''Pubis angelical'' is a 1979 novel by Argentine novelist

Manuel Puig Juan Manuel Puig Delledonne (December 28, 1932 – July 22, 1990), commonly called Manuel Puig, was an Argentine author. Among his best-known novels are '' La traición de Rita Hayworth'' ('' Betrayed by Rita Hayworth'', 1968), ''Boquitas pin ...

. It is perhaps Puig's work most influenced by

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. This can be seen in the

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (EP), a 2017 EP by ...

imitating narrative technique,

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and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

elements. Also like other Puig works, it deals with

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and sexual issues. An English translation by Elena Brunet, using the same title, was published in 1986, and a was released in 1981.

Plot introduction

The narrative alternates between separate narratives. One is reality, an Argentine woman confined to a Mexican

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in the 1970s. The others are a representation of her

unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...

. In this second narrative, the woman is in

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in the years leading up to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She is here involved in various intrigues, and carries on an extramarital romance. The third narrative, another representation of the protagonist's unconscious, is a science fiction tale involving a cyborg woman named W218 in a post-apocalyptic Polar Age, who serves the government by performing sexual therapy on aging men, and is therefore in a sense a government-sponsored prostitute.

References

1979 novels 1979 Argentine novels Collage Novels set in Argentina Argentine novels adapted into films Novels by Manuel Puig Seix Barral books {{1970s-novel-stub