Ma Co BuCaioni
A Huge Deb o 20 h Cen u y Mode nism? An ónio
Lobo An unes’s P ose S yle and his Models
1. Ques ioning
These lines we e o iginally w i en by Con ad Aiken in a ex
called William Faulkne :
The amous ema k made o Macaulay – “Young man, he mo e I
conside he less can I concei e whe e you pick up ha s yle” – migh
wi h ad an age ha e been sa ed o M . Faulkne . Fo i one hing is
mo e ou s anding han ano he abou M . Faulkne – some eade s
ind i so ou s anding, indeed, ha hey ne e ge beyond i – i is he
uncomp omising and almos hypno ic zeal wi h which he insis s upon
ha ing a s yle, and, especially o la e, he e y peculia s yle which he
insis s upon ha ing. Pe haps o ha one should add ha he insis s
when he emembe s – he can w i e s aigh o wa dly enough when
he wan s o; he does so o en in he bes o his sho s o ies (and hey
a e b illian ), o en enough, oo, in he no els. Bu ha s yle is wha
he eally wan s o ge back o; and ge back o i he in a iably does.
And wha a s yle i is, o be su e! The exube an and opical luxu-
iance o sound which Jim Eu ope’s Jazz Band use o exhale like a jun-
gle o ank c eepe s and e ocious blooms aking shape be o e one’s
eyes – magni icen ly endlessly in e ol ed, glis eningly and ophidianly
emo ion, coil sliding o e coil, and lea and lowe o e e magically
in e changing – was sca cely mo e bewilde ing, in i s shee inexhau-
s ible ecundi y, han M . Faulkne ’s s yle. Small wonde i e en he
mos passiona e o M . Faulkne ’s admi e s – among whom he p e-
sen w i e hono s himsel by enlis ing – mus ind, wi h each new
no el, ha he i s i y pages a e always he ha des , ha each ime
one mus lea n all o e again how o ead hese s angely luid and
slippe y and hea ily manne ed p ose, and ha one is e en, like a kind
o Laocoön, some imes emp ed o gi e i up (Aiken 1966: 46).
M. Bucaioni
478
The No el as Fo m and as such do no e e o ALA bu o
one o his supposed li e a y in luences. When I ead hese lines,
I could no , howe e , help bu hink o ALA, i only we changed
he name o M . Faulkne o M . Lobo An unes. Simila ly, I ead
Faulkne ’s mos amous wo k, The Sound and he Fu y, ying
o ace i s in luence o e ALA’s p ose. As wi h he sho lines
abo e, I was ascina ed by he compa ibili y o he wo s yles,
mainly in he i s wo pa s o he book ( hemsel es e y di -
e en in echnique). These a e, namely, he i s chap e (‘Ap il
Se en h 1928’), in which he na a o is he idio Benji, and he
second one (‘June Second 1910’), na a ed by his b o he Quen-
in Compson, who has ecen ly gone mad.
Many sou ces s a e ha we should conside he mode nis
mas e s o English-speaking p ose – such as James Joyce, Vi -
ginia Wool and especially William Faulkne – as ALA’s majo
li e a y models. O he sou ces compa e he igu e o ALA mo e
explici ly o a Po uguese o a con empo a y Faulkne , as in he
ollowing quo e:
An ónio Lobo An unes, un des de nie s g ands ep ésen an s du
monologue in é ieu , es -il le Faulkne po ugais? B e ape çu d’une
œu e omanesque exigean e, han ée pa le déclin, la culpabili é, la
olie, la nos algie de la gloi e passée, e le pessimisme his o ique e
philosophique (Del ille 2010).
Mo e gene ally, in eac ions bo h om he public and om
c i ics – in which ALA’s wo k is linked o bo h wen ie h-cen-
u y mode nism and expe imen alism – i is no unusual o see
ALA p oclaimed as one o Po ugal’s (o Eu ope’s!) g ea es li -
ing w i e s:
Is An onio Lobo An unes Eu ope’s g ea es li ing w i e ? The que-
s ion is a om absu d, and he answe migh well be ‘yes’ (Oa d
2012).
A Huge Deb o 20 h Cen u y Mode nism?
479
Who, hen, is ALA? Wha has he w i en so a ? And why do
his eade s insis on connec ing him o he mode nis adi ion
and p oclaim his wo k as a monumen o p esen -day Eu opean
li e a u e?
