Intertwining the unusual, the absurd and the social in Murilo's short stories

Abstract

This paper proposes reinterpretations of short stories by Murilo Rubião (“A Diáspora”, “Botão-de-Rosa”, “O edifício” and “A fila”) through the lens of cultural and postcolonial studies. Although recent and well-deserved scholarly attention has revitalized interest in his work, most reflections still focus on narrative and discursive structures related to the fantastic and the absurd. When social issues are addressed, they often appear as secondary concerns, lacking a theoretical framework that highlights their significance in textual construction. In this context, we draw on theorists such as Hall, Bhabha, Escosteguy, and Bosi to examine how these stories articulate with possible postcolonial readings and the intersections between culture and society, through discursive constructions made possible by colonial legacies and the world-system that sustains them. This theoretical approach sheds light on aspects of Rubião’s work that have been less explored by critics, to which we aim to contribute with a few new insights.