Donoso, José

Donoso, José
Do·no·so (dō-nōʹsō), José. 1924-1996.
Chilean writer of novels and short stories noted for his dark surrealism and satirical edge. His novels The Obscene Bird in Night (1970) and A House in the Country (1978) are considered among the greatest works of Chilean fiction.

* * *

▪ 1997

      Chilean novelist and short-story writer (b. Oct. 5, 1924, Santiago, Chile—d. Dec. 7, 1996, Santiago), was the country's best-known writer and one of the major figures of the 1960s and '70s Latin-American literary boom. In his more than 20 novels and short-story collections, he employed nightmarish surrealism, black comedy, and social satire to explore the fears, frustrations, dreams, and obsessions of his characters. Donoso studied at the Pedagogical Institute of Santiago for three years and then went on scholarship to Princeton University, where he received (1951) a B.A. degree. Stories he wrote at Princeton—in English—were among the first works he published. Following his return to Chile, Donoso taught, worked as a journalist, and in 1955 published the short-story collection Veraneo y otros cuentos at his own expense. He established his reputation with his first novel, Coronación (1957; Coronation, 1965), for which he was awarded the William Faulkner Foundation Prize in 1962. Donoso moved to Mexico in 1963 and later traveled to the U.S. and lectured (1965-67) at the University of Iowa. From there he moved to Spain. In 1970 he published what was said to be his masterpiece, El obsceno pajaro de la noche (The Obscene Bird of Night, 1973), which gained him worldwide fame. Donoso, however, considered his best work to have been Casa de campo (1978; A House in the Country, 1984). In the early 1980s he returned to Chile, wrote some antigovernment articles, and in 1985 was briefly detained after he protested the dismissal of some dissident writers from their teaching positions. Later works include La desesperanza (1986; Curfew, 1988) and Donde van a morir los elefantes (1995). El mocho was completed shortly before his death.

* * *

▪ Chilean author
born Oct. 5, 1924, Santiago, Chile
died Dec. 7, 1996, Santiago

      Chilean novelist and short-story writer who was important in the development of the Latin American new novel. He used dark surrealism, black comedy, and social satire to explore the lives of decaying aristocrats in a morally disintegrating society.

      After studying at the Pedagogical Institute of Santiago for three years, Donoso attended Princeton University, where he received a B.A. degree in 1951. He taught at the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Chile in the 1950s and toward the end of the decade worked as a journalist. After lecturing at the University of Iowa (1965–1967), he took up residence in Spain.

      Donoso's first published works were short stories, and his collection Veraneo y otros cuentos (“Summer Vacation and Other Stories”) appeared in 1955. He established his reputation with the debut novel Coronación (1957; Coronation), which won him the William Faulkner Foundation Prize in 1962. It presents the moral collapse of an aristocratic family and suggests that an insidious loss of values affects all sectors of society. Donoso's second and third novels, Este domingo (1966; This Sunday) and El lugar sin límites (1966; “The Place Without Limits”; Hell Has No Limits), depict characters barely able to subsist in an atmosphere of desolation and anguish. El obsceno pajaro de la noche (1970; The Obscene Bird of Night), regarded as his masterpiece, presents a hallucinatory, often grotesque, world, and explores the fears, frustrations, dreams, and obsessions of his characters with profound psychological insight. In the novel Casa de campo (1978; A House in the Country), which Donoso considered his best work, he examines in a Surrealist style the breakdown of social order in postcolonial Latin America.

      Donoso returned to live in Chile in 1982. The author of numerous antigovernment articles, he was briefly detained in 1985 after he protested the dismissal of dissident writers from their teaching positions. His other works include El jardín de al lado (1981; The Garden Next Door), La desesperanza (1986; “Hopelessness”; Eng. trans. Curfew), and Taratuta: naturaleza muerta con cachimba (1990; Taratuta, and Still Life with Pipe).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Donoso, José — ► (1924 96) Escritor chileno. Su primera novela fue Coronación (1958), tras la cual inició una evolución a través de Este domingo y El lugar sin límites (1966) que culmina en El obsceno pájaro de la noche (1969). * * * (5 oct. 1924, Santiago,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • José Donoso — Yáñez (October 5 1924–December 7 1996) was a Chilean writer. He lived most of his life in Chile, although he spent some years in self imposed exile in Mexico, the United States (Iowa) and Spain. After 1973, he claimed his exile was a form of… …   Wikipedia

  • Jose Donoso — José Donoso (* 5. Oktober 1924 in Santiago de Chile; † 7. Dezember 1996 ebendort; eigentlich José Donoso Yáñez) war ein chilenischer Schriftsteller. Er war einer der führenden Autoren des „Booms“ in der lateinamerikanischen Literatur der 1960er… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jose Donoso Yanez — José Donoso (* 5. Oktober 1924 in Santiago de Chile; † 7. Dezember 1996 ebendort; eigentlich José Donoso Yáñez) war ein chilenischer Schriftsteller. Er war einer der führenden Autoren des „Booms“ in der lateinamerikanischen Literatur der 1960er… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • José Donoso Yáñez — José Donoso (* 5. Oktober 1924 in Santiago de Chile; † 7. Dezember 1996 ebendort; eigentlich José Donoso Yáñez) war ein chilenischer Schriftsteller. Er war einer der führenden Autoren des „Booms“ in der lateinamerikanischen Literatur der 1960er… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jose Donoso — José Donoso José Donoso (né, à Santiago, 1924, mort en 1996), est un écrivain chilien. Influencé par la littérature anglophone contemporaine, ses premières œuvres sont des nouvelles. En 1957, il publie son premier roman, “Couronnement”… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • DONOSO (J.) — DONOSO JOSÉ (1924 1996) Ce romancier chilien est un des grands de la très riche littérature latino américaine. Né dans un milieu aisé et cultivé, il décida très tôt de devenir écrivain, vocation que sa famille ne contraria pas. Ses premiers… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • José — José, Josefa n. p. Nombre de persona. ⇒ Pepe, a; Pepito, a. V. «¡Jesús, María y José!, vara de San José». * * * José. □ V. Patrocinio de San José. * * * (Este artículo es sobre José, hijo de Jacob, para información sobre el padre putativo de… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • José Jiménez Donoso — Visión de San Francisco de Paula. José Jiménez Donoso, o Ximénez Donoso, (Consuegra, c. 1632 Madrid, 14 de septiembre de 1690) fue una importante figura del arte barroco madrileño en la segunda mitad del siglo XVII, y exponente de una generación… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Donoso — ► adjetivo Gracioso, que tiene gracia o donaire: ■ sus donosos andares de patizambo. * * * donoso, a (del sup. lat. «donōsus», de «donum», regalo, don; lit.) adj. Aplicado a las personas y a lo que dicen o hacen, *gracioso o con donaire. ⊚ Se… …   Enciclopedia Universal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”