2. In oducing ALA
2.1 Biog aphy and wo k
Since his i s book (Memó ia de Ele an e, 1979), ALA’s li e -
a y wo k could be conside ed as a as and ib an esco o he
con empo a y Po uguese social scene. Somehow, his imp es-
si e li e a y legacy ( o his da e comp ising wen y-se en no -
els and i e books o c ónicas – o sho s o ies – among mino
publica ions) is he bes image o Po uguese ecen his o y ha
li e a u e can o e . To some ex en , i has p o ed o esis o e
ime he in luence o con empo a y Po uguese aes he ics in a
deepe way han he mo e canonical and in e na ionally amous
wo k o he Po uguese Nobel Lau ea e José Sa amago.
In ecen yea s, Po uguese c i ics and academics ha e he e-
o e begun o wo k on he eno mous ask o eading and in-
e p e ing such a as , dense and complex li e a y wo k. Ma ia
Alzi a Seixo, An ónio Be encou and Filipe Cammae a e bu
he main names in Po ugese ALA c i icism. Ex ending his ec-
ogni ion o he publishing ield, Eu opean publishe s ha e since
he ea ly yea s published ALA ou side o his homeland. Some o
his bes and mos enowned no els ha e been ansla ed in he
mos impo an Eu opean coun ies by some o he mos powe -
ul publishe s (Debolsillo/Mondado i and Si uela in Spain, Ein-
audi and – la e – Fel inelli in I aly, Fische Ve lag and Luch-
e hand in Ge many, Ch is ian Bou gois in F ance). This is why
ALA has ea ned such a p ominen place among con empo a y
Po uguese w i e s, bo h a home and ab oad.
M. Bucaioni
480
Bo n in o a bou geois amily om he Lisbon a ea o Ben ica,
ALA s udied medicine a Lisbon Uni e si y. Soon a e g adu-
a ion he was sen o wa in Angola by he Es ado No o egime.
In Angola he Po uguese Empi e was igh ing i s inal and a-
al ba le agains he his o ically ine i able u u e independence
o A ican colonies. He se ed as a doc o in he on line o
a ew yea s be o e being discha ged and sen back o Lisbon.
Once back home, ALA s a ed wo king as psychia is in he
public hospi al Miguel Bomba da in Lisbon. These wo ini ial
and seminal e en s in ALA’s ea ly adul hood ( he wa in Angola
and public men al heal h se ice) led him o w i ing, possibly
in o de o diges and exo cize he ‘knowledge o Hell’ he had
buil h ough hose expe iences. As a ma e o ac , his i s
no els ocus explici ly on hese ma e s. (Memó ia de Ele an e,
his e y i s no el, appea s o be au obiog aphical a he highes
le el, being he desc ip ion o a deep dep ession o a psychia-
is li ing in Lisbon, who has o deal wi h his own ailu es and
a di o ce; Os Cus de Judas, his second no el, can be conside ed
as an accoun o he on line ho o s in he Colonial Wa ; Con-
hecimen o do In e no, his hi d no el, a acks and idicules he
con empo a y Po uguese men al heal h sys em).
The peculia i ies o ALA’s w i ing as well as his main hemes
jus i y an in e na ional in e es , al hough he can well be consid-
e ed he mos Po uguese, and some imes he mos Lisbone , o
his pee s.
2.2 Themes
In ALA’s wo k he eade may ha e he eeling ha he au ho
is always w i ing and cyclically ew i ing he same no el, e en
when he se ing and hemes a e clea ly di e en .1 In a b oade
1. ALA himsel has obse ed: ‘pelo menos pa a mim, cada li o se e pa a
co igi o an e io . No undo, o que enho esc i o, li o a li o, é uma Memó ia de
A Huge Deb o 20 h Cen u y Mode nism?
481
sense, ALA is somehow exo cizing his own ghos s. This was a
p ocess begun on he he i s line o he i s page o his i s
no el, and i has con inued e e since, in a li e ime spen w i -
ing and ew i ing abou and agains he same phan oms. ALA’s
‘ghos s’ i s appea on he Angolan on line and con inue o
haun him back home, when a new se and ype o de ils ( hose
de i ing om his psychia ic ac i i y) a ouse him o bo h e ol
and dep ession. His skills o social obse a ion and desc ip ion,
qui e appa en since his i s no el, as well as he sa cas ic and
b u al opening o Os Cus de Judas, sha pen wi h ime un il he
abandons explici ly au obiog aphical ea u es al oge he , begin-
ning ins ead o po ay he con adic ions, idiosync asies and
manias o he Po uguese bou geoisie.
