The city and its observers: looks about Santiago in Nocturno de Chile by Roberto Bolaño and Loco afán by Pedro Lemebel

Abstract

The choice of the point of view from which the city is observed is the first element to define what kind of representation of the modern metropolis and of the urban experience can be configured in the discourse of social sciences and art. This article aims to analyze the representation of Santiago de Chile in Nocturno de Chile, novel by Roberto Bolaño, and in the chronicles collected by Pedro Lemebel in Loco afán, considering that they also coincide on the historical context: the city of Santiago they try to rebuild corresponds to the time of the military dictatorship that Pinochet headed from 1973 to 1990. The analysis will address the relationship between the subjective point of view chosen by each author and the resulting representation of the city in years of dictatorship.