You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
Almost didn't finish this one and, to some extent, I wish I hadn't. The book initially starts off with a rather intriguing premise, but something doesn't seem right when almost nothing has happened between pages 100 and 250, and then nothing happens, and then the book hints at something more interesting happening, and then that doesn't happen and literally all of that intrigue that was built up is thrown into an ending that goes "oh, that happened, but it wasn't that important." 2 stars instead of 1 for a great first 100 pages, but anything interesting that the book did has been done better elsewhere. I think Bolano was right with his intentions not to publish this one, it's a shame the publisher had. Wouldn't recommend it, but I'll probably end up reading some of Bolano's "actual books" like The Savage Detectives in the future.
Almost didn't finish this one and, to some extent, I wish I hadn't. The book initially starts off with a rather intriguing premise, but something doesn't seem right when almost nothing has happened between pages 100 and 250, and then nothing happens, and then the book hints at something more interesting happening, and then that doesn't happen and literally all of that intrigue that was built up is thrown into an ending that goes "oh, that happened, but it wasn't that important." 2 stars instead of 1 for a great first 100 pages, but anything interesting that the book did has been done better elsewhere. I think Bolano was right with his intentions not to publish this one, it's a shame the publisher had. Wouldn't recommend it, but I'll probably end up reading some of Bolano's "actual books" like The Savage Detectives in the future.
This was my third book by Bolaño, and as with the second book of his I read ("2666"), I started it worried that I wouldn't like it as much as I liked the last one. But I did. This may actually be a better book to start with if you haven't read Bolaño than either 2666 or The Savage Detectives, since it's shorter and more compact. But it's a trade-off, because it lacks some of the freewheeling energy of the others (particularly Detectives) that made them so enjoyable. He's just such a great writer. I'm already looking forward to reading another book of his.
I really did not like this. Nothing interesting happened. I think I will probably give this book to my Mum as I will not be reading this again.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This reminded me of Death in Venice, without the pederasty or cholera: a humid fever dream of a very tense vacation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
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.
I defended it while I was reading it, but the reviews were right, the ending did drift off a bit.
Drenched in obsession, confusion and frustration, The Third Reich is a posthumously published gem of the Bolaño library. In sleek and mystifying prose, German war games champion Udo Berger records his daily life during his ominous vacationing in a town on the Costa Brava. He largely confines himself to his hotel room, where he stays up all night studying his war game of choice (named The Third Reich), though Udo seems to be something of a magnet to which odd characters attract themselves. These characters include Charly, a fellow German vacationer and demented windsurfer; Wolf and Lamb, two slimy Spanish thugs with supermarket jobs; and El Quemado, a stoic burn victim, who takes his residence on the beach in a hut constructed out of pedal boats. These characters all mean trouble, and it's fair to say that Udo's holiday quickly becomes rather horrendous, though his journaling of the events makes for a wondrously addictive and interesting piece of fiction.
dark
reflective
tense
In the beginning, the book's story seems so simple that one can only wonder what the turning point will be. Udo, a 25-year-old German, goes on holiday to Spain, where he used to go with his parents several years ago. Udo, accompanied by his fiancee Ingeborg, is at a turning point in his life; he intends to devote himself entirely to his passion, the wargames. Many characters come to disturb the couple's first days in the sun, including the boat rental that seems to live on the beach and will prove a formidable opponent on the plateau for Udo. Little by little, their relations will become more complex, and the hero will be lonely.
Whether it's the Spaniards, Udo's opponent, the burnt man, the bosses of the hotel, or the annoying another German couple on vacation, all the people who intervene in the couple's life do it professionally. I imagined them talking while making significant gestures all the time. Each plays his role and does not deviate so that the atmosphere of this city takes on an unreal luster. Roberto Bolaño juggles between reality and fantasy. The town seems to be only the scenery of the trap that closes on Udo. His relations with Germany, limited to brief telephone conversations with his best friend Conrad, tend to look artificial, too. The straightforward holiday narrative goes from tanning chronicles to a man's fear for life.
The end is disappointing if the moist and agonizing atmosphere settles progressively well. Too many tracks mentioned explaining the events, to finally not dig any. The title's choice of the novel that takes the name of the game disputed into the hero and the burnt suggests the legacy of the Second World War is at the heart of the book. Some reflections on the nationality of Udo abound in this sense. We imagine a link with the personal story of his opponent, but I must miss the keys to understand the scope of the theme and thus collect the puzzle pieces.
Whether it's the Spaniards, Udo's opponent, the burnt man, the bosses of the hotel, or the annoying another German couple on vacation, all the people who intervene in the couple's life do it professionally. I imagined them talking while making significant gestures all the time. Each plays his role and does not deviate so that the atmosphere of this city takes on an unreal luster. Roberto Bolaño juggles between reality and fantasy. The town seems to be only the scenery of the trap that closes on Udo. His relations with Germany, limited to brief telephone conversations with his best friend Conrad, tend to look artificial, too. The straightforward holiday narrative goes from tanning chronicles to a man's fear for life.
The end is disappointing if the moist and agonizing atmosphere settles progressively well. Too many tracks mentioned explaining the events, to finally not dig any. The title's choice of the novel that takes the name of the game disputed into the hero and the burnt suggests the legacy of the Second World War is at the heart of the book. Some reflections on the nationality of Udo abound in this sense. We imagine a link with the personal story of his opponent, but I must miss the keys to understand the scope of the theme and thus collect the puzzle pieces.