Notes on Detective Fiction and the Novella in the Río de la Plata: on El modelo aéreo (2012) by Leonardo Sabbatella

Abstract

This essay examines El modelo aéreo, a novel by Argentine author Leonardo Sabbatella, published in 2012. It explores key aspects of critical discourse on Latin American detective fiction, proposing that El modelo aéreo offers an alternative approach
to the detective genre. The analysis contrasts the novel with some ideas on the novella genre produced in the Río de la Plata region, while also examining its engagement with the structural elements of detective fiction. This engagement is assessed within the framework of post-autonomous literatures, as defined by Josefina Ludmer. Sabbatella’s novel, through its innovative approach to the actantial dynamics of noir fiction, provides a new reading model for the debate on autonomy versus post-autonomy in relation to the treatment of highly codified fictional genres.