Laisechian Deliria: Private Collective Archetypes

Private Collective Archetypes

Abstract

Alberto Laiseca is somewhat of a well-known secret within Argentine literature. Being the architect of an immense work, the richness and complexity of his mythology demand such a level of engagement that, despite his openly declared intentions of achieving a parodic epic of universal dimensions, it has come to be perceived as a cult work, sadly relegated to the category of “niche literature”. Between the 70s and 80s, he wrote the most extensive novel in the history of Argentine literature, Los sorias, around which revolves an entire galaxy of surreal narratives, infused with themes such as esotericism, fascist terror, cosmic wars, and the monuments of absolute power. In this essay, we seek to probe the depths of this literary project, forever labeled (and sidelined) as “odd”. Its archetypical and deeply personal display (almost the monstrous manifestation of a profound autistic man, deliberately distanced from his own generation) manages to channel the political and the collective with a perspective entirely detached from what is epochal and situational.