Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Leopoldo Marechal has become a chosen precursor of many contemporary Argentine writers, cineastes, and intellectuals, and so his novels - universally recognized but rarely studied - demand treatment from a contemporary critical sensibility. This study departs from the line of criticism that reads Marechal as a Christian apologist, arguing instead that Marechal's metaphysical' novels are really metafictional, ludic exercises informed by ironic scepticism.Ad n Buenosayres (1948) inverts the Christian-Platonist narrative of redemption through the Logos; in El Banquete de Severo Arc ngelo (1965) Marechal, tongue firmly in cheek, leads his readers on a metaphysical wild-goose chase; and in Megaf n, o la guerra (1970) he finally lays apocalypticism to rest. The close readings of his novels presented in this book help to lay the theoretical groundwork underpinning Marechal's reinscription incontemporary Argentine culture.
Synopsis
A fresh look at the Argentine novelist Marechal emphasises his subversive approach in his novels to the Peronist politics of his time.
Leopoldo Marechal has become a chosen precursor of many contemporary Argentine writers, cineastes, and intellectuals, and so his novels - universally recognized but rarely studied - demand treatment from a contemporary critical sensibility. This study departs from the line of criticism that reads Marechal as a Christian apologist, arguing instead that Marechal's metaphysical' novels are really metafictional, ludic exercises informed by ironic scepticism.Ad n Buenosayres (1948) inverts the Christian-Platonist narrative of redemption through the Logos; in El Banquete de Severo Arc ngelo (1965) Marechal, tongue firmly in cheek, leads his readers on a metaphysical wild-goose chase; and in Megaf n, o la guerra (1970) he finally lays apocalypticism to rest. The close readings of his novels presented in this book help to lay the theoretical groundwork underpinning Marechal's reinscription incontemporary Argentine culture.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [157]-165) and index.
Table of Contents
Adâan Buenosayres: parodic revelation -- Metahistory and the cycle of language -- Light against darkness: poetry versus science -- Schultze and "el viaje a la oscura ciudad de Cacodelphia" -- Textual apocalypse: El banquete de Severo Arcâangelo -- Coda and conclusion: Samuel Tesler's last word in Megafâon, o la guerra.