Bolaño is one of the best writers in the Spanish language. He was absolutely amazing, original, clever, entertaining, and it is such a shame that he died so young.
If you read Amulet there is a sentence that describes a street in Mexico City that Bolão says is "more like a cemetery than an avenue, not a cemetery in 1974 or in 1968 or 1975, but a cemetery in the year 2666..."
Also, in The Savage Detectives, Cesárea (the poet the 2 protagonists are searching for) drew a map of the factory she used to work for and said that the end of the World would happen there in The year 2666. She also lived for some time in Santa Teresa
Some of the murders he wrote about really happened. He corresponded with an inspector knee-deep in the Juarez murders. He got hold of official documents about the whole investigation. It didn't just all sprung out of his imagination: some parts were just 'real', he just put in other names for the victims. He was obsessed about the Juarez murders, to the point you could call him an expert on it. He stated once that he would have liked being a detective. (it's as you know a common theme in his books)
I just finished this masterpiece. really a tour de force. it sent me into a state of delirium , especially the part about the murders. I'm from India and a lot of the murders hit really hard and hit home. Corruption, misogyny, police inaction, poverty and how they all feed off each other. A lot of women here are living through it here sadly :(
OMG!!! I feel so happy people OUTSIDE of Latin America read Bolaño!!! If you, by chance, haven´t read "Distant Star" then DO!!! And PLEASE do a video about it!! I really loved it, I found it super interesting and, in my opinion, Bolaño has the capacity of dragging you into his own world. Love your reviews and your book-choices! PS: I also recomend that you read Mist by Miguel de Unamuno MASTER PIECE
Buena reseña de 2666, actualmente resulta que ahora en Chile todos leen a Roberto Bolaño, se ha vuelto tan popular que sus libros se venden pirateados en las calles. En una entrevista que le hicieron, creo que en 2003, el dice que no condena la piratería y que lo tiene sin cuidado ya que cree sus libros nunca serán pirateados. En esa época no era muy popular, si viera ahora sus libros en las calles... jajaja . Good job, respect from Chile!!!
"When you're lost in the rain in Juarez and it's Eastertime too When your gravity stops and negativity don't pull you through Don't put on any airs when you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue They got some hungry women there and they'll really make a mess outta you" I believe Dylan references Easter to implant ressurection in the mind of the listener, that hunger refers to hungry ghosts, and that "negativity" is used both as a summation of fear and sorrow and as a pun for Nativity. Highway 61 Revisited was released when Bolaño was 12 years old, just some parallels I found interesting.
Authors like Bolaño made me realize that I am lucky to be a native Spanish speaker. Detectives Salvajes has its own thing when it comes to how different the characters express themselves and showcase their cultural backgrounds through the words and idioms they use (this is present in 2666 as well).
Better Than Food: Book Reviews I definitely will stick around. Can I make a request? I'd love to see a video on George Orwell. He's my main man and it'd be fun to hear your thoughts and opinions.
Wow! You almost make me read Bolaño! You won't believe it but I am actually from Juarez... it is funny to hear you saying that the novel is based in a fictional place. It is absolutely real and the violence is even more cruel than any novelist can describe. I am not reading the book because of... Juarez. I lived that shit 27 years until I left... now living a happy life in some place in Europe. Love your channel!
I am raaaaaaging!!!!! How have I not discovered Bolano before?! I saw this video not long ago, bought the book, and have just finished it, and it was the most unforgettable week of my life! Brutal, but beautiful. And I have you to thank for. Please don't change, man. Just fyi, I'm using my husband's account because I don't have a youtube account as I can't be arsed. Ha! Cheers from the UK!
Started reading 2666 today. Wanted to re-view your review before proceeding. Thank you for the recommendation. :) By the way, saw your short, "A Quiet Night". Really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing. Take care,
“Long books, when read, are usually overpraised, because the reader wishes to convince others and himself that he has not wasted his time.” E. M. Forster
I totally just binge watched your reviews because they're brilliant. I'll definitely be picking this up soon because while I'd heard and seen of his books I didn't know much about him and he sounds fascinating. Can't wait to discuss with you when I do.
Thank you for what you do. It really inspired me to read even more. I definitely would read the spanish version. Thank you, because of you I'm able to share trough your experience a lot of spanish origen books that I love with my english speakers friends who don't know anything about it.
It's such a shame that 2666 (I say twenty-six-sixty-six, it's easier to say and I don't have to mentally count the number of sixes as I say the title) went unfinished. It's a great book but I can't even imagine how much more amazing it'd be if Bolaño had time to work everything out to his heart's (or his liver's) content. Tangentially related to the disturbing nature of the fourth story's homicide descriptions, there's a Gene Wolfe short story called Redbeard that deals with the same idea if you're interested.
I'm not sure but I think 2666 was finished, just unrevised. He wanted to take the time after his liver transplant to revise those thousand pages. Sadly he died 15 days after getting to the hospital. He was 3rd on the waiting list.
