Reviews

The Third Reich by Roberto Bolaño

flow_state's review

Underwhelming. At least it was on sale

cody240fc's review

3.0

I have decided to tip toe into Bolano's oeuvre with some of his lesser works. A posthumous publication, it's hard to know how to approach 'The Third Reich'. Supposedly written in the late 80's well before his death, Bolano must not have been happy with the novel since he kept it locked away in his files without a plan to publish it. However he felt about it, this novel gave me a taste of that Bolano talent everyone raves about. The story is strange- I don't particularly find war games an interesting topic of conversation- and Udo is not a particularly pleasant character, but there is a wonderful sense of intrigue throughout. One of Bolano's talents that immediately jumped out to me is his ability to establish intense interactions between his characters with very little dialogue. Whether it was between Udo and Frau Else or Udo and El Quemado, even the quietest moments contain a restrained energy. The ending felt a little haphazard (perhaps that is why Bolano never published it himself), but it also felt strangely appropriate for the novel.

A fairly quick read, I might have stumbled onto a nice jumping off point for Bolano. A strong three stars. I am going to check out the recently released 'Cowboy Graves' before diving into his more highly regarded works.

jae_int's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

Flawless portrayal of Dudes Who Are Into Wargaming.

lori85's review against another edition

2.0

This novel was found in Bolaño's papers after his death, so it's questionable how much editing it received. The foundations of a good Bolaño story are there, but unfortunately buried under a slog of unnecessary detail. Never thought I'd find one of his books a chore to read.

supreeth's review against another edition

5.0

The Third Reich stays in sync with 2666's theme of this never ending sinister sense of foreboding. There's never enough room for anything to happen, but clock keeps ticking, and that is all there is, a constant ticking, tick-tick-tick, Chekov's gun left unfired.

hrdboildwndrlnd's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

woodpusher's review against another edition

3.0

Las descripciones de los avances del juego no convencen ni contribuyen a imbuir de sentido al desarrollo del texto. La idea es buena pero el tratamiento fallido. No así el manejo del suspenso y el ritmo de la novela que anuncian el estilo incomparable de Bolaño.

urdragonmom's review against another edition

1.0

no lo hubiera terminado de leer sino fuera porque me lo prestaron.
no me molesta que un libro no tenga un plot en concreto pero, por lo menos, que sea interesante de cierta manera.
ni siquiera hubo un buen personaje, ni se le puede sacar nada a este libro
y casualmente hablando de v1ol4r o haciendo eso????

rcaohn's review against another edition

3.0

Qué distinto Bolaño cuando escribe sobre Europa. Para mí, un escalón por debajo de 'Monsieur Pain', compartiendo atmósfera. Aun así, Bolaño.

maurocio's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

"No lo sé. Lo que sí sé es que me voy por las ramas, me pierdo en suposiciones inútiles que sólo consiguen turbarme. No entiendo cómo mi buen amigo Conrad pudo alguna vez decir que escribo como Karl Bröger. Qué más quisiera yo."