The Absence We Shall Be

Affiliation Narrative and Violence in the Work of Héctor Abad Faciolince

Abstract

This article examines the novel El olvido que seremos by, Héctor Abad Faciolince, a colombian author, as a filial narrative, a category defined by Dominique Viart and Bruno Vercier (2008) to describe autobiographical texts centered on memory reconstruction, inherited trauma, and parental figures. Using a theoretical and methodological framework that revolves around life writing studies (Santos, 2020), the article explores how Abad Faciolince’s work articulates, through the figure of his assassinated father, a collective memory of political violence in Colombia. It analyzes how filial narrative operates as a means of resistance, affective transmission, and denunciation, offering a counter narrative to stories told by perpetrators. By blending personal and collective dimensions, the novel invites reflection on the face of victims and on the intergenerational transmission of traumatic memory in the Latin American context. Furthermore, the analysis highlights the interplay between legacy and erasure, stressing the literary act as a space for symbolic reparation and historical awareness.