2666 is the latest (and last) “novel” from Roberto Bolano. It’s a book in five parts, four of which were ready for publication before his death from liver failure in 2003 .Although intended for publication in 5 parts (he was aware of his increasing popularity and saw this as a way of providing a more stable income for his family) his wife and his literary executor took the decision to publish the parts in one volume (as they believed Bolano would have decided had he lived.)
I’m part way through “The Part About The Crimes” the section dealing with the serial murders of upwards of 300 women in Santa Teresa in Sonora (a thinly disguised Ciudad Jaurez that Bolano has likened to Hell)
Unsurprisingly for a writer staring into the abyss the central themes of the novel are violence and death. “The Part About The Crimes” is by far the longest section and catalogues in fairly flat prose and forensic detail the brutalisation and murder of scores of women. For the most part these women work in the maquiladoras (US assembling plants) and their deaths merit the briefest investigation by the Mexican police. Bolano counterpoints this casual indifference with the interest shown with the crimes of the “Demon Penitent” - A sacraphobic with a penchant for pissing on church floors and “offing” the odd priest. As Guadalupe Roncal, a fellow journalist, says to Oscar Fate regarding the murdered women of Santa Teresa:
"No one pays attention to these killings, but the secret of the world is hidden in them."
In “The Part About Fate” Prof. Albert Kessler, an authority on serial murderers, makes a comparison of the treatment of the sacking of the Paris Commune with the coverage of a knife sharpener’s murder of his wife and his elderly mother. The thousands of slaughtered communards rate barely a mention yet the knife sharpeners crime is splashed across the news pages of Europe:
“…..How come? The ones killed in the Commune weren't part of society”
As a poet (when asked whether he considered himself a poet or novelist he said “A poet, because my poetry makes me blush less”) and outsider maybe Bolano was concerned about whether he would pass unnoticed. On the strength of 2666 he needn’t have worried.
I’m part way through “The Part About The Crimes” the section dealing with the serial murders of upwards of 300 women in Santa Teresa in Sonora (a thinly disguised Ciudad Jaurez that Bolano has likened to Hell)
Unsurprisingly for a writer staring into the abyss the central themes of the novel are violence and death. “The Part About The Crimes” is by far the longest section and catalogues in fairly flat prose and forensic detail the brutalisation and murder of scores of women. For the most part these women work in the maquiladoras (US assembling plants) and their deaths merit the briefest investigation by the Mexican police. Bolano counterpoints this casual indifference with the interest shown with the crimes of the “Demon Penitent” - A sacraphobic with a penchant for pissing on church floors and “offing” the odd priest. As Guadalupe Roncal, a fellow journalist, says to Oscar Fate regarding the murdered women of Santa Teresa:
"No one pays attention to these killings, but the secret of the world is hidden in them."
In “The Part About Fate” Prof. Albert Kessler, an authority on serial murderers, makes a comparison of the treatment of the sacking of the Paris Commune with the coverage of a knife sharpener’s murder of his wife and his elderly mother. The thousands of slaughtered communards rate barely a mention yet the knife sharpeners crime is splashed across the news pages of Europe:
“…..How come? The ones killed in the Commune weren't part of society”
As a poet (when asked whether he considered himself a poet or novelist he said “A poet, because my poetry makes me blush less”) and outsider maybe Bolano was concerned about whether he would pass unnoticed. On the strength of 2666 he needn’t have worried.
Intriguing. I am reserving judgement about whether to splash out on 2666 until I have finished The Savage Detectives, but I must admit that on the strength of your recommendation I may well take the plunge.
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