O realismo performático em "A arte de produzir efeito sem causa", de Lourenço Mutarelli

Abstract

Lourenço Mutarelli’s literature introduces the recurrence of a theme that, in different ways, becomes present in his stories: the uncanny. The characters of his novels, immersed in an urban and contemporary setting, undergo a period of crisis that, among a suffocating routine, permeate their lives by events capable of causing disorder. The author’s novels lead us to this world – associated with beliefs, dreams and superstitions – and invite us to engage in the narrative and accompany each one of the character’s intimacy. It is important to emphasize that such intimacy is always in dialogue with the social, economic and emotional reality of the subject: the financial struggle, the media and consumerism appeals, work-related problems, the lack of communication between people, family and love crises and so on. Therefore, it is interesting to realize the peculiar way in which the author builds his fiction, approaching narrative actions to current references and working with the imagination and sensitivity of its characters. From these characteristics of the author’s prose, the goal of this dissertation is to investigate the novel A arte de produzir efeito sem causa, taking into account the aspects cited above; also, to discuss how – regarding the issue of the uncanny – the author manages to build a narrative by means of the performative realism (SCHØLLHAMMER, 2009). That way, we will discuss about contemporary Brazilian literature, historical realism and the “new-realism” (SCHØLLHAMMER, 2009), as well as a few aspects of performative writing. Keywords: Contemporary Brazilian Literature. Performative Realism. Lourenço Mutarelli