On the Dark Side of the Archive: Nation and Literature in Spanish America at the Turn of the Century

examines nineteenth-century nation building through narratives that are not part of the romantic or realist traditions, specifically those associated with the critique of traditional ideas often portrayed in Decadentism and . The study focuses on the "non-canonical" works of turn-of-the-century authors-including Joséeacute; Maríiacute;a Vargas Vila, Horacio Quiroga, Clemente Palma, and José Martí-and concludes with a study that compares the literary portrayal of doomed societies in the nineteenth century with the work of contemporary authors, such as Fernando Vallejo.