Exquisite body of Agustina Bazterrica

Original Language: español

Year of publication: 2017

Valoración: Alright

First point

I will start from the fact that this novel is a dystopia. A genre that, depending on its degree of likelihood or its potential of existence, we could divide into two large groups: those that work mainly as warnings and those that operate more as allegories, although sometimes they can mix slightly with each other.

In the first group we find works such as a happy world or 1984, stories whose plausibility is immediate, since they represent a logical and disturbing extension of existing or past situations, such as manipulation by drugs in isolated communities or totalitarian regimes based on extreme surveillance. These narratives usually cause a deep reflection on the current direction of society precisely because of their proximity to the possible.

In contrast, allegorical dystopias usually overcome the plausible barrier, introducing fantastic, technological or hyperbolic elements to highlight certain current social circumstances or social problems. Clear examples would be Matrix or hunger games, stories that, although they happen in recognizable environments, resort to exaggerated narrative resources to amplify social criticism, raising extreme situations that serve as a deformed mirror of reality.

Both forms, to a greater or lesser extent, seek to criticize or question some aspect of our current society. However, I consider that the distopias warning manage to connect more deeply with the reader precisely because of their disturbing closeness to the real.

Here lies my main objection with exquisite corpse. Although its crudeness and its critical potential on animal consumption and human moral degradation are often noted, this novel does not work as a warning because the situation that it poses – systematic cannibalism as the basis of a society – is unlikely. There has never been a civilization that practices an organized and socially supported anthropophagy, not only because of moral issues, but also by deeply rooted practical and cultural factors. This unlikely makes the novel lose strength in its critical capacity.

It is evident that Bazterrica does not intend to offer us a probable future, but rather an extreme allegory. The problem is that, by blurring the line between the allegorical and the grotesque, it ends up creating an emotional distance in the reader that makes it difficult to take the criticism that it intends to do.

Second point

In an interview, Quentin Tarantino mentions the change in American cinema towards the late twentieth century, when screenwriters and directors began to focus more on building films around characters or isolated situations, instead of telling solid and complete stories. The current superhero cinema is a clear example of this trend.

I consider that exquisite corpse aligns precisely with this narrative logic. It begins in a shocking way, raising a shocking situation that manages to quickly catch the reader, but after the initial clash, the central premise of the novel – the parenting and consumption of humans as if they were won – it repeats excessively and ends up losing dramatic intensity. The initial force is diluted, since Bazterrica does not satisfactorily develop a solid plot or significant evolution in the characters.

In summary, although the novel offers a provocative and visually shocking starting point, its development falls into repetition and loses the opportunity to deepen the ethical and social issues that it initially promises to explore. In this way, the novel leaves a superficial impression and missing its critical potential, staying in a grotesque allegory rather than in an effective warning or in a well -developed narrative.

Third point

The strength of a good metaphor lies in connecting two apparently disconnected ideas and presenting them to the reader without immediately perceiving the underlying common points. An effective metaphor confronts us with subtlety, causing a deep and critical reflection. Instead, exquisite body opts for an easy output by directly replacing animals with humans, eliminating all metaphorical subtlety. In my opinion, this decision makes the novel lose its ability to surprise or intellectually challenge the reader, reducing its critical potential and leaving it at a superficial level of immediate but ephemeral emotional impact.

However, it is clear that exquisite corpse stands out for its disturbing and vivid images, which will hardly leave the reader indifferent. Bazterrica is effective in transmitting disturbing and bleak atmospheres, showing its ability to maintain tension and interest, at least in the first pages. My complaint does not focus mainly on the form, but in the background.

Original review: exquisite corpse