Reviews

Os detetives selvagens by Roberto Bolaño

arielleloretta's review against another edition

3.0

First: in all fairness I skimmed pages 303-523.
I realized that there wasn’t a point to what I was reading. I actually have no idea what I just read. The first part of the book was great. The last part was pretty great. The entire middle section (3/4 of the book) was a rambling meandering bunch of stuff that didnt have a plot or contribute to the plot. And actually I don’t know what the plot was. There were too many characters introduced to care about almost any of them. Certainly no more than five or six of them. There were too many threads that had no common thread and in the end I don’t think there was any point to any of this.

sofijac's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

jcrnom03's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

5.0

It's strange how this book inspired a strange sense of hope in me. I loved the non linear narrative and the frame story, and I didn't necessarily expect that (I expected it to feel forced). A book where you have to know to enjoy the journey.

ella1801's review against another edition

Didn't finish before it was due to the library-- will return to this.

adrie9's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

moncler's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

beetlady's review against another edition

Didn’t finish.
Diary of a horny, aloof teenager where nothing happens? No thanks. 

gaby_redacted's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

parib's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This was the first work by Bolano I had read. It took a little while for me to settle into this dreamy, freewheeling stream-of-consciousness approach, but once it clicked it was one addictive rollercoaster of a novel. Unlike anything I had read before or since. I'd describe it as a postmodern odyssey through Latin America, and more generally through the world of literature. Bolano creates a nuanced profile of the politics/social landscape of the art world at a staggering scale. Fixates and fascinates itself with the mundane moments and incongruencies of modern life in a way that almost makes them feel fantastical. Would highly recommend to anyone interested in postmodern literature, as long as you're comfortable with something freewheeling, open-ended, and which doesn't answer any obligation to explain itself for you

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

sophie_may_42's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

4.0