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ti_leo's review against another edition
4.0
Bolano für Einsteiger. Eignet sich zum Antesten. Wenn euch dieses kleine Büchlein gefallen hat, stürzt euch in die wilden Detektive. Derselbe mäandernde, ziellose, ungezwungene Stil, derselbe dunkle Humor, derselbe unbedingte Glaube an die Kunst.
jesswebber02's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
erikjabriss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Fascism as unreliable narrator…or fascism making unreliable narrators out of us all.
jason_bruhvilez's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
miri_dbr's review against another edition
3.0
"Y detrás de ellos entra la noche en la casa de las hermanas Garmendia"
Ahí empezó a gustarme, final del primer capítulo pero luego la novela recorre otros caminos y cuando la historia de una obsesión no te atrapa poco se puede hacer. Me ha gustado la voz narrativa, los paréntesis explicativos, el humor, cuando se dirige directamente al lector y confiesa que su historia no es fiable: "A partir de aquí mi relato se nutrirá básicamente de conjeturas"; "aunque en esta historia todo es difícil de explicar". También las referencias a otros autores: "citando a Parra: así pasa la gloria del mundo, sin gloria, sin mundo, sin un miserable sandwich de mortadela".
Tal vez Bolaño no sea para mí o tal vez sea culpa de Ruiz-Tagle.
"Pero no me cuesta creer que en la década de los sesenta hubiera gente que amaba desesperadamente a otra gente, en Chile. Me parece raro. Me parece como una película perdida en una estantería olvidada de una gran cinemateca. Pero lo doy por cierto"
"El edificio semejaba un pájaro fosilizado. Por un momento tuve la sensación que
desde todas las ventanas me miraban los ojos de Carlos Wieder"
Ahí empezó a gustarme, final del primer capítulo pero luego la novela recorre otros caminos y cuando la historia de una obsesión no te atrapa poco se puede hacer. Me ha gustado la voz narrativa, los paréntesis explicativos, el humor, cuando se dirige directamente al lector y confiesa que su historia no es fiable: "A partir de aquí mi relato se nutrirá básicamente de conjeturas"; "aunque en esta historia todo es difícil de explicar". También las referencias a otros autores: "citando a Parra: así pasa la gloria del mundo, sin gloria, sin mundo, sin un miserable sandwich de mortadela".
Tal vez Bolaño no sea para mí o tal vez sea culpa de Ruiz-Tagle.
"Pero no me cuesta creer que en la década de los sesenta hubiera gente que amaba desesperadamente a otra gente, en Chile. Me parece raro. Me parece como una película perdida en una estantería olvidada de una gran cinemateca. Pero lo doy por cierto"
"El edificio semejaba un pájaro fosilizado. Por un momento tuve la sensación que
desde todas las ventanas me miraban los ojos de Carlos Wieder"
webjoram's review against another edition
4.0
Primer libro que leo de Roberto Bolaños y desde luego no va a ser el último. Hay pocos autores que puedan mantenerte atento mientras describen situaciones cotidianas.
Muy recomendable
Muy recomendable
bennyandthejets420's review against another edition
4.0
Not sure why I waited to read this one during my initial Bolaño binge. It's incredible, an expansion of the Weider ending to Nazi Literature in the Americas and which points to all of his other concerns about exile from one's country, literature as being formed by and both positioned against darkness and evil, and the mania of reading, authors, and books. It even points to wargaming at one point.
I think what I like so much about Bolaño is just how direct it all feels despite the weight of history and the cultural difference every time I read him I can feel him sitting at my elbow and telling me about author after author, who's worth reading and who isn't, who ended up happy and who didn't, and while I'm lulled into a kind of trance he springs a horrifically surreal image or psychological probing that takes me completely by surprise. Using two of my favorite artists it's like he's combined Jorge Luis Borges (the tendency to comment rather and expound to fragmentize and epitomize rather than expand and of course the obsession with literature) and David Lynch (probing the subconscious and the foundation of stable reality can be quite horrifying, don't you think?)
Some stray thoughts: the digression about the artist with no arms suggests pretty much all of his story collection The Return, the bit about the war games Wider designed suggests all of The Third Reich, and imagine my delight at Bolaño noting how the servant of fascist power Fr. Ibacache both anointed Weider initially and soon realized the enormity of his error. Also I love how Bolaño borrows from pulpy genres like detective stories to ramp up the sheer physical effect of his writing. He simply walls me in and walks me slowly down the corridor to show me the horror at the end.
I think what I like so much about Bolaño is just how direct it all feels despite the weight of history and the cultural difference every time I read him I can feel him sitting at my elbow and telling me about author after author, who's worth reading and who isn't, who ended up happy and who didn't, and while I'm lulled into a kind of trance he springs a horrifically surreal image or psychological probing that takes me completely by surprise. Using two of my favorite artists it's like he's combined Jorge Luis Borges (the tendency to comment rather and expound to fragmentize and epitomize rather than expand and of course the obsession with literature) and David Lynch (probing the subconscious and the foundation of stable reality can be quite horrifying, don't you think?)
Some stray thoughts: the digression about the artist with no arms suggests pretty much all of his story collection The Return, the bit about the war games Wider designed suggests all of The Third Reich, and imagine my delight at Bolaño noting how the servant of fascist power Fr. Ibacache both anointed Weider initially and soon realized the enormity of his error. Also I love how Bolaño borrows from pulpy genres like detective stories to ramp up the sheer physical effect of his writing. He simply walls me in and walks me slowly down the corridor to show me the horror at the end.
christafrath98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
liens's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
shedontknowyoulilbro's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
Definitivamente lleno de la energía y el estilo usual de Bolaño, muy a su manera trata con temas brutales y debo decir que me dejó satisfecho pero apenas.
Definitivamente lleno de la energía y el estilo usual de Bolaño, muy a su manera trata con temas brutales y debo decir que me dejó satisfecho pero apenas.