2666 - by Roberto Bolaño

[Jim__]

2666 is a much reviewed book (for instance: The Nation, and The New York Review of Books). It was a review in December 2008 Harpers, a review written by Francine Prose (unfortunately, not available online), that piqued my interest:

It was at this point in my reading of 2666 that I began importuning nearly everyone that I know - close friends, fellow writers, family members, casual acquaintances - to put down whatever they were reading or writing and to start Roberto Bolaño's novel. Immediately.

Prose also said that the first thing she did after finishing the book was to re-read it.

The book is very strong on ideas, but not that strong on either character or plot - at least not until the last 40 or 50 pages when Bolaño intensifies both character and plot, reaches out and draws you in, and leaves you hating to see it all end. I am considering re-reading the book right away.

The book consists of 5 parts, and Bolaño who knew he was dying while he was writing the book, wanted it to be published as 5 separate books. The parts are independent enough so that would have worked, but I believe that the 5th part of the book, in my opinion far and away the best part, is much richer if you've read the other 4 parts first. One storyline that holds the parts of the book together are the murders of over 200 women in Santa Teresa, Sonora, Mexico (apparently based on the real murders of over 200 women in Ciudad Juarez). Another storyline that holds it all together is the writings of Benno von Archimboldi, an enigmatic German writer. If that sounds like a strange name for a German writer, it should. Benno may refer to Benito Juarez, the "von" keeps the name germanic, and Archimboldi is taken from a Renaissance Italian artist. Our writer's name brings Europe and Mexico together, and this fits well with much of the action in the book. The Santa Teresa murders, of course, take place in Mexico, and Archimboldi is a German veteran of World War II.

The book starts in Europe, in Part I, we have 4 critics of German literature who bring Archimboldi's work to prominence, and eventually travel to Mexico in search of Archimboldi. In Part II, Amalfitano, a Chilean by birth, returns from Europe to Mexico to become a professor at a university in Santa Teresa. Part III is slightly different, in that it is about an African-American reporter who works for an independent Harlem newspaper, Black Dawn, who goes to Mexico to report on a heavyweight fight. Part IV is the long, gruesome part of the book that catalogs the murders and their investigation, and also covers another set of crimes, desecration of churches, that seem to take political precedence over the investigation of the murdered women. Part V covers Archimboldi, from his father's return from World War I, through his childhood, adolescence, years as a soldier in World War II, and his years as a writer. Archimboldi also travels to Mexico in connection with these murders.

A great read!

[Warren Stupidity]

1. I've been a huge fan of Bolano for over a year now.

Savage Detectives is simply one to the best novels I have ever read. I've acquired all of his prose published so far, and they are all of them wonderful books. To me he combines a genuine voice of my generation with the fantastical imagery of south american authors such as Marquez into a unique and compelling style of his own. I'm about 1/3 of the way through 2666 and my only problem with it is that this is the end, there is no more, I've lost a good friend I never had the opportunity to meet in person.

[Jim__]

2. I've never read Bolaño before.

But, of course, I do plan on reading his other books now.

[Jim__]

3. Correction: It's actually over 450 women and girls that have been killed in and around Juarez.

In the OP I said it was over 200.