This paper critically examines the evolution of metaphysical detective narratives in the Spanish-speaking world, specifically focusing on the emergence of rural metaphysical Galician noir. The article explores Carlos Montero's El Desorden que Dejas (2016), also known as The Mess You Leave Behind, and its Netflix adaptation TV series. This literary work undertakes the labyrinth of metafiction practices, which unleashes an amateur female detective who is transformed into an unwavering seeker amidst a mysterious disappearance and shows how she is becoming ensnared in her spatial consciousness. This quest goes beyond detective work, intertwining themes of postmodern intertextuality, geographic intricacies, gender identity politics, and evolving virtual technologies. Montero's narrative, grounded in feminist discourse, echoes Luce Irigaray's metaphysical femininity (2011) in her attempt to pursue an ecocriticism, linking the female’s body and nature. This Irigarian philosophy of 'coexistence in difference' enables a traversal of intervals between the female unwavering seeker across diverse landscapes—urban, rural, and cyberspace—, establishing a dialogue of voices in crime writing. Furthermore, through the critical textual analysis of chosen excerpts and scenes from Montero's work, an alternative symbolic system emerges, transforming the crime into a narrative of interconnectedness and intertextuality. As a result, the paper argues that this postmodern feminist metaphysical detective plot exposes concealed and corrupted narratives within Spanish male-dominated spaces entwined with gender-based violence, contributing with afresh nuances of gender and identity to the postmodern detective Iberian novel.

Authors:
Joaquin Lopez-Mugica, Wenzhou Kean University, China

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Joaquin Lopez-Mugica is currently a Lecturer in Spanish studies at Wenzhou Kean University.

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