I am well into the third part right of the book right now ("la parte de Fate") and I have been a little bit worried for several months to actually see this review as I thought it could reveal some details I did not want my reading being spoiled with, but I was wrong. This is a quite great, spoiler-free review. Highly recommended.
Reading it right now, so will watch this video carefully so not to come across any spoilers but absolutely loving it so far! Super glad I came across this author!
Great review! Thanks for sharing. One thing that shocked me the most is the essence of the characters. Each one of them has an important role explaining the way Bolaño saw the world. One of my favorite characters is "Lalo Cura". I don't know how this name is translated to english, but when you read it on spanish you can unterstand "the mad one" or something like that (similar to Salinger's character Seymour Glass in A Perfect Day for Bananafish). With Lalo Cura, Bolaño tries to explain the Latinamerican's construction of identity in a real original way. He is one of my favorite authors as well!
Just searchin' up the good ol' youtubez for a review of 2666 so I don't jump into it completely uninformed, little did I know I would stumble upon this magnificence. This video is fab and I'm looking forward to checking out your other videos!
LOL. I read "The Savage Detectives" in Spanish maybe 10 years ago. It was quite good. I have "2666" on my bookshelf, taunting me. Haven't opened it. Mostly out of laziness. Then when I finally get the gumption, I think--"Oh, no! My Spanish is not as good as it was 10 years ago. So I'll put it off." But I shouldn't. Bolaño has an easiness with the language that makes him hard to put down. So maybe, just maybe, I will attempt him this week. LOL...
Bit late, but i thought I would post anyway. You mentioned having read a few hefty novels as a teenager before reading 2666, and as a teenager interested in literature I was wondering if you could say what books they were (if you can remember). (Of course, I also plan on reading 2666 in the foreseeable future).
Great review, I think that 2666 is primarily (if i maybe so bold to assert) a meditation and consideration of death itself. Bolano knew he was dying and he wanted to address the "black hole" that is Sonora Mexico not only because it was something that no one could fix but also because it is emblematic of our own denial or refusal to address death. That's why the woman Archimboldi meets says she only loves the Aztecs and storms, because they both represent the horrors of nature. The Aztecs understood death enough to ritualize it. Storms are the manifestation of nature's wrath, inhuman and terrifying. Great review thanks for posting.
Hey Cliff! Thank you so much for this amazing review. 2666 is one of my favourite novels of all time, and many acclaimed critics have called it the greatest novel of the 21st century thus far. However, I have been struggling to get friends and acquaintances to read it due to the Behemoth length and scope of the novel, but your review helps to turn less seasoned readers into it. I don't mean to say that you are trivializing its content, but you present it in a way that makes the Average Joe interested in reading it. Keep up the good work, and as a p.s. I would like to thank you for all of the other great reviews that you have posted on your channel. You have introduced me to some genuinely sublime works of fiction that I was previously unfamiliar with. My only criticism of your channel is that you took down the interview with Jordan Peterson about his great book, Maps of Meaning. But all in all I am grateful for the intellectually stimulating content that you have been putting out for a substantial period of time. Your channel kicks ass!
I've only started the part about the crimes so I had to stop watching in case of spoilers, but your description of Bolaño's writing and the mood of the setting is pretty accurate. There is no magical realism but there seems to be an underlying force driving all the events and the chaos. His work is definitely on a different level.
I started R.Bolano by reading The savage detectives, but i recommend starting with The distant star, which is so Roberto Bolano(obviously, but i think you know what i mean), but shorter . I totally understand why people love so much, he is a quite unique writer, i love him too. I also had a similar experience to yours when my Grandma died, and the nurse came to bring me her glasses. I need to go to that museum you mentioned.
So glad I stumbled upon your channel by watching some Roberto Bolaño interviews! I read Los Detectives Salvages(original version) 7 years ago in and I started reading the translated version this week. So far, I'm impressed with the translation. After that, I plan to read the English translation of 2666 (by Natasha Wimmer) next month. Some books I recommend to you: The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum Japrocksampler by Julian Cope Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma by Michael Peppiatt Transformer: The Lou Reed Story by Victor Bockris Thank you sharing your videos with the public. I'm officially a fan! *Subscribed*
Appreciated this video. I also found the music on your short film really enjoyable. If you have the opportunity in the future, you should review some Pynchon.
I was introduced to Bolano through "Distant Star", however "The Savage Detectives" would probably be the most influential book I have ever read. I have finished reading "2666" last week, and it certainly is a magnus opus. What do you think is the point of it though? I think I missed something in the book. Is Reiter the murderer, I thought Fate saw him in the prison or was it Klaus? There is a new Bolano book coming out this year I think. Greetings and thanks for the video. Any special book recommendations to a Bolano fan? I heard Enrique Vilas-Matas was good, have you heard of him?
Easily the best book I've read all year, and I'll probably become a Bolaño fanatic now that I've experienced this incredible work. Other than The Savage Detectives, what are some other Bolaño works you enjoy/would recommend? Great review, sir, always entertaining.
