Contrary to the epic, totalizing, and politically engaged narratives of the Latin American Boom, the scope of the stories here is narrow, intimate, more local than ever before.
The Watchlist: April 2021 wordswithoutborders.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wordswithoutborders.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
âNancy,â Chilean author Bruno Lloretâs first novel, tells the tragic life story of its eponymous protagonist, a 17-year-old runaway from a poor, fractured family in Chile. Her story is one of a desperate struggle for survival in an unforgiving, absurd world, where poverty and discontent are unquestioned axioms of living. The emotions of the text are raw and heart-wrenching to the point where it nearly becomes downright depressing.
But such a condemnation of the novel would overlook its purpose: critiquing the powers in society that cause the lives of so many Chileans to be so dismal. Indeed, âNancyâ is, at its heart, a social commentary, and the blows that send its protagonist to her lonely end are Lloretâs attempt at drawing attention to the flaws of modern Chilean society. Lloretâs harsh criticism of heavy industry (e.g. mining, canning) and Christian denominations that consume the lives of Chileans are particularly damning, as he frames these po