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In this article, Héctor Soto refers to the enigmatic personality of Joaquín Edwards Bello, the most prolific Chilean chronicler and author of several novels that were notable for the crude, realistic way in which he explored the national underworld of alcoholism, prostitution and poverty, in addition to portraying his own social class.
Although Joaquín Edwards Bello was awarded two of the highest achievements in the country (the National Prize for Literature in 1943 and for Journalism in 1959) —says Héctor Soto— he was a somewhat off-kilter figure of his class and also of his time. He wrote endlessly and was a man of great contradiction and divides. There are elements to suppose that he had a happy childhood, a golden youth and 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 and 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 Héctor 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 and history.