Abstract
Latin American novel of the 20th century represents one of the most important aesthetic accomplishments of the contemporary canon. Within this context, the apocalyptical narrative stands for many writers’ attempt to talk about the end of the world (in the Biblical sense of the term), but also about the revelation each act of writing or reading implies. Together with some highly acclaimed authors, such as Carlos Fuentes, Roberto Arlt or Gabriel Garcia Márquez, the Chilean José Donoso approaches this general theme in his celebrated novel The Obscene Bird of Night (1970), also discussing the significance of any narrative construction.