Really enjoyed hearing your take on this--it's one of those books that's impossible to sum up plot-wise so you almost have to focus more on... something else? That feeling of just being swept along on Bolaño's crazy trip? I'm planning to film a review myself and this has given me some inspiration.
Soon will revisit 2666. If you love Bolaño and Pessoa, you absolutely need to read Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, The Most Secret Memory of Men. Senegalese writer, youngest writer to win the prix Goncourt in France in 2021. The book has just been translated into English coming out this month of Sept. Would love your review. I love your reviews.
2666 is a number that relates to both feeling others emotions and not allowing them to affect you. Randomly saw this book as I was looking up something else, even the names of certain characters I've heard in the last 8 hrs from random RUclips videos. Life is truly strange in many ways 🤔
great work on the film man. I finished my film school thesis last year and my original plan was to do Bolano's The Return! Ended up changing, but was great to see your version.
This was a great intro to Bolaño. I’ve been meaning to actually check his work ever since I’ve gotten a recommendation. Really dug your John waters quote. Hahahaha.
The history of Bolaño in prision in chile is quite false. He did wrote a short story with that plot line, but it never happened to it. He was in México in that time, he did travled to chile in the pinochet time, but he went back as soon as he came
Good reading 📖. So a boy who reads just 1 book about seaweed goes off to war and becomes an elusive yet prolific author worthy of a Nobels attention finds out his nephew is a crazed serial killer??? Makes me crave a nice cold Fürst Pückler.
I heard of Bolano through Paul Auster in an interview in which he classed him as being in a similar type of author to Poe. Still haven't got round to reading Bolano but since Auster likes him I definitely will. Paul Auster's Leviathan would be a good one for you to review.
I'm going to be reading this in February and buying Savage Detectives. My husband is from Mexico City and always talks about its beauty but it's vices, it's very intriguing to my very white washed existence. Great review!!!
Watching this from Juarez. For some reason i don't feel as super scared of living here, or at least not after 7 years of living here. It's sad to realize how this kind violence ends up becoming normal. You eventually learn to push all the messed up stuff what happens around you to the back of your head and convince yourself it won't happen to you and keep up with your life.
Well, I'm glad you read the whole thing, because I couldn't get through it. It seemed like every other page had a description of a rape/murder and it really started to depress me. For any readers out there, if you're starting to read 2666, have a stand-up comedian in the room with you doing bits relentlessly 🤣
Good sir, I don't know if you're not keen on doing more Faulkner, but I would love to hear your thoughts on As I Lay Dying, which I read in 10th grade, staying up all night to finish it before the next day. It was, unquestionably, my gateway drug to Southern Gothic. Also Imma keep posting "Wise Blood" by Flannery over and over cause no one talks about the weird darkly Catholic amazingness that is Flannery O'Connor
I love your reviews and I love Bolaño. The Savage Detectives changed my life, for real. Wonder if you're interested in reviewing some Bukowski or Burroughs? Or maybe some Huxley, or even Orwell. Great channel.
Hi, any possible chance you could cover Roberto Bolaños book 'Monsieur Pain'?? There is literally NOTHING on RUclips about this book, would love to listen to your talk on this short novel, thanks, hello from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 🥳
I just read Sergio González Rodríguez’s Huesos en el desierto, and I am in the middle of Dante’s La divina comedia in preparation for 2666, do you think that is a good idea?
He actually considered himself "Latin American", not Spanish. He viewed Chile as the land of his childhood and Mexico as his literary land by excellence. Although, his nationality was Chilean, at the end of the day.
You are contributing to the exponential growth of my "to-read" list. So thanks for that. However, I am disturbed and distracted by your open shirt revealing your apparently hairless torso.
thanks for not spoiling! you should check out "the devil all the time"(guess you already have) it is a hauntingly beautiful depiction of the messy business called "life" :-) take care and keep up the work.
I enjoy ur videos Srgnt Cliff. I picked up Savage Detectives on the recommendation of Ms. Patti Smith. I looked into Bolano and he mentioned his favorite authors being Borges, Carver, Cervantes, Wittgenstein, and even Lichtenberg- all absolutely essential, especially Wittgenstein. I loved Savage Detectives and will certainly pick up 2666. the Hispanic literature continues to impress me-its the greatest, and ur right magical realism is kinda bullshit, or rather Garcia Marquez and those guys just skim the surface of Saramago, Borges, Pessoa, Ortega y Gasset, Cervantes, Bolano, etc.
Part 4 of 2666 fucking ruined me. It's probably the least enjoyable part to read, but it's also the part that is most likely to stick with you. Reading about all these murder cases, one after another, can easily leave one feeling jaded, but I think Bolano intended this. At times it can feel like the hopelessness of the situation is too much, and it's genuinely haunting.
"estrella distante" by bolaño is one of my favorite books. btw have you read any book by thomas bernhard? he's one of the best (although i'm biased because i'm austrian.) have good trip!
