Family Monsters in Meu pai vaite matar de María Xosé Queizán”, en

Abstract

Meu pai vaite matar (My Father Will Kill You), by María Xosé Queizán, is a hybrid between the thriller and memoir-novel, causing the intersection between the two genres to change the police investigation into an enquiry into the protagonists’ personal and family backgrounds. The main character experiences both an anagnorisis and personal fulfillment/rebirth. Analysis of the plot shows that the action evolves around the idea of transgenerational transfer of trauma suggesting that self-knowledge is only possible through an understanding of the past, the restoration and healing of the family and the dismantling of the mechanisms of tragedy. The policewoman protagonist represents a Hannah Arendt-style reassessment of concepts of authority and power.