2666

Since Roberto Bolano's The Savage Detectives has already won Latin America's highest literary award, it seems that 2666, his posthumous masterpiece is not eligible for the same. It is mentioned here that the masterpiece that the savage detectives is, is mere juvenilia in comparison to 2666!

Never before have I waited expectantly to read any novel. I understand from the Internet that it will be available in English next year. 2666 is already a masterpiece and has achieved classic status in the Spanish world. The Anglophone world has been raving about Bolano, as his lyricism is being recognised. His savage detectives has been compared to one hundred years of solitude, and at the cost of not sounding extravagant, I think one hundred years, even though it is a great novel, pales in comparison, having read both. Some are talking of a reader antipathy towards Bolano in the English speaking world because of him being constantly praised, as if that matters!

Some interesting reflections on Bolano here. I think my stuttering post does not make obvious the agitation and restlessness that Bolano's writing creates, the haunting night of his prose, the chaining lyricism of his words. I hope that 2666 is translated as brilliantly as his other works so far.