Comments on: Roberto Bolaño: By Night in Chile

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:40:01 +0000

The link is now up, Trevor, so thanks again! And good luck with that goal of yours–how cool that you’re so fluent in Portuguese. ¡Obrigado!

By: Trevor

Trevor — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:35:11 +0000

Hey, thanks Richard! I don’t mind at all if you link to this review — it’s flattering, actually, so link away. When I’m done typing here I’m going to go check out your link. I speak and read fluent Portuguese, so I’ve been tempted to expand that and read some of these books in the original Spanish. Hasn’t happened yet, but it is a goal on the periphery.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:41:45 +0000

Very solid review, Trevor! I think you did a fine job focusing on Bolaño’s concerns with complicity in this novel. And I greatly appreciate your side note about Mariana Callejas, which was news to me. By chance, I’ve just started reading a book on the Pinochet years (John Dinges’ The Condor Years: How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terror to Three Continents) in which Callejas and her CIA husband receive some attention–so this has all come at a useful time for me. P.S. I just posted on Bolaño’s original Spanish version of this novel over at my blog. Would you mind if I linked to your great review here so I could provide a review of the English translation? Thanks in advance for your consideration of my request!

By: Mary Creighton

Mary Creighton — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:41:43 +0000

Roberto Bolano’s By Night In Chile is I agree, a well-written novel; albeit, a bit feverish in nature. What I most liked about this book is that it offered a fluid and poetic narrative journey, drifting seamlessly into the past and into the future- in and out of lives. It has a very Latin literary quality to it where you find such fluidity in place of the strict obsession with plot symmetry and structure as seen in many British and English novels. The disregard for symmetry makes the novel a piece of poetry: poignant, rhythmic and earnest. Also, given Bolano’s history, he can’t help but include a political edge to his writings.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:34:11 +0000

Perhaps By Night in Chile is your ticket in, Tony. I found it succinct and powerful, and it doesn’t rely on the stylistic pyrotechnics that seem prevalent in his later works.

By: Tony S.

Tony S. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:16:06 +0000

First I tried to read “The Savage Detectives”, gave up after 143 pages, just way too repetitive for me. Then I completely read “The History of Nazi Literature in the Americas” which I enjoyed as a clever pastiche. But I must say I’m still not a Roberto Bolano convert yet. I still have not read that one book that grabs hold of me.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:58:50 +0000

When I finished it I thought about rereading it, but I haven’t done that yet. I hope to do that soon, though. While writing the review so much came to me that I didn’t quite catch the first time, so I can imagine a reread is just the ticket!

By: Randy

Randy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:46:56 +0000

Trevor,
The only Bolano I have read is By Night in Chile, and the first time through, I was engaged but not fully. I loved the prose, but spent a lot of the time trying to sort out my readerly sympathies for Father Urutia.

Out of character for me, I re-read this not long after. What a pay off! On the second go I saw how well Bolano tied together all the historical and literary allusions and images. Not a word in this compact novel is filler! A mistake I made was to try and simply categorize Urutia as ’sympathetic’ or not. I am now really looking forward to his more ‘difficult’ stuff.

By: Isabel

Isabel — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:20:37 +0000

Max stole my question, but I was wondering the same thing also.

Kudos for sticking with him and your recommendations.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:17:59 +0000

Well, the best response I have is that there was something still there to be found. I didn't connect with 2666, but it is stunning and obviously the work of a master. Even when I finished it I knew I'd have to read some of Bolaño's shorter (complete) works, and soon. I'd see a few of them lined up in the bookstore, and I figured if he succeeded in having me read a 900-page beast he'd succeed in getting me through 100 pages. I actually did like Nazi Literature in the Americas a lot, though not as much as I liked By Night in Chile. I now have acquired most of Bolaño's work in English, including a few coming out later this year and early next year. Most of them are very short and have the strange quality of being both direct and ellusive at the same time. If you decide to test the waters of Bolaño, I'd recommend starting with some of his shorter work. The themes are there as is his writing talent. Also, some of them have very compelling murder mysteries at the center of them (kind of like 2666, I guess -- I'm actually going to be sorely tempted to reread 2666 when I'm done reading all of his other work. I'll probably give in some day!)