Recomposed ruins and post-memory in novels by Luis S. Krausz

Abstract

In this article, we present an analysis of the novels Desterro: memórias em ruínas (“Exile: memories in ruins”) e Deserto (“Desert”), by Jewish-Brazilian writer Luis S. Krausz, from the perspective of the concept of post-memory, as defined by Marianne Hirsch. Family memory presents itself as creative material for his literary production since he belongs to the third generation of Jewish immigrants in Brazil. Going by the definition of the so-called “filiation novel”, Krausz represents the intergenerational narratives and memories he had contact with during his childhood and adolescence in his work. Those are affective memories that were transmitted to him, but which, once assimilated, became post-memory, since his relationship with his grandparents' past does not happen in the same way. Thus, an imaginative investment takes place in order to record his memorializing experience.