contains analysis of sexual perversion and narrative creativity in fictions from the Latin American Boom and post-Boom. Latin American novelists of the twentieth century tell stories about extreme male sexualities--machismo, homosexuality, fetishism, masochism, transvestism-in complex negotiations with the stories told by Freud and other sexologists, exemplifying some and queering others. O'Connor undertakes close readings of Puig, Lezama Lima, Cortázar, Fuentes, Donoso, and Sarduy in search of a perverse literary history of Latin America