Having worked my way through Bolano's posthumously-published 2666 some time ago, I was curious to read the book that kickstarted his international fame, the equally complex and almost as long The Savage Detectives. I found that the book was written in a familar style with some differences. Detectives is somewhat autobiographical, at least in its broad outline. Also, Detectives uses multiple narration to an extreme in order to paint a picture (?) of the characters, major and minor, as well as the avant-guard literary milieu mirroring Bolano's own involvement ("viseral-realists" vs. real-life "intra-realists"). There are even a few crossovers, such as the trip to Sonora (Sta Theresa) and mention of the fictional author Arcimboldi.
The Savage Detectives solidified Bolano's position as a South American writer of great power as the new generation took the mantle from the "Boom" generation of Latin American literary legends such as Garcia Marquez, Vargas-Llosa, Borges, Puig, etc. I have yet to read other writers in this new generation and am looking forward to doing so if they are even remotely as gifted and engaging as Bolano.
See a review of the book from New Yorker at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/26/vagabonds
The Savage Detectives solidified Bolano's position as a South American writer of great power as the new generation took the mantle from the "Boom" generation of Latin American literary legends such as Garcia Marquez, Vargas-Llosa, Borges, Puig, etc. I have yet to read other writers in this new generation and am looking forward to doing so if they are even remotely as gifted and engaging as Bolano.
See a review of the book from New Yorker at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/26/vagabonds
