Between court files, university classes and hearings, Agustín Zaninovich found another way to reconstruct memory: literature. The lawyer and teacher from Buenos Aires has just presented his second novel at the 50th edition of the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, Insilio, the screams of silencea work inspired by real testimonies crossed by the wounds of the last military dictatorship.
Born in San Cristóbal and currently based in Bernal, Zaninovich is 40 years old and has a career linked to civil and family law. But behind the formality of the courts there is a personal obsession with human stories. Stories that often arrive at your law firm in the form of confessions, silences or memories that are impossible to forget.
“I think that the novel is a different way of entering for those who perhaps do not carry this story in their blood or in their family,” explains the author.
The “insile”: surviving within fear
In Insilio, the screams of silenceZaninovich addresses a less explored dimension of the dictatorship: that of those who could not go into exile and were trapped in a country governed by fear, censorship and silence.
The novel reconstructs the story of Zunilda Quatrin and her granddaughter Ángela through letters, intimate stories and fragmented memories. With a foreword by Carlos Kunkel, the book focuses on the concept of “insile,” understood as the internal exile of those who survived within the country without the possibility of escape.
“Unlike the exile, who found refuge elsewhere, the exile became a nomad within his own land”, maintains the writer.
The work also includes a participation by Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize winner, who contributes a letter addressed to one of the central characters.
Far from traditional historical reconstruction, Zaninovich opts for an emotional narrative focused on the psychological and affective marks that still persist decades later.
The client who inspired her first novel
Before I jumpthe lawyer published 30 years later… My first case: Elianaa short novel based on a real experience that occurred just a week after opening his law firm in Florencio Varela.
The story began with the arrival of a woman who wanted to divorce a man to whom she had been married for less than 24 hours and whom she had not seen for three decades.
Everything seemed routine until the young lawyer asked for the necessary documentation to start the process.
“That’s the problem, doctor. I don’t know where it is”the woman responded.
That phrase ended up becoming the starting point of a novel crossed by abandonment, violence, abuse and the human consequences of the military dictatorship.
Law, teaching and a personal story of improvement
In addition to practicing law, Zaninovich developed intense academic activity as a teacher and university coordinator. He graduated in Law from the UBA, studied Philosophy and also specialized in electoral studies.
But her life took an unexpected turn in December 2020, a few months after the birth of her daughter Emma, when she received a diagnosis of lymphoma.
After a year of treatment, he managed to overcome the cancer and enter complete remission.
“My daughter is my support and my priority,” says the writer, who today divides his time between literature, law, teaching and parenting.
While he continues to present his books and sign copies in different cultural spaces, Agustín Zaninovich continues to build a unique bridge between memory, justice and fiction.
Contact / Press
Instagram: @agus_zani
Press and communication: Juan Ignacio Penlowskyj
