Disturbing Scenes in Amir Valle's Detective Series El descenso a los infiernos

Peate, A. 2019. Disturbing Scenes in Amir Valle's Detective Series El descenso a los infiernos. in: Lange, C. and Peate, A. (ed.) Crime Scenes: Latin American Crime Fiction from the 1960s to the 2010s Oxford Peter Lang. pp. 197-217

Chapter titleDisturbing Scenes in Amir Valle's Detective Series El descenso a los infiernos
AuthorsPeate, A.
EditorsLange, C.
Peate, A.
Abstract

Exiled Cuban author Amir Valle’s detective series El descenso a los infiernos [The Descent into Hell] is officially unavailable in Cuba. Contrary to Cuba’s reputation as a society in which violent crime is uncommon, the series provides a nightmarish vision of the island as one in which obscene crimes are committed. The narratives demonstrate a morally-compromised and small-minded Cuban state police as incapable of solving crimes without the support of Alex Varga, ‘rey de la marginalidad’, a neoliberal challenge to the New Man.
Valle’s series is in many ways typical of the detective genre; however, this chapter discusses a view of the island which is not often so clearly evoked by Cuban authors, focusing on scenes of graphic sexual violence, and taking into consideration the allegedly factual background of the series.
In a discussion on the obscene, enjoyment, and disgust, I debate the issue of representing violence and criminality within a Cuban context. This chapter asks whether the series’ scenes of abjection and violence seek to pass comment on a nation overlooked for its criminality, or whether such scenes are merely put in place to pique the reader’s interest.

KeywordsCuba, detective fiction, Amir Valle, sex, violence, hombre nuevo, New Man
Book titleCrime Scenes: Latin American Crime Fiction from the 1960s to the 2010s
Page range197-217
Year2019
PublisherPeter Lang
Publication dates
Published19 Jun 2019
Place of publicationOxford
ISBN9781787074354

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