Nazism, the Second World War and the Holocaust in Contemporary Latin American Fiction

This book shows how Latin American authors find Nazism relevant to thinking through some of the most urgent contemporary challenges.

Emily M. Baker (Author)

9781316512425, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 June 2022

262 pages
23.6 x 15.8 x 1.5 cm, 0.43 kg

Addressing the question of why many Latin American fiction authors are writing about Nazism, the Second World War and the Holocaust now, this book charts the evolution of Latin American literary production from the 19th Century, through the late 20th century 'Boom', to the present day. Containing texts from Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, it analyses work by some of the most well-known contemporary writers including Roberto Bolaño, Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Jorge Volpi, Lucía Puenzo, Patricio Pron and Michel Laub; as well as notable precursors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes and Ricardo Piglia. Nazism, the Second World War and the Holocaust in Contemporary Latin American Fiction argues that these authors find Nazism relevant to thinking through some of the most urgent contemporary challenges we face: from racism, to the unequal division of wealth and labour between the Global 'North' and 'South'; and, of course, the general failure of democracy to eliminate fascism.

Introduction
Chapter Outline
1. Nazism as Allegory in Argentine Fiction: From Dictatorship to Neoliberalism in El comienzo de la primavera by Patricio Pron and Wakolda by Lucía Puenzo
2. Nazism and Borges: Contemporary Re-Readings by Roberto Bolaño and Marcos Peres
3. Myth Interrupted: Identity and the Absence of Nation in En busca de Klingsor by Jorge Volpi and Amphitryon by Ignacio Padilla
4. Sovereignty, Democracy, and 'Nonselfsufficiency' through Touch in Los informantes by Juan Gabriel Vásquez and Diário da Queda by Michel Laub
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Fascism & Nazism [JPFQ], Second World War [HBWQ], History of the Americas [HBJK], Literature & literary studies [D]