A family enigma: the last stories of Juan José Saer

Abstract

This work proposes a reading of the stories gathered in Lugar (2000) by Juan José Saer. In a reappropriation of the stylistic-structuralist category known as "archilector" (or "arch-reader") our analysis explores these stories in connection to the whole Saerian saga, reintroducing the common idea of the critique: the step-by-step assembly of the narrative puzzle in which all parts are linked. The second assumption of this article establishes a relationship between the opening of the unity of place (another critical topic) and the problematization of notions such as the own, the familiar, the foreign and the strange. This constellation of notions works in the whole Saerian saga and reaches a perfect formulation in the text.