''Las películas de mi vida'' (translated as ''The Movies of My Life: A Novel'') is a 2002 semi-

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an writer Alberto Fuguet. The novel has received a significant amount of critical attention.

Plot summary

The protagonist of the novel recounts his life story, which oscillates between Chile and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He begins by describing his early years spent in California and uses the movies he watched during that time to paint a picture of his life. However, he is forced to abruptly return to Chile during his early teens, where he must now live under the regime of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

, which proves to be a major

cultural shock Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration ...

for him.

External links

Pop Matters reviewPowell's Books
2002 Chilean novels Novels by Alberto Fuguet Novels set in Chile Novels set in California {{Chile-stub