Fictionalized spaces in Desterro, by Luis S. Krausz: an essay in literary geography

The majority of fictional texts can be localized geographically in terms of scenario and plot. However, these localizations are constructed in different ways, from imaginary to realistic. I will analyze the contemporary novel Desterro: memórias em ruínas (2011), by Luis S. Krausz, following this premise. The book offers a range of sophisticated representations of fictionalized real spaces, some of them representing a past that no longer exists. Through my analysis I will test a special method that has been developed recently under the name of "literary geography". This approach addresses the relevant questions of text-space relations in general, as well as the different forms of referring to geographical spaces (indicating, suppressing, anonymizing, transforming). Furthermore, different functions are attributed to the fictionalized spaces. In a second step, in line with the same method, I will test the potential of maps in providing an interpretative framework for the analysis. Possible limitations to this method will then be discussed.