Latin American Experimental Fiction: 1960-1980

The Experimental Novel: 1960-1980

Between 1960 and 1980, a set of innovative novels emerged in Latin American literature. These works often incorporated magical realism but delved deeply into experimentation with new narrative forms. Key novelists who pioneered this movement include:

• Ernesto Sabato

  Sabato wrote an intellectualized narrative, often resembling an essay, which crystallized in works such as The Tunnel (a short novel exploring love and madness), On Heroes and Tombs, and Abaddon the Destroyer. His work offers a critical reflection on contemporary society.

• Julio Cortázar

  Cortázar stands out for his short stories, often resembling fairy tales in the vein of Kafka and Borges (e.g., Bestiary, Secret Weapons, All Fires the Fire). In his novel Hopscotch (Rayuela), he creates a compelling world with fascinating characters. This work incorporates a structural novelty: it can be read in different ways according to the reader's chosen order. Hopscotch exemplifies Cortázar's narrative style, characterized by a critical view of society and a commitment to aesthetic innovation.

• Carlos Fuentes

  Fuentes demonstrated a critical attitude and a strong willingness for formal renewal. The Most Transparent Region presents a kaleidoscopic view of Mexico, while The Death of Artemio Cruz recounts a part of Mexican history through the memories of a powerful man.

• Gabriel García Márquez

  With One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), García Márquez became one of the most popular novelists of the era. The novel reintroduces characters and scenarios that had appeared in earlier short stories, such as Leaf Storm and No One Writes to the Colonel. One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the Buendía family, paralleling the creation and destruction of the mythical world of Macondo. The work masterfully combines varied elements: magical realism, lyrical vision, social criticism, humor, and tragedy.

• Mario Vargas Llosa

  Vargas Llosa rose to prominence with The City and the Dogs, an experimental novel that portrays the violence and corruption of a military academy. He continued to depict a brutal world in other formally innovative narratives like The Green House and Conversation in the Cathedral. His formal experimentation is often combined with an ironic vision, as seen in Captain Pantoja and the Special Service and Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. His work is highly varied, often recreating historical movements, figures, or events.

The Latin American Short Story

In the twentieth century, the short story experienced significant development in Latin American literature. Many leading novelists cultivated the genre, such as Mario Benedetti, Jorge Luis Borges, and Julio Cortázar. Augusto Monterroso, a Guatemalan-born writer from Tegucigalpa, is considered one of the great Latin American writers of short stories and micro-stories of the twentieth century.