2666: A Novel
by Roberto Bolano
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Book Reviews of 2666: A Novel
Book Review: A writers novel
Summary: 4 Stars
`2666` is a writers novel, best appreciated by academics (or so inclined) and other writers, often commenting on itself, the craft of writing and the creative process. For the average reader the ending lacks coherence, seemingly 900 pages of often depressing anecdotal tangents about death. It's a generous work in that regard, there are 100s of stories, within stories, most of them entertaining and worth reading, but characteristic of Bolano, they don't really "end" in any traditionally satisfying way - one doesn't read this novel to find out what happens - although paradoxically, mystery is what drives the book forward.
Bolano successfully breaks one of the basic rules of fiction writing - rather than showing what happens, he tells what happens, like a journalist. Thus he is able to say as much in one paragraph that others take in a chapter. Bolano says as much in 900 pages that might normally take 2500. He does not use line breaks and quotes for dialog (except in book 5), so there are often long blocks of text with no white space - it's a 900 page novel of high word count, but smooth reading. Ironically I never felt I was wasting my time, as if every detail mattered, even though I guess none of it did, all of it did.
The novel is certainly an investment of time and energy. I would recommend it to anyone interested in European avant-garde literature, Latin American literature, literature in translation and a sprawling kind of dreamy (strange) ambiguous work resistant to classification and open to interpretations.
Book Review: The last sputtering electric discharges of a dying writer's brain
Summary: 2 Stars
If there was a point to this novel, I could not decipher it. I'm willing to admit this personal shortcoming, but I'm just egotistical enough to dismiss it as a jumbled collection of strung together concepts. The kind of random ramblings a literary genius writes as his brain misfires, starved for oxygen, or overwhelmed by his own toxic blood as tries to make sense of death.
Being a speed reader, I may have not spent enough time "digesting" the words to allow them to absorb completely, but regardless, my opinion is my own. My opinion is the majority of the words are so much filler. While there are some beautiful tapestries painted by the words as translated by Natasha Wimmer, the majority are annoying details, provided for no known reason. If there is any rhyme or reason, it seems to be to communicate the author's own grief, which is constant and nullifying. The plot of the book, a string of serial killings, seems like an excuse to keep on writing. There is no end or progression to the theme. Just a constant retelling, with a painfully slow revealing of trivial details.
Considering the author's motivations, which were to support his children and to release the book slowly across a period of 25+ years, I think the result is pretty transparent. It's almost as if the author believes that he can extend his own life by giving himself a unending task. Do not submit yourself to his toil.
Book Review: The end of something great.
Summary: 5 Stars
2666 was my first experience with Bolano. I read about this book in a Time magazine and was very intrigued.
Upon opening the box and seeing the book, my heart sank a little. Seeing a book of this size is always intimidating, and even though I know it was 900+ pages, seeing 900 pages bound in hardcover is a different manner.
Regardless, I started to read.
The book is split into five sections. The first deals with critics. The second with a philosophy teacher who is going insane (this might have been my favorite part of the novel, although it is short, just over sixty pages). The third deals with a Harlem newspaper reporter. The fourth finally gets to the crimes that form the books center. The fifth is a biography of a reclusive German writer than the critics at the beginning study and try to find.
It is difficult to describe a book such as this in terms that are endearing. The flaws are many; long dream sequences, lots of extraneous details, run-on sentences the likes of which I have never seen elsewhere, and finally, the utter lack of a conclusion.
But in a way, these flaws seem to actually hold the book up and form a cohesive whole. 2666 is the type of book that is frustrating for most of the time, but on finishing the last page the feeling of gratitude is immense.
Read this book. It will change your ideas of what fiction is really capable of.
Book Review: 5 novels and 40 short stories in search of endings (ANY!)
Summary: 2 Stars
Amazon.com's Book of the Month....They must be kidding.
You may have heard that this is 5 novels published (cobbled?) together over the specific objections of the dead author. However, in addition I counted some 40 short stories sandwiched among the 5 novels, and, guess what, not one of the stories or novels has an ending! If you can get through 200 pages (yes) of descriptions of little Mexican girls being raped, tortured, mutilated, butchered and dumped, then you might be able to read through to the end...and find that nothing happens.
An obvious conclusion would have been for the 80ish writer who spent his whole life in frank detachment from humanity, prefering to "cause no harm" (somehow he manages to fight in an infantry company on the Eastern Front in WWII for 4 full years but never kills anyone - laughable in itself) and to "not interfere" (he does nothing in response to finding someone he knew and seemingly admired...crucified), to then meet up with his serial killer nephew, who takes the same detachment from humanity into torturing 9 year old girls to death for sheer amusement.
The meeting of these minds (and souls?) and its consequences, which all the other dozens of players could then interpret, would have been brilliant.
But in fact, they never meet...and nothing happens. Is everyone waiting for Godot here?
Book Review: Like a cemetary in the year 2666...
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the best book I have read this year (2009). In fact, it is one of the best books I have ever read, and most other literature pales in comparison. However, it is probably not something everyone will enjoy as much as I did. It may appear to be a cumbersome exercise in multiple storylines that never neatly meet, but anyone who appreciates the art of the written word will savor every sentence. This is as much a triumph of translation for Natasha Wimmer as it is a magnum opus by Roberto Bolano.
One of the main reasons it appealed so much to me--aside from the skillfully crafted prose--is the dimensions of the narratives. The stories within stories regarding situations and people adds to the air of mystique. Another large appeal to me were the premises of each of the sections. One should consider the juxtaposition of numerous protagonists in each section: the European academics, the Mexican professor, the American Journalist, and the Soldier come Author. Each contributes to a greater narrative at hand. Though the police reports of section four may seem dross and eternal, they serve a function like the other sections.
Bolano deftly uses language--able to inject humor, sex, adventure, and introspection--with utmost skill and fluidity.
This is a novel to be closely read and appreciated. Take time for 2666.