This is the first novel by Nicolás Bernales, a writer who has previous publications (a book of short stories and works of fiction published in a magazine). Geography of an Exile is a good debut in this type of narrative.
The novel introduces us to Nicolás Sánchez, a character who has decided to abstract himself from the vertigo of neoliberal Chile. Although the exile takes place well into the play, Nicolás has begun to go into exile long before, the character has decided to get off that car of successism, which does not suit him at all, and his estrangement begins without having left the territory.
Jorge, Nicolás’s father, had at the time been involved in a historic event, the assassination of the commander in chief of the Army, Schneider, seeking to prevent Salvador Allende from assuming the presidency. As the years go by, Jorge becomes disillusioned with the country that arises from the violence of the right and the military, he becomes melancholic, gets sick, and dies. In the disenchantment of his final years he empathizes with Nicolás, who he hates of the right and the upstart world of the environment that he inherits.
The protagonist wants to be a writer, and in the novel his narrative texts are interspersed, and even illustrations that accompany his writings, thus producing a good game around the creative process, reality and fiction. As we know, in Chile it is almost impossible to make a living from literature, but Nicolás avoids formal employment for a while: “When he returned to Santiago he would have to work. Doing what? Publicity was out of the question, as was supporting my mother. My naivety bothered me. How I allowed myself the fantasy of writing!”
That changes when he meets Laura, they become a couple and have a son, José. Nicolás loves them, and finally agrees to work in his mother’s small business. But he doesn’t stop writing in his notebook, or distancing himself from the lifestyle they lead. His acidic comments in circles of friends earn him the title of “grumpy buffoon.” That little by little distances him from Laura.
One member of the group that stands out is Infante. The prototype of the Chile of the jaguars, which he says he is risking for a more modern and concerned right of the people. From here an interesting aspect of the work is derived: a strong denunciation of economic groups in their post-dictatorship behavior. Once again, the novel uses real historical events, specifically the cases of illegal financing of politics, which in reality were closely linked to Soquimich, Penta and other companies and groups.
In relation to these groups, the dictatorial past and their heavy legacy, the protagonist, referring to Pinochet, declares at one point: “The accounts abroad, at Riggs. There I began to think that in a certain way Pinochet worked for them, like an employee. An angry and difficult to control employee. But an employee at last, and for his employers it was a disappointment that money was left for him, that was the first and great disappointment, not the disappearances, not the torture or the violence, not the loss of freedom.
Shortly into the novel, we know that Laura begins a relationship with Infante, José stays with Nicolás, and from that moment on the protagonist begins a path that he believes will allow him to recover her and thus reunite his small family.
Upon finishing reading the work, one of Nicolás’ reflections resonates with me: “Perhaps it is impossible to escape violence. One can hide and stay on the sidelines, but at the first provocation it resurfaces and reminds us that it is installed in the gears of the system.” And I would add that it remains installed in the minds and hearts of those of us who live through that dark period, and it is difficult to get it out of there even if we go into exile, return, try to adapt to this country, or try to migrate again.
Datasheet:
Geography of an exile.
Nicolas Bernales. 2023.
Zuramérica editions.
338 pages