In Fado Alexand ino he Colonial Wa s ikes back, and in-
deed ALA p esen s a e ocious po ai o he ailed pa io ic
p ojec . F om a non-Po ugese poin o iew, howe e , As Naus
(1988) is p obably he mos eadable and sel -con ained o ALA’s
no els. The expe imen al ea u es a e no exage a ed ye , while
he no el explici ly add esses he Po uguese impe ial p ojec .
In his absolu e mas e piece, a ious Po uguese whi e se le s
a e o ced o e u n o Po ugal by he upcoming independence
o A ican colonies (1974/1975), and he na a o accompanies
hem h ough hei e u n. The no el e eals ha each one o
hem ca ies he name o a amous Po uguese admi al om
he i een h and six een h cen u ies, plus ha o he na ional
ba d Luís Vaz de Camões. E e y e o nado acqui es hen some
o he cha ac e is ics o his homonymous his o ical igu e, in a
sa cas ic nonsense ha des oys he na ion’s my hs in jus a ew
hund ed pages. The e is no possible sal a ion o a ‘d eamed
Empi e’ ha ended agically and o good.
F om his pe iod on, in a se o ponde ous no els, ALA’s
p ose con inues o dissec and analyse Po uguese socie y. The
ele an e sucessi amen e co igida’ (A nau 2008: 305–23).

M. Bucaioni
482
scena io always uns along mo e o less he same lines; he e is
he sense o ailed d eams and ailed li es in a ailed socie y.
The easons o ALA’s unexpec ed success in Po ugal a e
now qui e e iden . In a coun y in which many o he young
sons o he bou geoisie led o Cen al Eu ope o No h Ame -
ica in o de o a oid being enlis ed o he colonial wa , in a
coun y which had he longes las ing ascis dic a o ship o
he wen ie h cen u y ha o ced he coun y in o a alse and
pe nicious impe ial my h, we can say ha ALA’s ghos s we e
he ghos s o a good slice o he na ion. The hemes men ioned
abo e could no , he e o e, s ay in he backg ound o long.
In his ega d, ALA can be seen as he na ional ba d o he
end o Po ugal as we ha e known i , as he nega i e image o
a Po uguese Whi man singing abou wha ’s been le behind
a e he big de ea .
F om a s ylis ic pe spec i e, ALA’s p ose is o he highes
in e es o he li e a y c i ic. Ne e explici , ne e classical
no canonical, ALA de elops a pe sonal and dis inc i e s yle
h ough mo e han h ee decades o li e a y li e. This s yle
owe s o e con empo a y Po uguese and Eu opean p ose. I
is e y easy o pos ula e he in luence o he in e na ional mas-
e s o wen ie h-cen u y expe imen al p ose and he s eam o
consciousness: he e is abundan e idence o he in luence o
Faulkne , Joyce and Wool on such a e ined p ose echnique.
ALA, howe e , goes u he , es ing and ying un il he eaches
a s ange balance in which his p ose can no longe be hough
as an expe imen al one – a mode ha is made o demons a e
i s own possibili y agains he adi ion – bu ins ead becomes
some hing like a new canonical s yle o a newly possible li e -
a y e a. E e y one o ALA’s eade knows only oo well ha he
appa en nonsense and con usion ha he o she is aced wi h
in he i s pages o a new no el becomes g adually, somehow
magically and appa en ly inexplicably, a deep and clea na a-
i e scena io in which no only ac s, obliquely some imes, a e
A Huge Deb o 20 h Cen u y Mode nism?
483
ela ed, bu much mo e. I is as i he eade we e pu in di ec
con ac wi h some o he cha ac e ’s eelings and hough s, in
a so o psychological expe ience in which he eaches deeply
in o he cha ac e ’s pe sonali y.