Great video! You should definitely talk about Franz Kafka in a future video (If of course you have any interest). It's always nice to see book videos that don't star screaming college girls.
the crying of lot 49 is his shortest and one of his best, less than 200 pages. So that is a great place to start. Just read inherent vice in prep for the pta's film and I can't remember the last time I've had that much fun reading a book. My next venture is going to be gravity's rainbow.
Highly subjective. I have yet to read Bolaño or Pynchon but Gravity's Rainbow is up next for me and who cares if one author is "superior" to another. I loved Infinite Jest and I don't care whether Pynchon writes better prose. If he does, that's great! More books I can lose myself in but I don't get the need to compare and rank writers like that, just enjoy all of them.
awesome work, can you review Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, please! (just kidding) i love what you're doing and I wished we lived in a world where more young people followed you than Kylie Jenner ( i'm embarrassed to even know she's got a lot of followers, i should know nothing about her) Thanks!
Your enthusiasm for Roberto Bolano is admirable. Am reading 2666 and while I'm only on pg. 70, I keep thinking that he needed a good editor. So much of it is superfluous, with no point whatsoever, like the bum who quit a job years ago and starts telling his story; is he a part of the plot? Does he figure in, in any way whatsoever? Does he make a impact on . . . was it Morini?, and so on. And how about the one sentence (no breaks, no periods, just one long sentence that goes on for 3 pgs.). I got pissed at that. I thought: the dude is dicking with the reader's head. I write literary fiction and can readily see where Bolano is a good writer. I simply think he needed a good editor to point a few things out. And, as per your comments, I'm not asking you to fuck me. ;-)
Thank you for the review Clifford. I am slogging my way through this book, stuck in the middle. After hearing your review I may journey ahead after all. Do you have a link for "A Quiet Night"? The one in the description is broken. Cheers.
It’s a book about a log of stuff, random brutality, something’s that make sense, something that don’t matter, just stuff of life randomly put next to each other, like how life appears to be on the surface. Everything moves on the surface, there’s no depth, no cause and effect, no evolution no purposefulness. Post modernist swap meet of a book.
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Bolaño is one of the best writers in the Spanish language. He was absolutely amazing, original, clever, entertaining, and it is such a shame that he died so young.
wondering if i should read 2666
@@KanwarAnand you absolutely should, it's required reading
If you read Amulet there is a sentence that describes a street in Mexico City that Bolão says is "more like a cemetery than an avenue, not a cemetery in 1974 or in 1968 or 1975, but a cemetery in the year 2666..."
WHUUUUUUT FINALLY thank you for that
So that is where the title comes from. And that's why people pronounce the title as twenty-six sixty-six. Thank you! I can get some sleep now. 😁
Yeah I read that in the prologue to the edition I have.
Also, in The Savage Detectives, Cesárea (the poet the 2 protagonists are searching for) drew a map of the factory she used to work for and said that the end of the World would happen there in The year 2666. She also lived for some time in Santa Teresa
@@AdrianHernandez-ul4qj now I have a to go back and read it again. Thanks
Some of the murders he wrote about really happened. He corresponded with an inspector knee-deep in the Juarez murders. He got hold of official documents about the whole investigation. It didn't just all sprung out of his imagination: some parts were just 'real', he just put in other names for the victims. He was obsessed about the Juarez murders, to the point you could call him an expert on it. He stated once that he would have liked being a detective. (it's as you know a common theme in his books)
Ok, that’s pretty cool!
I just finished this masterpiece. really a tour de force. it sent me into a state of delirium , especially the part about the murders. I'm from India and a lot of the murders hit really hard and hit home. Corruption, misogyny, police inaction, poverty and how they all feed off each other. A lot of women here are living through it here sadly :(
OMG!!! I feel so happy people OUTSIDE of Latin America read Bolaño!!! If you, by chance, haven´t read "Distant Star" then DO!!! And PLEASE do a video about it!! I really loved it, I found it super interesting and, in my opinion, Bolaño has the capacity of dragging you into his own world.
Love your reviews and your book-choices!
PS: I also recomend that you read Mist by Miguel de Unamuno MASTER PIECE
+Maria Fernanda Callejon Ferrer Distant star is my favorite. I also really liked Monsieur Pain.
i have been making others read bolano!
after reading savage detectives i really became fascinated by mexico city and its literary culture
I'm reading 2666 at this moment. Greetings from the Netherlands.
It took me so long to read over the crimes part, I couldn't read more than a couple pages without feeling sick. I guess that was the point
Same here - made me sick , but I slowly made it through..
Buena reseña de 2666, actualmente resulta que ahora en Chile todos leen a Roberto Bolaño, se ha vuelto tan popular que sus libros se venden pirateados en las calles. En una entrevista que le hicieron, creo que en 2003, el dice que no condena la piratería y que lo tiene sin cuidado ya que cree sus libros nunca serán pirateados. En esa época no era muy popular, si viera ahora sus libros en las calles... jajaja . Good job, respect from Chile!!!
