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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
While many Bolaño books are obsessed with the relationship between poetry and fascism, this one swaps out poetry for gaming. The mysterious Quemado is most likely Bolaño. Just the word "gamer" makes my eyes glaze over... still, Bolaño somehow pulls it off with mixed results.
I have some exposure to the game which helps and he is an excellent writer, capturing tension and feeling. However, for me, it just wasn't that interesting of a story. Three stars
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
the fascist nature that the obsessive pursuit of an artform (like writing) can create. Fascism as a game, as a way of life, as an annoying and lame personal hobby that no one cares about. Some interesting inversions of and allusions to detective novels/mysteries and to Nazis post-WWII in South America and elsewhere. also some possible very loose connections to the last part of 2666 but overall this was kind of a slog for me and the first Bolaño I've read that's made me think that maybe the whole posthumous industry around publishing all his lost and found papers is kind of a racket, or maybe I've just been reading too much Bolaño but this one is very different in style than his others.
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.
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.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flawless portrayal of Dudes Who Are Into Wargaming.
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.
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.
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