Doctrina del shock y distopía en Todo va a mejorar, de Almudena Grandes: una aproximación a un episodio del futuro

Abstract

Abstract

This paper explores the representation of the shock doctrine, defined by Naomi Klein, in the critical dystopia Todo va a mejorar (2022), Almudena Grandes’ posthumous novel. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines thematology with cultural criticism and political theory, three fundamental aspects are studied. Firstly, the thematization of Naomi Klein’s shock doctrine is analyzed based on four motifs that underpin this dystopia: loss of hope, distraction, despair, and disappearance. Secondly, the function of dystopia as a critical and admonitory tool to warn against citizen demobilization in the face of the advance of authoritarianism is examined. Finally, the operability of dystopia and its intertwining with the author’s characteristic realism are evaluated to establish a dialogue with Spain’s recent memory and the possible reenactment of past episodes as a consequence of the discrediting of politics. The shift depicted in the novel from a dystopia of authoritarian repression to a critical dystopia is consistent with Almudena Grandes’s career and her vocation to raise awareness through her writing. In this case, social complacency is questioned, and the cultivation of democracy and the social contract is advocated to reverse reactionary dynamics. This is why it is a fundamental novel in the work of this writer, who found a form of resistance in literature.