Alan Pauls' Literary Journey: From Television to the Tension Between Novel and Essay

The writer Alan Pauls, winner of the Herralde Prize and a friend of Roberto Bolaño and Ricardo Piglia, was first encountered by the author presenting the film program Primer Plano on the now-defunct channel I.Sat. Initially mistaken for a television personality, Pauls' sophisticated, essay-like commentary on independent cinema revealed his literary depth. His hypnotic, long-phrased style blends pop and literary elements, advocating for discussing low culture as high and vice versa. His 2021 novel La mitad fantasma was found lacking compared to his 2006 essay collection La vida descalzo, which brilliantly analyzes the beach and its cultural objects. This contrast sparked a reflection on genre: whether the 21st century favors the essay over the novel. Referencing César Aira's notes on diary writing and Marcel Proust's use of minimal fiction, the text ponders if contemporary writing should focus on style and reflection while disguising essays within popular narrative forms, or use essayistic techniques to sustain the novelistic impulse.