The identity and other reasons to burn down Paris: París y el odio by Matías Alinovi

Abstract

This paper analyzes the second novel of Argentinean writer, Matías Alinovi, París y el odio (Paris and the hatred), published in 2016. The central axis of study is the problem of identity and the relationship between Paris, the Argentinean being and the idea of Latin America. In its first section, the work briefly exposes the emergence of the idea of Latin America as a French construction in opposition to North American interests. In this same section, it also discusses the referential importance of Paris and the French for Latin America. The article takes three points of reference from the novel to discuss the subject of identity. Firstly, the novel’s character of Bianco, a transcript of the Argentine writer Héctor Bianciotti; secondly, the relationship of the novel with the Paris constructed by Cortázar in his famous novel Rayuela; and finally, the thought of identity from Paris through the figure of Atahualpa Yupanqui. The article includes references to an interview with the author on these issues.