The archive in the family autonovel. The case of Mi abuelo y el dictador by César Tejeda

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the function of the archive in family autonovels and, in particular, in Mi abuelo y el dictador (2017) by the Mexican author César Tejeda. First of all, the characteristics of this phenomenon will be defined and, subsequently, will be applied to Tejeda's autonovel through a textual and paratextual analysis. Afterwards, the specific function of the archive in autonovels will be explained at length and, finally, the archives (letters, personal interviews, historical documents and places of memory) that are integrated into the book will be detailed. The result of this paper is to emphasize that the archive, which is the gap in itself (Didi-Huberman), turns the autobiographical family story into a truthful and, moreover, political manifestation.

Keywords

• autonovela familiar
• archivo
• identidad
• autobiografía