2666

2666

by Robert Bolano

Award: National Book Critics Circle Winner 2008, PEN/Translation Winner 2009

Nominations: New York Times Finalist 2008

 

Date Read: October 12, 2020

 

Written in the last few years of Bolano’s life, 2666 has been described as “sprawling” and “vast” and “a landmark in what’s possible for the novel as a form.” I, however, beg to differ. While indeed far-reaching and impressive in its scope, I feel the same as I did having just completed 1Q84 by Murakami, a writer that I love. This being my first introduction to Bolano, I can only surmise that he was either never able to fully complete his vision or it is being presented as he intended. Either way, I feel like his fingertips just grazed the bar of greatness, only to fall short.

 

Some critics have claimed that 2666’s themes are concerned with violence and death, of which there is plenty to go around here, however, other critics have argued that if the reader is searching for a theme or meaning, they have missed the point entirely. For me, I kept feeling his argument through these interconnected stories is that life is expendable, particularly women’s lives.

 

As I became enraptured in specific books, particularly the Part About The Critics and The Part About The Crimes, I kept hoping Bolano would revisit these characters to bring them full circle into some resolution, which never happened. Perhaps because I finished and feel as if I have an unidentifiable ache somewhere in my brain is exactly Bolano’s point. As the debate about his meaning here rages on, I can’t help but feel Bolano has the last laugh.