The Adventure of Andreas Kordopatis and the Interstitial Space of Thenanis Valtinos

Abstract

Abstract

Through the creative manipulation of textual formulations which belong neither to the sphere of literature nor to the sphere of narrative, Thanasis Valtinos’ prose constructs a space between fiction and reality. This paper explores Valtinos’ unusual forms of representation by examining the “Synaxari of Andreas Kordopatis”. It argues that the “in-between” space facilitates the co-presence of two voices: the character who wants to bring his experience to the realm of language and the writer who wants to capture the tone of the character’s voice. Both voices find their articulation in a single form which is congruent to the to their aspirations. As the interstitial experience of the character designates a space between desire and fulfilment that fires up hope and the potentiality of dreaming, so Valtinos’ narrative becomes “foreign” to literature in order to question ordinary views on perception and representation and to give voice to the experience of anonymity.