Hybrid novels and fictional criticism in contemporary Latin American narrative: the case of Roberto Bolaño

Abstract

This article presents a tendency in contemporary Latin-American literature to mix genres and use fictional literary criticism in the construction of hybrid novels and short stories. With Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño (1953-2003) as an exem­plar, the article presents the main elements of this type of narrative, and establishes a parallel with other contemporary writers from Latin Ameri­ca. Finally, on offer is a theoretical hypothesis designed to explain this tendency in relation to the Latin-American literary tradition and the recent transformations in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Keywords

• Literatura latino-americana contemporânea
• Roberto Bolaño
• Romances hí¬bridos
• Crítica ficcional