2.3 Local and Uni e sal
Gi en ha ALA’s books a e ull o social, geog aphical, his-
o ical and opog aphical e e ences, ne e explici o he o -
eigne bu always ca ying a hea y cha ge o meaning, we could
say ha ALA is also he g ea singe o Po ugal’s and Lisbon’s
con empo anei y ‘on he s ee le el’. His desc ip ion o en en-
e s he houses and apa men s o Po uguese amilies: doc o s,
old ladies, he las su i o s o Alen ejo’s landowne dynas ies.
Th ough objec s and u ni u e, he con inually po ays and ca -
alogues he li es and d eams o hei owne s.
Why, hen, ansla e ALA? Why, hen, eading his no els
ou side Po ugal? Is he e ano he eason besides he possible
his o ical in e es o his de ailed desc ip ions o he A lan ic
coun y?
I is possible ha i was due o his ‘ hema ic’ cha ac e is-
ics ha many o he o eign publishe s ci ed abo e decided o
publish ALA in hei coun ies, bu he e is ce ainly mo e o i
han ha . ALA’s peculia and success ul expe imen alism, his
des uc u ing and econs uc ing o mode n p ose in Po ugal,
has succeeded in an en e p ise ha is unique in he Eu ope-
an con inen . I showed he way in which ce ain expe imen al
models o he wen ie h cen u y a e no jus oddi ies, doomed
o be o eo e bu ied in he manuals o he his o y o li e a u e.
Ins ead, hey migh be able o p o ide a di e en way o p o-
ducing a new ype o li e a y p ose.
The success o ALA’s w i ings a home ha e consec a ed his
posi ion as a w i e who has modi ied he con empo a y can-
M. Bucaioni
484
on o Po ugese p ose, eeing and gi ing ai o expe imen al
endencies in younge w i e s who migh o he wise ha e been
p essu ed o adop mo e adi ional models. In his sense, ALA’s
example – he mos locally- oo ed Eu opean W i e o he wes -
e n-mos Eu opean na ion – could be conside ed also a uni e -
sal example o absolu e genius. Readable, aes he ically enjoya-
ble and in some ways ep oducible in o he li e a y spaces, his
no els migh ac as a s a ing poin o a magni icen example o
o he li e a u es. Acco dingly, ALA’s p ose s yle – a dialogue be-
ween he s ee co ne s o Lisbon, he A ican on line o o -
y yea s ago and he his o y o Wo ld Li e a u e – ep esen s a
landma k ha conce ns he whole o he Eu opean and Wes e n
li e a y adi ion. I cons i u es a neo-canonical p oposal ha
would be oo ingenuous o dismiss o , e en wo se, o igno e.
3. ALA’s s yle(s) and echniques
O que os es angei os dizem que eu ago de no o pa a a li e a u a
não é mais do que a adap ação à li e a u a de écnicas da psico e apia:
as pessoas ilumina em-se umas às ou as e a concomi ância do passa-
do, do p esen e e do u u o (ALA 2008: 237).2
Mi o ing he ich body o c i icism conce ning he concom-
i an eme gence o psychoanali ic and mode nis p ose in he
i s decades o he wen ie h cen u y, some esea ch has been
done in o he con e gence o psycho he apy echniques in
ALA’s p ose s yle ( o example a pape om 2013 by And é Sá),
which makes sense gi en ha he au ho has ex ensi e knowl-
edge o such echniques, acqui ed in his p o essional ca ee as a
psychia is . Pe haps wo king om he basis o his knowledge,
2. ‘Wha o eigne s a e saying is he new hing I’m b inging o li e a u e is
no hing mo e han he adap a ion o li e a u e o echniques om psycho he apy:
people illumina ing each o he , and he concomi ance o pas , p esen and u u e’.
Please acknowledge he ansla o .
A Huge Deb o 20 h Cen u y Mode nism?
485
ALA knows pe ec ly well ha his p ose is no ‘no mal’ and ha
his no els a e no ‘no els’. A a ce ain poin he el he need o
explain o his eade s ‘how he should be ead’:
Semp e que alguém a i ma e lido um li o meu ico decepcionado
com o e o. É que os meus li os não são pa a se em lidos no sen ido
em que usualmen e se chama le : a única o ma pa ece-me de abo da
os omances que esc e o é apanhá-los do mesmo modo que se apanha
uma doença.
[...]
