José Donoso: The Chilean Writer in the Maze of His Intimate Papers

Abstract

This article reviews the development of the intimate life of José Donoso, thanks to some private manuscripts studied and published by his daughter Pilar in her book Correr el tupido velo. This book presents to the public original angles to understand the creative process of the author of El obsceno pájaro de la noche, as well as Donoso’s taking of sentimental sides regarding his wife, his views about the adoption of his daughter Pilar, and several of his ideas regarding his life before and after the coup d’état by General Augusto Pinochet in 1973. It also portrays his own daughter’s thoughts in the face of this appealing autobiographic material, while trying to understand Donoso’s own paranoia, neurosis, and homosexuality.