Cometierra: A Heroine’s Encounter with Murmurs in the War against Women

Abstract

In Cometierra, Dolores Reyes travels through the labyrinths of the suburbs of the province of Buenos Aires, a territory marked by misogynistic violence, poverty and social conflicts. This article seeks to study how Reyes' novel fits into the tradition of crime literature, particularly Argentine police literature, on the one hand, and on the other hand, addresses one versatile current of Latin American writings: the fantastic, through the neofantastic, the so-called “real maravilloso” and Juan Rulfo´'s universe in Pedro Páramo. In this amalgam, the author denounces the gender violence that occurs both within the family and in a broader context, where the law is inoperative to protect victims and the police are inefficient in finding those guilty of sexist crimes, a scenario of "war against women", as defined by anthropologist Rita Segato. This fiction is starred by a medium/detective with little life experience, typical of a young school-ager, who feels empathy for the victims. Her investigations and collaboration with the authorities, or those outside the protection of the forces of order, will be key to clarifying cases of gender violence or pedophilia. This will expose her even more to a systemic violence that Reyes describes with a visceral language.