Aquilo a que po comodidade chamei omances, como pode ia e
chamado poemas, isões, o que se quise , apenas se en ende ão se os
oma em po ou a coisa. A pessoa em de enuncia à sua p óp ia
cha e, aquela que odos emos pa a ab i a ida, a nossa e a alheia e
u iliza a cha e que o ex o lhe o e ece. De ou a manei a o na-se in-
comp eensí el, dado que as pala as são apenas signos de sen imen os
ín imos, e as pe sonagens, si uações e in iga os p e ex os de supe -
ície que u ilizo pa a conduzi ao undo a esso da alma. A e dadei a
a en u a que p oponho é aquela que o na ado e o lei o azem em
conjun o ao neg ume do inconscien e, à aiz da na u eza humana.
Quem não en ende is o ape cebe -se-á apenas dos aspec os mais pa -
cela es e menos impo an es dos li os: o país, a ela homem-mulhe ,
o p oblema da iden idade e da p ocu a dela, Á ica e a b u alidade da
explo ação colonial, e c., emas se calha mui o impo an es do pon o
de is a polí ico, ou social, ou an opológico, mas que nada êm a e
com o meu abalho (ALA 2002).3
3. ‘E e y ime someone says hey ha e ead a book o mine I am e y disap-
poin ed by he mis ake. The hing is my books a e no o be ead, in he way we usu-
ally mean eading: he only way o app oach he no els I w i e is, as i seems o me, o
ca ch hem, like you ca ch a disease. [...] Tha which, ou o con enience, I called no -
els, as I could ha e called hem poems, isions, o wha e e , will only be unde s ood
i aken as some hing else. One has o o ego one’s own key, he one we all ha e, wi h
which o open up li e, ou s and o he s’, and jus use he key ha he ex p o ides.
O he wise, i will be incomp ehensible, since wo ds a e jus signs o in ima e eelings,
and cha ac e s, si ua ions and plo a e bu he supe icial p e ex s I use o lead o he
deep backg ound o he soul. The ue ad en u e I am se ing o h is he one na a o
and eade will unde ake oge he , owa ds he da kness o he unconscious, he e y
oo s o human na u e. Who doesn’ unde s and his will only be awa e o he mos
pa ial and less impo an elemen s o he books: he coun y, he man-woman ela-
ionship, he issue o iden i y and he sea ch o i , A ica and he b u ali y o colonial
M. Bucaioni
492
was a pe sonal iend o ALA’s un il his dea h and p esen s us
wi h one o he mos e ined and dense p ose models in Po u-
guese. Almeida Fa ia’s (b. 1942) p ose is de ini ely in luenced
by F ench no eau oman models, in an aes he ic buil on s ong
expe imen alism, na a i e agmen a ion, appa en nonsense,
lack o logical links and a peculia use o punc ua ion.6 Lídia
Jo ge (b. 1946), one o he g ea es con empo a y Po uguese
w i e s, published he i s no els du ing he 1980s, in which
adi ional p ose is abandoned in a ou o a mo e agmen ed
and synop ic echnique.7 Mo e o less in he same yea s, he e
was ano he au ho ac i e in Po uguese p ose ha is less quo -
ed in gene al and seems no o be men ioned by ALA as a li e -
a y sou ce. Nuno B agança (1929–1985) could all he same be a
possible model o a ce ain expe imen alism in li e a u e. His A
Noi e e o Riso (1969) and he es o his sho li e a y legacy a e
a mas e ul example o expe imen alism in Po uguese p ose.8
As i is, howe e , ALA himsel poin s ou he special in lu-
ence exe ed by William Faulkne and Louis Fe dinand Céline,
as we can see he e:
O som e a ú ia possui a qualidade de se um omance que, al como
a g ande poesia, se elê no ma a ilhoso da descobe a: a odo o passo
damos com po meno es que nos ha iam passado despe cebidos, em
cada página nos emocionamos. Já isi ei es e li o mais de 30 ezes,
e con inua ei dece o a azê-lo com o mesmo deslumb amen o e o
mesmo en usiasmo ( Faulkne 1994).9
6. Fa ia’s mos celeb a ed no els ha e been published be ween he ea ly 60s
and he ea ly 80s: Rumo B anco (1962), and he ‘Te alogia Lusi ana’: A Paixão
(1965), Co es (1978), Lusi ânia (1980) and Ca alei o Andan e (1983).
