What a trial. Endless blocks of text detailing the movements of characters we've been given no reason to care at all about. ( )

It's hard for me to recommend this book, since so much of what resonated with me feels so personal. Both Arturo Belano and I grew up in Chile and eventually moved to Catalonia, married and had kids there. I could recognize the chilenisms and catalanisms, and I felt a deep understanding of some characters' feelings and intentions. We both were looking for things when young that looked different as time passed. We both had friends whose life plans didn't turn as they expected. We both looked for some truths that ended up not being quite true. But then I think about it and I guess beyond the coincidence in locations (and not even the exact same coordinates, but some arbitrary borders), this all might resonate with quite some people. ( )

An ingenious construction. Funny, too. (38) ( )

If we have any sense, Roberto Bolaño will live on forever ( )

I rarely read contemporary fiction, and know nothing about Hispanic literature. But I found this a compelling read. Unlike most other reviewers here I found the framing narrative comparatively uninteresting, especially the opening section which seemed stylistically quite weak but I now see represented the amateurish efforts of the 17-year old narrator who begins the story. The middle section is a collection of narratives from a dazzling array of characters. Rashomon-style overlapping story lines, sex scenes, philosophic meditations, literary allusions galore: a box of chocolate where you never know what you’re going to get. I enjoyed it more and more as I read on. I am sure that deeper investigation of the individual characters’ stories, literary references, etc would yield even more in appreciating this complex work.