"When you're lost in the rain in Juarez and it's Eastertime too
When your gravity stops and negativity don't pull you through
Don't put on any airs when you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue
They got some hungry women there and they'll really make a mess outta you"
I believe Dylan references Easter to implant ressurection in the mind of the listener, that hunger refers to hungry ghosts, and that "negativity" is used both as a summation of fear and sorrow and as a pun for Nativity. Highway 61 Revisited was released when Bolaño was 12 years old, just some parallels I found interesting.
Authors like Bolaño made me realize that I am lucky to be a native Spanish speaker. Detectives Salvajes has its own thing when it comes to how different the characters express themselves and showcase their cultural backgrounds through the words and idioms they use (this is present in 2666 as well).
Your videos are SO FREAKING GREAT.
Hello! I'm Ariel and am officially a fan of what you're doing here.
Hi Ariel, glad to have you watching, stick around, and thank you very much.
Better Than Food: Book Reviews I definitely will stick around. Can I make a request? I'd love to see a video on George Orwell. He's my main man and it'd be fun to hear your thoughts and opinions.
Wow! You almost make me read Bolaño! You won't believe it but I am actually from Juarez... it is funny to hear you saying that the novel is based in a fictional place. It is absolutely real and the violence is even more cruel than any novelist can describe. I am not reading the book because of... Juarez. I lived that shit 27 years until I left... now living a happy life in some place in Europe.
Love your channel!
Are you a Bolaño's character? 🤔
@@iangarcia9664 why did you ask? So curious to know.🤔
"Bolaño is his own shit"
Cool and great review of my favourite book. Keep on rocking with literature!
I am raaaaaaging!!!!! How have I not discovered Bolano before?! I saw this video not long ago, bought the book, and have just finished it, and it was the most unforgettable week of my life! Brutal, but beautiful. And I have you to thank for. Please don't change, man. Just fyi, I'm using my husband's account because I don't have a youtube account as I can't be arsed. Ha! Cheers from the UK!
Oh have you read Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart? It's good.
Started reading 2666 today. Wanted to re-view your review before proceeding. Thank you for the recommendation. :)
By the way, saw your short, "A Quiet Night". Really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.
Take care,
“Long books, when read, are usually overpraised, because the reader wishes to convince others and himself that he has not wasted his time.”
E. M. Forster
yeah if u have read la vie mode d'emploi, such waste of time, this one is so much better
@@laurenlin7478 lmao I'm hoping to start that one soon, it sounds great tbh
I totally just binge watched your reviews because they're brilliant. I'll definitely be picking this up soon because while I'd heard and seen of his books I didn't know much about him and he sounds fascinating. Can't wait to discuss with you when I do.
Thank you for what you do. It really inspired me to read even more. I definitely would read the spanish version.
Thank you, because of you I'm able to share trough your experience a lot of spanish origen books that I love with my english speakers friends who don't know anything about it.
Best review of 2666 ever!!!
By far the best book channel.I really appreciate your work
arioldi balboa I appreciate your appreciation. Stay tuned and thanks for watching.
Finally got to reading this after seeing this review 6 years ago. That’s so much Cliff. Love your foreign writer reviews and suggestions.
It's such a shame that 2666 (I say twenty-six-sixty-six, it's easier to say and I don't have to mentally count the number of sixes as I say the title) went unfinished. It's a great book but I can't even imagine how much more amazing it'd be if Bolaño had time to work everything out to his heart's (or his liver's) content. Tangentially related to the disturbing nature of the fourth story's homicide descriptions, there's a Gene Wolfe short story called Redbeard that deals with the same idea if you're interested.
Agreed...I'll be sure to look into it, thanks for watching Kevin!
I'm not sure but I think 2666 was finished, just unrevised. He wanted to take the time after his liver transplant to revise those thousand pages. Sadly he died 15 days after getting to the hospital. He was 3rd on the waiting list.
I am well into the third part right of the book right now ("la parte de Fate") and I have been a little bit worried for several months to actually see this review as I thought it could reveal some details I did not want my reading being spoiled with, but I was wrong. This is a quite great, spoiler-free review. Highly recommended.
Reading it right now, so will watch this video carefully so not to come across any spoilers but absolutely loving it so far! Super glad I came across this author!
I am 50 pages in and loving it. It is very hypnotic.
Great review! Thanks for sharing. One thing that shocked me the most is the essence of the characters. Each one of them has an important role explaining the way Bolaño saw the world. One of my favorite characters is "Lalo Cura". I don't know how this name is translated to english, but when you read it on spanish you can unterstand "the mad one" or something like that (similar to Salinger's character Seymour Glass in A Perfect Day for Bananafish). With Lalo Cura, Bolaño tries to explain the Latinamerican's construction of identity in a real original way. He is one of my favorite authors as well!
I came back here on my account after watching this on a public channel. This is it. This is officially my favorite book channel on RUclips :D
Just searchin' up the good ol' youtubez for a review of 2666 so I don't jump into it completely uninformed, little did I know I would stumble upon this magnificence. This video is fab and I'm looking forward to checking out your other videos!