7. O Dia dos P odígios (1980), O Cais das Me endas (1982), No ícia da Cidade
Sil es e (1984), A Cos a dos Mu mú ios (1988).
8. Di ec a (1977), Squa e Tols oi (1981), Es ação (1984), Do Fim do Mundo (1990).
9. ‘The Sound and he Fu y has he cha ac e is ic o being a no el which, like
g ea poe y, can be e- ead wi h he wonde o edisco e y: wi h e e y s ep, we s um-
ble in o de ails ha had gone unno iced, we eel mo ed by e e y page. I ha e isi ed
his book mo e han 30 imes, and I will su ely con inue o do i wi h he same bedaz-
zlemen and en husiasm’.

A Huge Deb o 20 h Cen u y Mode nism?
493
Em en e is a concedida a Bap is a-Bas os, Lobo An unes decla ou
e lido mais de in e ezes es a ob a de Céline10 (c . “Esc e e não me
dá p aze ”. Jo nal de Le as, A es e Ideias, 19/11/1985, 3-5. In A nau
2008: 75), (P ado Telles 2009: 220).
Ce a ez, pe gun ado sob e a cons an e p esença do ódio em seus
omances, p incipalmen e em Au o dos danados, Lobo An unes ju-
s i icou-se dizendo que seus omances ‘pa ecem ilhos de Faulkne ’11
(En e is a a Cla a Fe ei a Al es, op. ci ., 31-33. In A nau 2008: 91),
(P ado Telles 2009: 233).
Expe imen alism in p ose was hen no only possible in
pos - e olu iona y Po ugal; i somehow became he leading
possibili y o a p ose ha was s i ing o ein en i sel a -
e long yea s domina ed by he neo ealis endency. This oc-
cu ed a a momen when he na ion i sel was ying o o e -
come he Es ado No o yea s and o ein en i sel as a coun y
in democ acy, lacking and he e o e seeking a new au o-image
a e he chaos ha ollowed he Ca na ion Re olu ion. Wha
is mo e s iking, howe e , is ha ALA’s p ose as a ‘ ui ’ o
la e expe imen al mode nism has su i ed he e a in which i
was i s o mula ed. A he same ime, his kind o non- a-
di ional, s ongly expe imen al, and indeed e e -inc easingly
expe imen al model has become cen al o he con empo a y
Po uguese canon mo e han h ee decades a e he publica-
ion o ALA’s i s no el in 1979.
Conclusions: Wha is ALA doing? Is i (neo)mode nis ?
A ce a al u a, a en e is ado a pe gun ou: “E ocê, o que que con-
a ? Aonde que chega ?”. Lobo An unes, po sua ez, não se u ou
10. ‘In an in e iew gi en o Bap is a-Bas os, Lobo An unes decla ed he has
ead his wo k by Céline mo e han wen y imes’.
11. ‘Once, when asked abou he cons an p esence o ha ed in his no els, and
mos ly in Au o dos Danados [Ac o he Damned], Lobo An unes has jus i ied himsel
by saying ha his no els “seem o be child en o Faulkne ’s”’.
M. Bucaioni
494
às pe gun as, assumindo a ia da alsa modés ia, e espondeu, ambém
di e amen e: “O que p e endo é ans o ma a a e do omance, a
his ó ia é o menos impo an e, é um eículo de que me si o, o impo -
an e é ans o ma essa a e, e há mil manei as de azê-lo, mas cada
um em de encon a a sua” (P ado Telles 2009: 219).12
How should we, hen, e alua e ALA’s wo k globally and i s
s yles o e he decades wi hin he amewo k o Po uguese
and Eu opean con empo a y p ose? How should we posi ion
i in he Eu opean li e a y landscape agains he example o he
mode nis adi ion? And all his almos a cen u y a e he pub-
lica ion o he main mode nis mas e pieces.
