Outsider and Insider: The Two Sides of Joaquin Edwards Bello

In this article, Hector Soto refers to the enigmatic personality of Joaquin Edwards Bello, the most prolific Chilean chronicler & author of several novels that were notable for the crude, realistic way in which he explored the national underworld of alcoholism, prostitution & poverty, in addition to portraying his own social class. Although Joaquin Edwards Bello was awarded two of the highest achievements in the country (the National Prize for Literature in 1943 & for Journalism in 1959) -- says Hector Soto -- he was a somewhat off-kilter figure of his class & also of his time. He wrote endlessly & was a man of great contradiction & divides. There are elements to suppose that he had a happy childhood, a golden youth & an adulthood that was as adventurous as it was turbulent, lived to the fullest yet unstable. Even though his second marriage should have been an oasis, he was plagued by wounds & ghosts that came to light after his stroke in 1960. Despite having been among the most cosmopolitan Chilean figures of his time, the writings of Edwards Bello -- according to Hector Soto -- capture a Chile -- for good or for bad, like it or not -- that despite the great changes it has undergone in recent decades, still continues to have strong ties to its very identity & history. Adapted from the source document.