Resumen de Regreso a La ciudad ausente
This article explores the novel La ciudad ausente, by Ricardo Piglia, in an attempt to flesh out the legacy of the Argentine writer Rodolfo Walsh, an important precursor to Piglia whose influence nevertheless remains hidden in the text. While Piglia’s novel has been read as a recuperation of another canonical Argentine author, Macedonio Fernández, this essay demonstrates that Piglia’s text is equally invested in appropriating the literary operations practiced by Walsh. First, the article documents Walsh’s work in creating the clandestine news agency ANCLA (1976–77) and his efforts at informing the Argentine polis. Then, it shows that Walsh’s methods—as well as the texts he produced by using them—form the thematic substrate of La ciudad ausente. The article as a whole offers an account of La ciudad ausente’s politics of form that differs substantially from existing interpretations.
