Tomás Eloy Martínez, Biography and the Boom: La novela de Perón (1985) and Santa Evita (1995)

This article places Tomas Eloy Martinez's work, in particular his two ‘biographical’ novels La novela de Peron and Santa Evita, within post-1960 Latin American literature. It explains why Martinez's full critical recognition is still pending. To this end the article shows how, situated strategically between the 1960s ‘Boom’ novels and the ‘Post-Boom’ novels of the 1970s and beyond, Martinez's novels assimilate lessons of the Boom to carry that work in new directions. Thereafter the article discusses the role of journalism in literature, before assessing Martinez's work as both journalist and fiction writer, pointing out how these areas meld to produce new hybrid forms in his two major works.