«The Congo was not a place, the Congo was us». Literature and otherness in Pandora en el Congo by Albert Sánchez Piñol

This paper proposes a reading of Pandora in the Congo (2005) by Albert Sánchez Piñol, as an adventure novel. It is based on the hypothesis that the author offers a metaliterary reflection based on a framed structure, where various planes and stories are recognized, that allow reviewing literary proc...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Illescas, Raúl Marcelo
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2022
Country:Uruguay
Institution:Universidad de Montevideo
Repository:REDUM
Language:Spanish
OAI Identifier:oai:redum.um.edu.uy:20.500.12806/2286
Online Access:http://revistas.um.edu.uy/index.php/revistahumanidades/article/view/948
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Novela de aventuras
Africa
Colonialismo
Exotismo
Otredad
Raza
Adventure novel
Colonialism
Exoticism
Otherness
Race
Romance de aventura
África
Outredade
Raça
Description
Summary:This paper proposes a reading of Pandora in the Congo (2005) by Albert Sánchez Piñol, as an adventure novel. It is based on the hypothesis that the author offers a metaliterary reflection based on a framed structure, where various planes and stories are recognized, that allow reviewing literary procedures and science fiction, romantic and horror narratives. The analysis is also developed considering the colonialist context that this genre entails. In the case of this novel, the context is subverted and this leads to reformulating the concepts of otherness and exoticism. The proposed scenario, the Congo in the African heart, is the propitious space to deliberate on the crystallized binary relations and the cultural asymmetry established by European imperialism.