Time and History in "De cuando en cuando Saturnina"

Abstract

This article is a reflection on the notions of ‘time’, ‘history’ and ‘past’ arising from an analysis of the science fiction novel De cuando en cuando Saturnina–Saturnina from Time to Time– Una historia oral del futuro (2004) written by Alison Spedding (Belper, Inglaterra, 1962). The article shows how the novel disputes historical narrative and temporal linearity, advances a sharp social criticism of contemporary Bolivia and, above all, deconstructs hierarchies of power in the intersection of race, class and gender as historical constructions that legitimize social inequalities. Additionally, the article explores narrative mechanisms through which ideas of oral “counter-history” and Aymara temporal “concentricity” are reflected in the novel at structural and thematic levels.