As we ha e seen be o e, ALA’s s yle and echniques a y
along he yea s and he di e en no els – depending also on he
ma e and o m o e e y single one. Howe e , we ha e also seen
ha many eade s and c i ics, along wi h he au ho himsel ,
conside he no els o be somehow he cons an and con inu-
ous ew i ing o he same g ea no el, o a single s yle mani es o
ha in o ms us o hei c ea o ’s conscious in en ions when i
comes o he a o li e a y p ose. In gene al, we need o unde -
line ha he e is no ALA no el ha can be asc ibed o any o m
o adi ional p ose o na a i e, wha e e he p ecise meaning
o his should be. Expe imen alism, na a i e agmen a ion and
linguis ic s uc u e a e ecu en , e en i used in di e en ways
h oughou he a ious no els. The ex ensi e use o he s eam
o consciousness echnique and o he ‘b oken dialogues’, wi h-
ou in o ming he eade o he iden i y o he na a i e subjec ,
is cons an in ALA’s wo k.
We can say o su e ha ALA’s posi ion in Po ugal has no
pa allel wi h any o he Eu opean au ho in his coun y and/o
12. ‘A a ce ain poin , he in e iewe asked: “How abou you, wha do you
wan o ell? Whe e do you wan o go?”. Lobo An unes did no a oid he ques ions,
choosing he pa h o alse modes y, and answe ed, also in a di ec manne : “Wha I
in end o do is o ans o m he a o he no el, he plo is he leas impo an hing, i
is a ehicle I use, he impo an hing is o ans o m ha a , and he e a e housands
o ways o do i , bu each one mus ind hei own”’.
A Huge Deb o 20 h Cen u y Mode nism?
495
in he Eu opean adi ion. ALA’s no els ha e p o en o be bes
selle s in Po ugal and ha e en e ed wha can be conside ed he
‘big ci cle’ o Eu opean au ho s, as we ha e seen, wi h many
ansla ions in he main Eu opean coun ies published by he
bigges and mos p es igious publishing houses. ALA’s in luence
o e he cou se o Po uguese aes he ics in p ose is also conspic-
uous, gi en ha many younge au ho s ha e g own up wo king
alongside o agains his pe asi e p esence and model.
This posi ion and he as ness o his s ill g owing body o li -
e a y wo k gi es ALA he s a us o he only ‘expe imen alis ’ au-
ho in Eu ope who has mo ed o occupy wha we can conside
he cen e o he con empo a y li e a y canon. Be o e ha , he
only example o his happening was he case o James Joyce. As
has been con i med o e he decades, his was a highly expe i-
men alis au ho in p ose who came o occupy he cen e o he
li e a y canon o he i s hal o he wen ie h cen u y. Mo e-
o e , he g ea mas e s o mode nis p ose s ill ha e he as e o
a an -ga de expe imen alism: James Joyce’s Ulysses, conside ed
he mas e piece o English-language p ose in he wen ie h cen-
u y, e en i i is g ea and cen al, is jus one no el. A e ha ,
Joyce consolida ed his legacy wi h Finnegans Wake, a no el ha
is ex eme – oo ex eme – o be he leading o seminal wo k o
a new aes he ics o he decades o come.
Faulkne ’s wo k oo, ead and c i icised as i s ill igh ly is, is
bu one o he possibili ies ha Ame ican con empo a y p ose
exhibi ed; we canno say ha Faulkne ian endencies a e cen-
al o Ame ican p ose in he decades ha ollowed his dea h.
Howe e , he as (and we’ e s ill coun ing) body o ALA’s wo k
announces i sel as a huge momen in con empo a y Po uguese
(and Lusophone) p ose, capable o modi ying (and ha ing al-
eady modi ied) he cou se o Po uguese-speaking p ose aes-
he ics o decades o come.
M. Bucaioni
496
ALA’s p ose echnique o e he decades can be in e p e ed
as he p oposal o a neo-canonical p ose o he Po uguese lan-
guage, o is i o he Eu opean no el in he wen y- i s cen u y?
Ha ing eached a balance wi h an expe imen alism ha ceas-
es o be such, i eaches he high s anda d and he eadable bal-
ance o a new p ose model ha is alid o e e yone. Fa om
a an -ga dis emp a ions o om he exagge a ions associa ed
wi h he ini ia o s o a new echnique, i changes in a e olu ion-
a y way he mains eam aes he ics and eading habi s. The lame
li up by he mode nis mas e s – especially in English – du ing
he i s hal o he wen ie h cen u y seems o ha e lou ished
on he sho es o he A lan ic in he Ibe ian Peninsula, cas ing i s
ligh on Eu ope.
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