Alan Pauls Unveils "Malas Lenguas" at MALBA, Discusses Biography and Literary Intrigue

The MALBA cultural center in Buenos Aires recently hosted a captivating presentation of Alan Pauls' latest novel, "Malas lenguas." The event, moderated by journalist and writer Hinde Pomeraniec, offered a profound glimpse into the creative process behind Pauls' work, revealing an unexpected origin rooted in the intense academic rivalries surrounding Marcel Proust's legacy. Pauls described his initial immersion into critical editions and posthumous texts, which unexpectedly led him to uncover a "bloody" world of scholarly disputes over manuscripts and publications dating back a century.

“

I don't write stories. From the beginning, I am splashing around in the pigsty of language, and if that doesn't happen, I'm not interested in writing.

This academic intrigue sparked a new, albeit initially reluctant, fascination with biography. Pauls admitted to having previously disdained the genre, yet found himself drawn to its inherent challenges. He articulated a key observation: that biography, in its conventional form, is fundamentally predicated on the death of its subject. "The biographical genre is founded by the death of the biographee, not by their life," he stated, posing a compelling question about how to imbue a life with meaning when it is still actively unfolding or lacks a definitive end.

“

I started reading in the key of intrigue, but a very bloody intrigue, that whole gigantic academic apparatus.

Pauls explored alternative, more fragmented approaches to life writing, citing French writer Nathalie Léger's work on Barbara Loden as an example of a biography that functions as an approximation rather than a totalizing narrative. This led him to a broader reflection on the nature of writing a life, which he characterized as an act of "surrendering to the disorder that is a life." The novel itself delves into this complexity, featuring a narrator obsessed with deciphering others' lives, a theme Pauls explored through a first-person voice that he found liberating, likening it to adopting a false identity that allows for the exploration of darker passions.

“

The biographical genre is founded by the death of the biographee, not by their life. From death, the biographer creates a closing reading. When that final point is missing, how do you make sense of a life that can still produce events?

The presentation also touched upon the novel's narrative voice, with Pauls explaining his decision to write in the first person after a long hiatus. He found this perspective provided a mask, enabling him to explore "very wicked" aspects and "very low passions" with a sense of detachment and even enjoyment. The discussion highlighted Pauls's characteristic intellectual rigor and his unique ability to weave complex literary and philosophical ideas into compelling narratives, solidifying his reputation as a significant voice in contemporary Argentine literature.

“

Writing a life is also surrendering to the disorder that is a life.