The Writing of the Absent

Crossings-out, Veils, Stains, and Holes in Contemporary Mexican Documentary Fiction Literature

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyze Mexican works published in the 21st century that deal with the theme of disappearance — of both historical events and people, objects, ideas or experiences—, making use of different types of crossings-out, veils, and textual marks. These works, which can be included within the genre of documentary fiction (Rivera Garza, 2019), invite reflection on the relationship between the exterior and interior of a text; between reality and fiction. Starting from an approach to these latter two concepts, the different types of crossings-out that appear in the works, their functions and meanings will be studied, within the framework of the ideas outlined by Chirinos (1998), Rivera-Rodas (2001), Fabre (2005), and Ballester and Higashi (2017). It is proposed that these textual marks are a way
of speaking about emptiness through emptiness itself, which is incorporated into the texts, creating a contrast between the literary and the non-literary —real or historical —.