roberto bolano seems popular these days... anyone a fan?

[waryan]

I have recently learned about a latin american literary sensation by the name of roberto bolano- his books include "The Savage Detectives" and "2066." I only know of him because Amazon has been promoting "2066" heavily for some reason, as have some online news outlets.

I've not read anything by him, but I'd like to since its referred to as very imaginary, but I am guessing it is more on the subject of detectives? I haven't gotten a good explanation of his style or his subjects but he intruiges me and before I go check him out at the local book shop, I was curious who here has already read something of his, and what they thought, mainly if the hype is well made.

thanks all, as always

[Saladin]

I haven`t heard about him.

[Mopey Droney]

I thought the Savage Detectives was horrible. Meandering pseudo-Beat crap.

[lupe]

Roberto Bolano is one of the most famous and important Latin-American authors, and is slowly becoming a short of legend, after his sudden death (2003) in Barcelona at the age of 50. There is extensive coverage and discussion on his books in other forums; though - considering most LNF's members reading habits and tastes - I'm not surprised he is fairly unknown here.

The latest buzz concerns of course the English-speaking world and is due to the first English translation of "2666", which is considered his magnus opus. The novel has already been widely debated (and praised) throughout the Spanish-speaking countries for several years now. It's an allegory based on the infamous story of the assassinated women in Ciudad Juares, North Mexico.

I have not read "2666" yet, but from the rest of Bolano's books, I can recommend "Nocturno de Chile", an extremely well-written modern fiction story on a priest/poet/literature critique who makes a summury of the most important moments of his life during what he thinks is his last night. An excellent occasion for Bolano to comment on the post-conflict history of Chile and the dark side of power.

[lupe]

Here is Roberto Bolano's full bibliography, taken from Wikipedia:

Fiction

Consejos de un discípulo de Morrison a un fanático de Joyce (1984) ["Advice from a Morrison Disciple to a Joyce Fanatic"]
La pista de hielo (1993) (novel): A crime story in a Spanish Mediterranean town. The choral narrative techniques Bolaño will profusely use writing Los detectives salvajes are already at work here. Arturo Belano, his literary alter ego, is a main character of the story.
Literatura nazi en América "Nazi Literature in the Americas" (1996) (novel): An encyclopedia of fictional authors inspired by the works of Borges and J.R. Wilcock.
Estrella distante (Distant Star) (1996) (novella): An expansion of the last chapter of Literatura nazi.
Llamadas telefónicas (1997) (short stories) ["Telephone Calls"]
Los detectives salvajes (The Savage Detectives) (1998) (novel)
Amuleto (Amulet) (1999) (novella): Again, Bolaño decides to take a secondary character from a previous novel and expand her story. This time, the character is Auxilio Lacouture, a Uruguayan poet "lost" in Mexico who appeared in Los detectives salvajes.
Monsieur Pain (1999) (novel) ["Mister Bread"]
Nocturno de Chile (By Night in Chile) (2000) (novella): The last night of an Opus Dei priest and literary critic connected to the dictatorial government of Pinochet in Chile.
Putas asesinas (2001) (short stories) ["Killer Whores"]
Amberes (2002) (novella): Strongly fragmented book which was considered by Bolaño the foundation for everything he would write afterwards. Although not published until 2002, it was written around 1983.
El gaucho insufrible (2003) (short stories) ["The Insufferable Gaucho"]
2666 (2004) (novel)
Last Evenings on Earth (2006) (short stories): A selection of stories taken from Putas asesinas and Llamadas telefónicas, translated into English by Chris Andrews.
Amulet (2006): Translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews, published by New Directions.
El secreto del mal (March 2007) (short stories): A collection of short stories from his personal archive edited by Ignacio Echevarría.

Poetry

Los perros románticos: Poemas 1980-1998 (2000) [published in English as The Romantic Dogs by New Directions]
Tres (2000) ["Three"]
La universidad desconocida ["The Unknown University"] (2007)

Non-fiction

El gaucho insufrible (2003), see above, also contains two essays.
Entre paréntesis (2004), a collection of articles, columns, interviews and speeches, edited by Ignacio Echevarría.

[NickAdams]

I haven't read any of his works, but my wife has be telling me about him for months. She introduced me to Borges, although she had read Borges and only knows Bolano by reputation, but I plan on reading Savage Detectives (I agree with what Mopey has said about other authors, but I'll take my chances).

[flor]

I'll take my chances)....and you wouldn't be amiss in so doing, Nick Adams. 2666 is ace. Horrific, kaleidescopic, unforgettable.

[lupe]

The discussion on Roberto Bolano's story and work continues in various forums, lately focusing on some "obscure" periods of his life such as his presence in Chile during the Pinochet coup d’état or his (imaginary?) heroin addiction. Here is an interesting article published in the International Herald Tribune the other day.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/28/arts/novelist.1-417418.php