José Donoso

José Donoso
José Donoso (1981).
Born	José Donoso Yáñez (1924-10-05)October 5, 1924 Santiago Chile
Died	Santiago Chile
Occupation	Writer, journalist, professor
Language	Spanish
Nationality	Chilean
Alma mater	University of Chile
Genre	Novel, short story
Literary movement	Latin American Boom
Notable works	Hell Has No Limits, The Obscene Bird of Night
Notable awards	National Prize for Literature (Chile) 1990
Years active	20th century
Spouse	María del Pilar Serrano
Children	Pilar Donoso

José Donoso Yáñez (October 5, 1924 – December 7, 1996) was a Chilean writer. He lived most of his life in Chile, although he spent many years in self-imposed exile in Mexico, the United States (Iowa) and mainly Spain. Although he had left his country in the sixties for personal reasons, after 1973 he said his exile was also a form of protest against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He returned to Chile in 1981 and lived there until his death.

Donoso is the author of a number of remarkable stories and novels, which contributed greatly to the Latin American literary boom. The term 'Boom' was coined in his 1972 essay Historia personal del "boom". His best known works include the novels Coronación, El lugar sin límites (The Place Without Limits) and El obsceno pájaro de la noche (The Obscene Bird of Night). His works deal with a number of themes, including sexuality, the duplicity of identity, psychology, and a sense of dark humor.

After his death, his personal papers at the University of Iowa revealed his homosexuality, a revelation that caused a certain controversy in Chile.

Works

• Veraneo y otros cuentos, 1955, contains 7 stories:
  • Veraneo, Tocayos, El Güero, Una señora, Fiesta en grande, Dos cartas y Dinamarquero
• Coronación (novel, 1957)
• El charleston, 1960, contains 5 stories:
  • El charleston, La puerta cerrada, Ana María, Paseo y El hombrecito
• El lugar sin límites (novel, 1966)
• Este domingo (novel 1966)
• Los mejores cuentos de José Donoso, selection by Luis Domínguez, Zig-Zag, 1966; contains:
  • Veraneo, Tocayos, El Güero, Una señora, Fiesta en grande, Dos cartas, Dinamarquero, El charleston, La puerta cerrada, Ana María, Paseo, El hombrecito, China and Santelices
• El obsceno pájaro de la noche (novel, 1970)
• Cuentos, Seix Barral, Barcelona 1971
• Historia personal del boom (memories, 1972)
• Tres novelitas burguesas, 1973, contains:
  • Chatanooga choochoo, Átomo verde número cinco y Gaspard de la nuit
• Casa de campo (novel, 1978)
• La misteriosa desaparición de la marquesita de Loria (novel, 1981)
• El jardín de al lado (novel, 1981)
• Poemas de un novelista (poetry, 1981)
• Cuatro para Delfina, 1982, contains four brief novels:
  • Sueños de mala muerte, Los habitantes de una ruina inconclusa, El tiempo perdido and Jolie Madame
• Veraneo y sus mejores cuentos,Santiago, Zig-Zag, 1985, contains ten stories:
  • Veraneo, Tocayos, El Güero, Una señora, Fiesta en grande, Dos cartas, Dinamarquero, Paseo, El hombrecito and Santelices
• La desesperanza (novel, 1986)
• Artículos de incierta necesidad, 1998, selection of his articles published for magazines compiled by Cecilia García-Huidobro
• Taratuta y Naturaleza muerta con cachimba (short novels, 1990)
• Donde van a morir los elefantes (novel, 1995)
• Nueve novelas breves, Alfaguara 1996, contains the books Tres novelitas burguesas, Cuatro para Delfina más Taratuta and Naturaleza muerta con cachimba
• Conjeturas sobre la memoria de mi tribu (fictional memories, 1996)
• El mocho (novel, posthumous edition, 1997)
• Cuentos( anthology, Alfaguara, 1997)
• Lagartija sin cola (novel, posthumous edition, 2007)

Further reading

English

• The self in the narratives of José Donoso : Chile, 1924-1996 / Mary Lusky Friedman., 2004
• The veracity of disguise in selected works of José Donoso : illusory deception / Brent J Carbajal., 2000
• José Donoso's house of fiction : a dramatic construction of time and place / Flora María González Mandri., 1995
• Understanding José Donoso / Sharon Magnarelli., 1993
• Studies on the works of José Donoso : an anthology of critical essays / Miriam Adelstein., 1990
• José Donoso, the "boom" and beyond / Philip Swanson., 1988
• The creative process in the works of José Donoso / Guillermo I Castillo-Feliú., 1982
• José Donoso (Twayne's World Authors Series) / George R McMurray., 1979

Spanish

• Racionalidad e imaginación : transposiciones del cuerpo y de la mente en los cuentos de José Donoso / Sergio Véliz., 2001
• Las últimas obras de José Donoso : juegos, roles y rituales en la subversión del poder / Michael Colvin., 2001
• Donoso sin límites / Carlos Cerda., 1997
• José Donoso, escritura y subversión del significado / Laura A Chesak., 1997
• José Donoso : desde el texto al metatexto / Enrique Luengo., 1992
• El simbolismo en la obra de José Donoso / Augusto C Sarrochi., 1992
• José Donoso, impostura e impostación / Ricardo Gutiérrez Mouat., 1983
• José Donoso : incursiones en su producción novelesca / Myrna Solotorevsky., 1983
• Ideología y estructuras narrativas en José Donoso, 1950-1970 / Hugo Achugar., 1979
• José Donoso : una insurrección contra la realidad / Isis Quinteros., 1978
• José Donoso : la destrucción de un mundo / José Promis Ojeda., 1975

External links

• memoriachilena.cl Donoso, José
• The Jose Donoso Papers are housed at the University of Iowa Special Collections & University Archives.