I actually really enjoyed My Tender Matador. It’s always nice to read a book from a queer perspective as the market is often filled with straight cis men. I thought the inner thoughts and dialogue of the Queen of the Corner were really fun to read and she had a very distinct voice. Even when she had conversations with Carlos, it’s very obvious who was talking and I think that’s a sign of a strong novel. Having characters with distinct personalities and voices really sets them apart from everyone else in the novel and makes them feel more realistic.
I really liked how the main character was someone who wasn’t really involved in the politics going on around her. It’s interesting to see how someone who’s been scorned by society during political turmoil. It’s an interesting perspective on such a big event like an attempted assassination of PInochet since they were just a bystander and not someone directly involved. I also liked to try to guess what was in all the boxes that Carlos and his associates brought to the Queen’s house.
The relationship between Carlos and the Queen of the Corner was interesting to see develop. In any other scenario, the Queen would’ve had the power in the relationship. She had a house that Carlos relied on and she was older. But in this instance, it always felt like emotionally, Carlos had the power. And I was sad, yet hopeful, watching the Queen finally having someone to love in her life and trying to woo this young man. But I feel like, throughout the entire book, it was obvious that nothing was going to come from it. It was always going to end in heartbreak. The Queen knew it too. Whether it be because Carlos never actually liked the Queen in the same way she liked him or that he would never choose to be with her, their relationship was doomed to fail. And if Carlos never liked the Queen back, then it was scummy how he led her on and used her for her house. I think the ending did show that Carlos cared at least somewhat about the Queen, but in the end, it was never meant to be.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. The characters were strong, in personality and character, and the relationship between the Queen and Carlos was fun to read about. I also can’t be the only one reading Pinochet as gay in this story.
Question:
What did you think about the power dynamic between the Queen and Carlos?
Thanks for your blog post insightul. It seems to me that one of the possibilities of reading the novel is that La Loca is actually involved in the politics of her country, but in a different way than militant politics, and that she does her part for social change. I think that this is the first step for the relationship between her and Carlos, in which they recognize themselves as different from the society that the dictator wants to propose from his patriarchal version of Chile. That is why another of your ideas is very important: the terror that Pinochet feels for his queer ghost, to call it something.
“I also can’t be the only one reading Pinochet as gay in this story.”
Absolutely! Most of you (and this is OK) have focussed on the story of Carlos and la loca. But (as Juan Poblete mentions in the conversation video with me), the book is actually about two couples: in some ways Pinochet and his wife parallel (but also very much differ from) the other two. I wonder what more you can say about how the dictator is represented–and, yes, “queered”–in Lemebel’s narrative?
Hi there! I really enjoyed reading through your blog and I think you ask an interesting question! The relationship between Carlos and Queen seemed a bit unhealthy in my opinion. It seemed as though Carlos was using the queen in many ways that were convenient for him and held a lot of the power in their dynamic. For example, leaving boxes at her place and using her apartment for meetings. However, the queen seemed to enjoy being useful to him, if it meant he was hanging around or giving her attention.
Hi there,
thank you for sharing with us.
To address your question, I think the power dynamic was complicated because the question of love was mixed in. But the underlying question between the two seemed to be also revolved around secrets, so the power lied with Carlos since he was holding back the most secrets while Queen was transparent and loving with most of the things that happened between the two. Another question I could pose is was love evolved in the equation? And if so, was it reciprocal?