Narratives in extremis

Abstract

This article deals with the books of two writers, Jean-Claude Bernardet, and José Cardoso Pires, in which both describe the experience of being close to death. It intends to show how both writers employ fictional resources in works generally considered autobiographical, without denying the biographical truth that gives origin to the texts. These can be thought of as borderline texts, in which autobiography, fiction and evaluation of reality are mingled.