Este libro vale un cadáver

affections and intimacy in realismo sucio latinoamericano

Abstract

The novel Este libro vale un cadáver (2010) by Marcelo Lillo is one of the key works within the recent production of the so-called realismo sucio latinoamericano. Its importance lies in the fact that it shows the relationship with fundamental authors of this subgenre, especially with the figure of the North American writer Raymond Carver. This link manages to account for another part of realismo sucio latinoamericano, which has been associated almost exclusively with Charles Bukowski, linked to marginality and violence. Based on a comparative study with Carver’s short story “What we talk about when we talk about love”, it is proposed that in this novel the affections and intimacy are central in the relationship of realismo sucio latinoamericano with the North American subgenre, aspects that have been left aside in its definition.