LOL. I read "The Savage Detectives" in Spanish maybe 10 years ago. It was quite good. I have "2666" on my bookshelf, taunting me. Haven't opened it. Mostly out of laziness. Then when I finally get the gumption, I think--"Oh, no! My Spanish is not as good as it was 10 years ago. So I'll put it off." But I shouldn't. Bolaño has an easiness with the language that makes him hard to put down. So maybe, just maybe, I will attempt him this week. LOL...
Thank you for this recommendation, drove me to buy a book for myself for the first time in years.
Bit late, but i thought I would post anyway. You mentioned having read a few hefty novels as a teenager before reading 2666, and as a teenager interested in literature I was wondering if you could say what books they were (if you can remember). (Of course, I also plan on reading 2666 in the foreseeable future).
Great review, I think that 2666 is primarily (if i maybe so bold to assert) a meditation and consideration of death itself. Bolano knew he was dying and he wanted to address the "black hole" that is Sonora Mexico not only because it was something that no one could fix but also because it is emblematic of our own denial or refusal to address death. That's why the woman Archimboldi meets says she only loves the Aztecs and storms, because they both represent the horrors of nature. The Aztecs understood death enough to ritualize it. Storms are the manifestation of nature's wrath, inhuman and terrifying. Great review thanks for posting.
Hey Cliff! Thank you so much for this amazing review. 2666 is one of my favourite novels of all time, and many acclaimed critics have called it the greatest novel of the 21st century thus far. However, I have been struggling to get friends and acquaintances to read it due to the Behemoth length and scope of the novel, but your review helps to turn less seasoned readers into it. I don't mean to say that you are trivializing its content, but you present it in a way that makes the Average Joe interested in reading it.
Keep up the good work, and as a p.s. I would like to thank you for all of the other great reviews that you have posted on your channel. You have introduced me to some genuinely sublime works of fiction that I was previously unfamiliar with.
My only criticism of your channel is that you took down the interview with Jordan Peterson about his great book, Maps of Meaning. But all in all I am grateful for the intellectually stimulating content that you have been putting out for a substantial period of time. Your channel kicks ass!
This book changed my life. I owe Bolano a debt I can never repay.
I've only started the part about the crimes so I had to stop watching in case of spoilers, but your description of Bolaño's writing and the mood of the setting is pretty accurate. There is no magical realism but there seems to be an underlying force driving all the events and the chaos. His work is definitely on a different level.
Thanks! Just watch from 5:15 you should be fine.
I started R.Bolano by reading The savage detectives, but i recommend starting with The distant star, which is so Roberto Bolano(obviously, but i think you know what i mean), but shorter . I totally understand why people love so much, he is a quite unique writer, i love him too. I also had a similar experience to yours when my Grandma died, and the nurse came to bring me her glasses. I need to go to that museum you mentioned.
So glad I stumbled upon your channel by watching some Roberto Bolaño interviews! I read Los Detectives Salvages(original version) 7 years ago in and I started reading the translated version this week. So far, I'm impressed with the translation. After that, I plan to read the English translation of 2666 (by Natasha Wimmer) next month. Some books I recommend to you:
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
Japrocksampler by Julian Cope
Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma by Michael Peppiatt
Transformer: The Lou Reed Story by Victor Bockris
Thank you sharing your videos with the public. I'm officially a fan!
*Subscribed*
Appreciated this video. I also found the music on your short film really enjoyable. If you have the opportunity in the future, you should review some Pynchon.
I was introduced to Bolano through "Distant Star", however "The Savage Detectives" would probably be the most influential book I have ever read. I have finished reading "2666" last week, and it certainly is a magnus opus. What do you think is the point of it though? I think I missed something in the book. Is Reiter the murderer, I thought Fate saw him in the prison or was it Klaus? There is a new Bolano book coming out this year I think. Greetings and thanks for the video. Any special book recommendations to a Bolano fan? I heard Enrique Vilas-Matas was good, have you heard of him?
Fate saw Klaus in the prison.
Easily the best book I've read all year, and I'll probably become a Bolaño fanatic now that I've experienced this incredible work. Other than The Savage Detectives, what are some other Bolaño works you enjoy/would recommend?
Great review, sir, always entertaining.
Trey Rogge 'The Return', his collection of short stories. Thanks for watching
I love your stuff, you're the shit. I think it would be awesome if you reviewed Don Quijote de la Macha
Really enjoyed hearing your take on this--it's one of those books that's impossible to sum up plot-wise so you almost have to focus more on... something else? That feeling of just being swept along on Bolaño's crazy trip? I'm planning to film a review myself and this has given me some inspiration.
Soon will revisit 2666. If you love Bolaño and Pessoa, you absolutely need to read Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, The Most Secret Memory of Men. Senegalese writer, youngest writer to win the prix Goncourt in France in 2021. The book has just been translated into English coming out this month of Sept. Would love your review. I love your reviews.
2666 is a number that relates to both feeling others emotions and not allowing them to affect you.
Randomly saw this book as I was looking up something else, even the names of certain characters I've heard in the last 8 hrs from random RUclips videos.
