Astute, hidden and evident

A pesquisa, by Juan José Saer, as a symbol of the interpretative aporia

Abstract

This article analyzes the novel A Pesquisa, by Juan José Saer, elucidating the ways in which the limits of reporting, interpretation, language and objectivity itself form the frame of this detective novel. The structure of the novel is formed by three macro levels, which unfold into others in an abysmal way. Pichón and his police report occupy the nerve center of the novel, as it brings investigator Morvan to the mystery surrounding a serial killer of French elderly women. Pichón’s narrative, in turn, evokes a whole mythological and symbolic range that retrospectively illuminates the entire novel. At the same time, a discussion is developed around a novel entitled In the Greek Tents, which brings a whole discussion around the concept of fictional truth and truth of experience. To discuss these and other levels of narrative, we bring Adorno’s comments about the narrator’s position in moments of crisis in the act of narrating, in addition to symbolic reflections, which significantly expand the interpretive dimension of the work. In this way, we believe that we offer enough elements to productively maintain the interpretive aporia of Juan José Saer’s novel.