Latin American Literature Commons^™

Part Of Her: An Exploration Of The Bodily Boundaries Between Parent And Child And The Limits Of Personhood In Lina Meruane’S Sangre En El Ojo, Sawnie Smith

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Lina Meruane (1970-) is a contemporary Chilean author whose novels began to captivate at the turn of the twenty-first century. Her works are replete with unsettling meditations on the fragility of human flesh. And the promise of illness—its infectious potential—clings to the air in her literary worlds, such as those found in Fruta podrida (2007) and Sangre en el ojo (2012). This latter novel in particular serves as a vivid example of Meruane’s talent for writing sickly atmospheres. It is a novel saturated with bodily imagery, such as disembodied eyes, parasitic embraces, and grim sexual foreplay. All of these visuals …