La infancia y el coro dentro del pozo: poética de soledad y muerte en Toda la soledad del centro de la tierra

Abstract

The border strip that divides Mexico from the United States is a territory disputed by some of the most violent criminal groups in the world. In this vast desert area, evil takes many forms. One of the most ominous ones are drug trafficking cartels. The novel Toda la soledad del centro de la tierra (2019) features three narrators, three voices recounting the horror in which the inhabitants of this rugged wasteland survive. One is the voice of childhood, represented by El Chaparro. Another is the collective voice of the victims. That is, the voice that denounces said horror. Finally, there is an omniscient voice, present in two stories embedded within the plot of the novel. These two join the novelistic confabulation towards its final resolution. The three perspectives build a panoramic view of both the represented space and, what takes place there. The following paper focuses on the representation of the melancholic and poetic voice of childhood. A voice marked by helplessness that becomes a metaphor for horror and loneliness.