Life is truly strange in many ways
🤔
great work on the film man. I finished my film school thesis last year and my original plan was to do Bolano's The Return! Ended up changing, but was great to see your version.
Kingsley Drew I wanna see yours!!! Thanks a bunch
Ayer lo comencé a leer, me está gustando su forma de escribir
that OUTFIT though
like you walked straight out of a Dickens novel! be still my heart
[9:52] No introduce them to Bolano. They will thank you for it.
This was a great intro to Bolaño. I’ve been meaning to actually check his work ever since I’ve gotten a recommendation. Really dug your John waters quote. Hahahaha.
6:30--Exactly. American writers take note.
The history of Bolaño in prision in chile is quite false. He did wrote a short story with that plot line, but it never happened to it. He was in México in that time, he did travled to chile in the pinochet time, but he went back as soon as he came
+Oswaldo Antonio No kidding? Fascinating.
Yup, several infrarrealistist (I don't even know how to say the name in English Jaja) have confirmed this.
+Better Than Food: Book Reviews hahahah love your respond!
Nadie sabe si fue verdad o no. Lo que si es falso es el supuesto uso de drogas. Saludos
Yes, the first part is my favourite too. What a raw and fleshly story! Great video btw!
Good reading 📖. So a boy who reads just 1 book about seaweed goes off to war and becomes an elusive yet prolific author worthy of a Nobels attention finds out his nephew is a crazed serial killer??? Makes me crave a nice cold Fürst Pückler.
I heard of Bolano through Paul Auster in an interview in which he classed him as being in a similar type of author to Poe. Still haven't got round to reading Bolano but since Auster likes him I definitely will. Paul Auster's Leviathan would be a good one for you to review.
I'm going to be reading this in February and buying Savage Detectives. My husband is from Mexico City and always talks about its beauty but it's vices, it's very intriguing to my very white washed existence. Great review!!!
I'd love to hear another Bolaño review from you!
Watching this from Juarez. For some reason i don't feel as super scared of living here, or at least not after 7 years of living here. It's sad to realize how this kind violence ends up becoming normal. You eventually learn to push all the messed up stuff what happens around you to the back of your head and convince yourself it won't happen to you and keep up with your life.
Well, I'm glad you read the whole thing, because I couldn't get through it. It seemed like every other page had a description of a rape/murder and it really started to depress me. For any readers out there, if you're starting to read 2666, have a stand-up comedian in the room with you doing bits relentlessly 🤣
Is there any other book simillar to 2666 which you can recomend besides the other books that Roberto Bolano wrote?
Great book . I actually have already read Blood Meridian and it's actually the book that lead me to 2666.
Thanks ,I will check it out for sure.
This must be one of my, if not very next read then. Being 20 and having had it in my amazon wish list for ages, thanks.
Good sir, I don't know if you're not keen on doing more Faulkner, but I would love to hear your thoughts on As I Lay Dying, which I read in 10th grade, staying up all night to finish it before the next day.
It was, unquestionably, my gateway drug to Southern Gothic.
Also Imma keep posting "Wise Blood" by Flannery over and over cause no one talks about the weird darkly Catholic amazingness that is Flannery O'Connor
I love your reviews and I love Bolaño. The Savage Detectives changed my life, for real. Wonder if you're interested in reviewing some Bukowski or Burroughs? Or maybe some Huxley, or even Orwell. Great channel.
I took Santa Theresa to be Nogalas, AZ/Mexico.
Hi, any possible chance you could cover Roberto Bolaños book 'Monsieur Pain'?? There is literally NOTHING on RUclips about this book, would love to listen to your talk on this short novel, thanks, hello from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 🥳
I just read Sergio González Rodríguez’s Huesos en el desierto, and I am in the middle of Dante’s La divina comedia in preparation for 2666, do you think that is a good idea?
Enjoyed the short-surprisingly good production values. Complimented the story well.
I stumbled across you today, and I think I've found out what I'll be doing tomorrow.
"If they don't have Roberto Bolano, don't fuck them".
He actually considered himself "Latin American", not Spanish. He viewed Chile as the land of his childhood and Mexico as his literary land by excellence. Although, his nationality was Chilean, at the end of the day.
Hey, does anyone have the link to the short film? Sounds interesting, can’t seem to find it in the description though :/ thx
You are contributing to the exponential growth of my "to-read" list. So thanks for that.
However, I am disturbed and distracted by your open shirt revealing your apparently hairless torso.
Please review Carlos Fuentes - "The Death of Artemio Cruz" when you get the chance. Love your reviews!
Speaking of disturbing literature, have you read any Peter sotos stuff yet? Would be interested in hearing your thoughts on him
+Nick Cavazos Yup - we'll get there. He's intense. One day.
+Better Than Food: Book Reviews dope, looking forward to it. Keep up the great work, man
"Bolaño is his own shit" that sums it up perfectly
Have you learned Spanish in these 6 years? I'm curious. Cool video, btw.
I just put down The Savage Detectives because I found it boring after 75 pages. Is it worth continuing? Is 2666 better?
