Routes, roots and affections in Sound Desert, by Valeria Luiselli

This article analyses how the characters in the novel Desierto sonoro (2019), by Valeria Luiselli, are represented. It is based on the theory of affects proposed by Sara Ahmed in The Cultural Politics of Emotion (2004; 2014). We argue that the plot of the novel is constructed through an opposition between characters who embody movement and fluid identities, and others who are rooted in a stable place and represent ways of being which are more traditional. The character of the mother expresses feel-ings of empathy for the former group and conveys these to her children. On the other hand, she inspires contempt and fear towards the latter group. Desierto sonoro aims at conveying these affects to the readers. Nevertheless, it also arouses frustra-tion because of the way it amalgamates distinct ways of moving, and because of its neglect of socioeconomic issues. We argue that this disregard and amalgamation are related to the fetishism of movement that the novel expresses.