THE TYRANT AS A SOCIAL CRITIC: FERNANDO VALLEJO AND THE DICTATOR NOVEL

Abstract

This text analyzes how Colombian author Fernando Vallejo uses his most recent work, Memorias de un hijueputa (2019), to give a radical spin to the subgenre of the dictator novel in Latin America, through which he represents the tyrant as a social critic of his country. In order to fulfill this purpose, this article first introduces the reader to the development of the dictator novel throughout the history of Latin American literature. Later on, the text presents some of the distinctive features of Vallejo’s narrative that enable a better understanding of his latest work. Finally, it is argued how Vallejo is able to position the dictator novel from a new perspective that breaks with the tradition of this subgenre and gives new life to this renowned branch of Latin American literature.