Have you reviewed any James Salter? I'd enjoy a review of "Light Years". Please counter balance the review by James West.
thanks for not spoiling! you should check out "the devil all the time"(guess you already have) it is a hauntingly beautiful depiction of the messy business called "life" :-) take care and keep up the work.
I enjoy ur videos Srgnt Cliff. I picked up Savage Detectives on the recommendation of Ms. Patti Smith. I looked into Bolano and he mentioned his favorite authors being Borges, Carver, Cervantes, Wittgenstein, and even Lichtenberg- all absolutely essential, especially Wittgenstein. I loved Savage Detectives and will certainly pick up 2666. the Hispanic literature continues to impress me-its the greatest, and ur right magical realism is kinda bullshit, or rather Garcia Marquez and those guys just skim the surface of Saramago, Borges, Pessoa, Ortega y Gasset, Cervantes, Bolano, etc.
I really like your reviews!
And, are you going to make a review of any of the Cortázar's books?
Absolutely Mr. Fernandez. Thanks for watching!
Part 4 of 2666 fucking ruined me. It's probably the least enjoyable part to read, but it's also the part that is most likely to stick with you. Reading about all these murder cases, one after another, can easily leave one feeling jaded, but I think Bolano intended this. At times it can feel like the hopelessness of the situation is too much, and it's genuinely haunting.
Great book. Great review. And awesome outfit choice.
"estrella distante" by bolaño is one of my favorite books.
btw have you read any book by thomas bernhard? he's one of the best (although i'm biased because i'm austrian.)
have good trip!
No I haven't, I will have to check out asap, thanks for watching!
Great video! You should definitely talk about Franz Kafka in a future video (If of course you have any interest). It's always nice to see book videos that don't star screaming college girls.
What do you think about pynchon?
No thoughts yet, I have yet to discover.
the crying of lot 49 is his shortest and one of his best, less than 200 pages. So that is a great place to start. Just read inherent vice in prep for the pta's film and I can't remember the last time I've had that much fun reading a book. My next venture is going to be gravity's rainbow.
You should try Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
I would really love to hear him reviewing that book!
Me too!
He mentions his opinion of DFW's writing in his William Gaddis - The Recognitions review video.
Both Bolaño and Pynchon and vastly superior than DFW. It's just that quoting Infinite Jest has become extremely fashionable nowadays.
Highly subjective. I have yet to read Bolaño or Pynchon but Gravity's Rainbow is up next for me and who cares if one author is "superior" to another. I loved Infinite Jest and I don't care whether Pynchon writes better prose. If he does, that's great! More books I can lose myself in but I don't get the need to compare and rank writers like that, just enjoy all of them.
Post your film again! Link isn't working and I'm morbidly curious.
Any connection with The Bridge TV series?
I would really love to watch 'A Quiet Night' but the website says I need a password. Anyways, you have persuaded me to pick up yet another book!
should be public now, thanks for watching
awesome work, can you review Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, please!
(just kidding) i love what you're doing and I wished we lived in a world where more young people followed you than Kylie Jenner ( i'm embarrassed to even know she's got a lot of followers, i should know nothing about her) Thanks!
Your enthusiasm for Roberto Bolano is admirable. Am reading 2666 and while I'm only on pg. 70, I keep thinking that he needed a good editor. So much of it is superfluous, with no point whatsoever, like the bum who quit a job years ago and starts telling his story; is he a part of the plot? Does he figure in, in any way whatsoever? Does he make a impact on . . . was it Morini?, and so on. And how about the one sentence (no breaks, no periods, just one long sentence that goes on for 3 pgs.). I got pissed at that. I thought: the dude is dicking with the reader's head. I write literary fiction and can readily see where Bolano is a good writer. I simply think he needed a good editor to point a few things out. And, as per your comments, I'm not asking you to fuck me. ;-)
heyy, where do i find your bolaño movie??
I bought this book yesterday for 2DT= less than a dollar :D I'm very happy
I try to read a long ass book over the summer. Should I read this or infinite jest?
HarrysonTucker This.
Thank you for the review Clifford. I am slogging my way through this book, stuck in the middle. After hearing your review I may journey ahead after all. Do you have a link for "A Quiet Night"? The one in the description is broken. Cheers.
Review a brief history of 7 killings- Marlon James
Patrick Richardson I bought that novel not to long ago. Possibly I’ll read it next year.
Great video, I was wondering if you read the book in Spanish or the english translation and if you read it in Spanish is the translation worthwhile?
Nevermind, watched till end
It’s a book about a log of stuff, random brutality, something’s that make sense, something that don’t matter, just stuff of life randomly put next to each other, like how life appears to be on the surface. Everything moves on the surface, there’s no depth, no cause and effect, no evolution no purposefulness. Post modernist swap meet of a book.
Where can I watch your movie?
Where’s you film to watch?
Wheres the short film the returned?
Man, I like your reviews, and then I got to this. Bolaño screwed my life... and I loved it.
2666 was not for me... I completely lost it in book 4. 100s of pages of murders. Didn't make sense to me.