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mikeciccotti 's review for:
2666
by Roberto Bolaño
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Man, “The Part About the Crimes,” had some of the best passages I’ve ever read. It shouldn’t have worked - reading grizzly murder depictions over and over and over - but each one could have served as the entire plot of a movie or limited series (which I think was the point, to belittle the trope of the “murder of the day”).
Glad I read this while on a 2-week vacation though, otherwise, I’m not sure I could’ve gotten through the whole thing in one go. The first 3 sections had an electric thread running through them as you felt the book drawing to that epic 4th section, but “The Part About Archimboldi” was a bit of a let down for me. As a standalone novella, it would have worked well, but here at the end of a ~900 page tome it could feel a bit superfluous at times. There were just enough crumbs to connect it to other parts of the story (really just the 1st and 4th) but you also could tell you weren’t going to get a clear cut resolution or have the full puzzle be assembled so these crumbs became a distraction or a frustrating tease. Maybe this is where the book would have worked better as a 5-piece collection, as the author intended (though maybe just for financial reasons), rather than one door stopper. I don’t know. Which is also what I’d say about a whole lot of what is in the book. However, once you’re able to free yourself from the need to understand it or to get a resolution, you can appreciate the breadth of the writing. Those sprawling, random asides and recollections are genuine representations of human conversations and interactions. Authors typically only show us what we need for the plot to progress, but real life doesn’t have a defined plot and real people have conversations with people that are of absolute no consequence to their greater “story.” Bolaño casts aside those writing conventions and restraints in 2666 and for ~900 pages you’re holding on for dear life while going along for the ride. In the end, like on a roller coaster, you get off and cannot exactly describe what you just went through but you know that parts were the most thrilling ride you’ve ever been on and parts were a bit anticlimactic. And while you’re not sure you ever want to do it again, you know you had a hell of a lot of fun during it.
Glad I read this while on a 2-week vacation though, otherwise, I’m not sure I could’ve gotten through the whole thing in one go. The first 3 sections had an electric thread running through them as you felt the book drawing to that epic 4th section, but “The Part About Archimboldi” was a bit of a let down for me. As a standalone novella, it would have worked well, but here at the end of a ~900 page tome it could feel a bit superfluous at times. There were just enough crumbs to connect it to other parts of the story (really just the 1st and 4th) but you also could tell you weren’t going to get a clear cut resolution or have the full puzzle be assembled so these crumbs became a distraction or a frustrating tease. Maybe this is where the book would have worked better as a 5-piece collection, as the author intended (though maybe just for financial reasons), rather than one door stopper. I don’t know. Which is also what I’d say about a whole lot of what is in the book. However, once you’re able to free yourself from the need to understand it or to get a resolution, you can appreciate the breadth of the writing. Those sprawling, random asides and recollections are genuine representations of human conversations and interactions. Authors typically only show us what we need for the plot to progress, but real life doesn’t have a defined plot and real people have conversations with people that are of absolute no consequence to their greater “story.” Bolaño casts aside those writing conventions and restraints in 2666 and for ~900 pages you’re holding on for dear life while going along for the ride. In the end, like on a roller coaster, you get off and cannot exactly describe what you just went through but you know that parts were the most thrilling ride you’ve ever been on and parts were a bit anticlimactic. And while you’re not sure you ever want to do it again, you know you had a hell of a lot of fun during it.