Carlos Franz, el desierto and the double tragedy in Chile

Abstract

Among those novels that have as their background the historical problem Chileans face regarding the dictatorship and post-dictatorship, El desierto, Carlos Franz’s 2005 novel, could be the most extensive and complex. In it Franz intertwines two stories, each one containing his perception of the two corresponding periods. The enforcement of justice provides him with the tertium comparationis: lagrant violations and
accommodating adaptations during the dictatorship; crafty manipulations and, once more, accommodating adaptations during the post-dictatorship. Beneath this paralelism lies the connection (subordination?) of justice to power. The use of Nietzsche’s idea regarding Greek tragedy reinforces and gives this perspective its artistic form.