SOURCE: "Beginnings and Returns: An Interview with José Donoso," in Review of Contemporary Fiction, Vol. XII, No. 2, Summer, 1992, pp. 11-17.

[In the following interview, Mouat questions Donoso about his novels (particularly Curfew and The Obscene Bird of Night), his feelings about his native Chile, and other topics related to being a writer of the Latin American "boom" period.]

The following conversation with José Donoso was held at the writer's house in Santiago in November of 1990, when the Chilean spring was blossoming in the gardens of the barrio alto and in the political arena of the whole country. It was conducted in English and it has been slightly edited for inclusion in this issue. My explanatory notes are indicated by brackets. I wish to record my gratitude to Pepe and to his wife María Pilar for their generosity and help.

[Ricardo Gutiérrez Mouat:] You left Chile in...