A review by fastertojuneau
2666 by Roberto Bolaño

5.0

An absolute f—ing masterpiece in every sense of the word; a 893-page labyrinth of five interlocking and open-ended stories, spread across multiple decades, drenched in the grit and grime of time. It will take me years and multiple reads to truly appreciate the entirety of Bolaño’s posthumously-published epic, but once again, I found myself entranced by his uncanny ability to take the reader in multiple directions without ever losing reverence for the weight, even the necessity, of language and the stories we tell ourselves when no one else listens. Without context, the following quote will likely make no sense, but I keep coming back to it as one of many keys by which one can unlock 2666. • “Before Archimboldi left, after they’d had a cup of tea, the man who rented him the typewriter said: ‘Jesus is the masterpiece. The thieves are minor works. Why are they there? Not to frame the crucifixion, as some innocent souls believe, but to hide it.’”