Sócrates y los gatos

by Elena Garro

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Elena Garro was a Mexican author, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, short story writer, and novelist. She has been described as one of the pioneers and an early leading figure of the Magical Realism movement, though she rejected this affiliation. Alongside the works of Juan Rulfo, her first three books: Un hogar sólido (1958), Los Recuerdos del Porvenir (1963), and La Semana de Colores (1964), are considered to be among the earliest examples of Magical Realism in Latin American literature. Garro's writing, despite being mostly fictional prose, borrowed heavily from poetry and its literary elements. Author and biographer Patricia Rosas Lopategui has described Garro's style as "an attempt to rescue the use of everyday language in the form of poetry". Her style has also been compared to that of french writers like Georges Schehadé, Jean Genet, as well as Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco, due to the surreal nature of her stories. A close friend of Albert Camus, her works were also heavily influenced by his style and philosophy. She was the recipient of the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize in 1996.
Her tumultuos marriage with writer Octavio Paz, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature, has been the subject of much scrutiny. Garro herself would describe the relationship as "filled with forbiddance, resentments, and rancour for not making each other happy". Despite the hostilities, they are considered among the most talented couple of writers to emerge during the Latin American literary boom of the twentieth century.
Garro is seen as one of the unsung figures of the boom; her legacy was influenced, in part, by her rejection of Magical Realism as she considered the term "a cheap marketing label". Contemporary historians and literary biographers consider her work as seminal and view her as having been as important as figures like Juan Rulfo, Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, and others.

Reviews

[Gerardo Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta obra de teatro es fascinante. La última que Elena escribió pero que jamás publicó en vida por el tema que aborda. Un obra en tres actos donde pone en acción los días que siguieron al 2 de octubre de 1968. Bajo pseudónimos y con un corte altamente autobiográfico, la autora nos cuenta cómo vivió esos días, llenos de angustia y de terror. La paranoia, el miedo y la locura están presentes y conmociona al lector. Pensé que esta obra iba a ser completamente realista pero... surge la magia, se vuelve fantástico en el momento más sublime y menos esperado. Tengo la teoría de que esta obra vino a cerrar el ciclo de su escritura. Era consciente que era lo último que iba a escribir. Si conocen el teatro y el resto de la narrativa de Garro se darán cuenta. Hace referencias a la bellísima obra La señora en su balcón y Un hogar sólido. Brutal.

[Uriel González · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se cierra el círculo de la literatura de Garro con esta obra, habla del 68, habla de la corrupción, habla del escape y de gatos, que al igual que las protagonistas, habitan en la noche y en la sangre de la traición. ❤️😩 Me duele sentir que estoy a nada de acabar toda su narrativa, mi escritora fav sin dudarlo

[Valery Pérez · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ★★★✬

[Óscar Ibm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historia aparte de los acontecimientos del '68, muestra la relación de una burguesa y un familiar político después de años más acontecimientos y para terminar, exquisito final.

[Sue Davis]

Play written in 1969. Didn't like it. Anticommunist author (according to the article at the end) so should be some ideas about politics. Didn't really find them.