2666, September 2009, 8.5/10.
Written by Roberto Bolaño, published by Picador.
This monumental opus is composed of five parts, connected among each other by a web of tenuous links and subtle cross-references. Though each section could be a novel in its own right (and so, it seems, was the will of the author), reading the book as a whole allows us to grasp the ambitiousness of this sprawling, chaotic, and truly engaging book. All sections have a different feel to them and are written in a different style. In the first section a group of academics specialized in contemporary German literature search for their – vanished – fetish author. Their relationships evolve and mutate, involving various combinations of sex, love and friendship. But despite the explosive emotions B.describes, there is, throughout the section, an overrationalization, a sense of brainy restraint, that is stifling. And while the fifth section, dedicated to the life of the vanished author, is more dreamy and poetic, though still dramatic, the fourth section is a, seemingly infinite, catalogue of forensic reports that detail horryfing murders. B. gives us no respite, as the sickening catalogue just keeps on going, and no hope, amid incompetent investigators and corrupt powers. This book is many thing at once and it’s a great ride.
