2666 by Roberto Bolano

2666 by Roberto Bolano
pages 898 (Realistic Fiction)


Bolano’s writing style is superb. I repeatedly find myself pleased with an enjoyable simile, an entertaining comparison or a plain sentence that sits well with the reader. His characters seem real. One could be the person sitting across from you at the coffee shop reading the book you have never heard of; or the former lover that you lost contact with some time ago. The way the book is broken down is unique. 2666 is actually divided into 5 books. Bolano was dying before it was published and asked that it be released as five separate books to support his family after his death. His heirs decided that it was better to publish it as one book to preserve the literary value. The finally rating will be for the entire book, but I will discuss each “book” individually.

The Part about the Critics:
The first part of the book is about 4 literary critics that have each become enthralled with a German author, Archimboldi. Jean-Claude Pelltier, Manuel Espinoza, Liz Norton and Piero Morini through literary conventions and an interest in Archimboldi are soon steadfast friends. When a literary event happens they would end up eating together, going for walks and discussing writing late into the night. Their enthusiasm for the author drives them to search him out. Success does not come easily. Archimboldi doesn’t make appearances. His publishers won’t reveal his whereabouts. The only information they have at all is from people they don’t know or trust. The book doesn’t just focus on their search for the missing author. It delves into the critics’ pasts. Their personal relationships become central to the story. The reader finds themselves engrossed in each person and hopes the best for them all; though that seems impossible. You are then left hanging as they meet a man in their search, Amalfitano. The second book is about him.

The Part about Amalfitano:
The Critics from the first book meet Amalfitano at its end. The second book jumps into his past and you are lead through his history. Amalfitano is a professor at a small college in northern Mexico, in Santa Teresa. He lives with his daughter, Rosa, who seems detached from her father. The story jumps between the present and the past acting as a biography of sorts. His relationship with his wife fails and the book follows her as she leaves to search for a poet that she “needs” to connect with. She ends up living in a crypt within a cemetery near the asylum where the poet lives. This part of the book seems to be before the first part about the critics. Subtle information tells you so. Amalfitano hangs a geometry book from a clothesline in homage to Duchamp. In the part about the critics one of the characters finds this book after is it basically destroyed by the weather. As a reader you become a part of an old mans sad life. The promising beginnings to what has become a continuous, sad, repetitious life. He continues on a path into madness as the minor things in life take over his existence.

The Part about Fate
Oscar Fate is an African-American arts reporter that is sent to Mexico, to a small town named Santa Teresa, to cover a boxing match. He isn’t a sports writer and takes some time getting the feel for the job. While there, he learns of a history of rapes and murder that have been plaguing the area for years. He is soon drawn into the seedy underworld of the local population. He meets up with a young girl named Rosa. (the daughter of Amalfitano) He doesn’t know her, but tags along to parties that soon drag him into the drug world. Although he knows he shouldn’t be there. He needs to just leave. He follows anyway realizing it is because of his feelings for her. They end up in a large house in the middle of nowhere. He is separated from her and left in room with a strange man. After a bit he starts looking for her. She is in a room with two men snorting cocaine. He gets in a fight with one of the men and says he is taking the woman with her. It seems as if Bolano is leading us down a path of sadness. You start with the relatively happy critics, you continue with the neutral to sad Amalfitano, this part brings you into the darkness and the next leaves to stranded there.

The Part about the Crimes.
Murder. Death, Rape, Guns, Torture, Drugs. 300 pages of mutilated dead woman and girls. There is a small amount of story as some investigators follow leads. One “murderer” is put away and it follows his life into the jail system which only adds more drugs and death. Reading this part of the book was the most difficult reading I have ever done. This isn’t because it was to complex or difficult verbiage. It was just so much descriptive death. It is because of this part that I cannot suggest this book to another person. It’s not that it is poorly written, but it is extremely depressing and I struggled for weeks to get through it. I really can’t describe it. I can understand why it was done. This stuff is actually happening. This is a work of fiction, but it based in reality. The realism is haunting. Most people would enjoy something else to spend their time with.

The part about Archimboldi

Hans Rieter was born in germany. He went through various jobs and failed at all of them. All he wanted to do was swim in the ocean and learn about the life of the sea. He starts working in a Baron’s Mansion. He soon befriends the baron’s nephew Halder. Time passes and Hans joins the military. You soon learn that he is apart of the German Army in WWII. He gets involved in fighting the polish and is somewhat distinguished as a soldier.
Eventually, he gets captured by the enemy and put in a POW camp. While there he meets a man that admits to being a war criminal. Rieter kills him. He leaves the camp and the war ends. He assumes that he is wanted because of the murder and changes his name to Benne Von Archimboldi. He starts to write books that get refused by many, but a small publisher is enchanted by his writing and agrees to produce his books.


Roberto Bolano has undoubtedly produced a masterpiece of modern literature. The depth of the characters, the quality of writing, the subtle additions of recurring themes and reality of his book leaves the reader entranced. Anyone that reads the book would surely remember this book for years to come. Each part stands as a book on its own, but the whole draws it all together and makes for an extremely vital book. This isn’t to say that this is all one story. The books are related in that they are tied to the Mexican city of Santa Teresa. The characters of the books also flow from part to part. The main character in the first part may only be partially mentioned in the next. A passing character in the 3rd part might be the main character in the next. A reader is drawn into each characters life and follows a path that goes seems to fall deeper and deeper into human depravity. The end of the book doesn’t really resolve this, but leave the reader with having been a part of each character’s life.

5 Emotional: The beauty of the writing, the relationships and exploration of dreams all make the emotional impact significant. The hardship and sadness is real and will leave an impression on the reader.

4 Intellectual: The subtle additions, unique writing style, interesting outlay, and myriad of recurring themes make for a book that could easily be the focus of a Master’s thesis.

2 Long Term: This is very hard to grade. The quality of the writing would really make this easy to put at a 4. The subject matter and despair of The Part About the Crimes will turn many people off and make it hard for it to gather a large following.

2666 by Roberto Bolano is great. That said I can’t really suggest others read it. I have read numerous accounts of the atrocities during the holocaust. I have read about murders and war. No book to this point has been as striking and difficult as The Part about the Crimes. I don’t intend to know more than the author or his publishers, but if I was recommending it I would tell the reader to skip that part. To get a feel for what is going on in it you could read the last 100 pages. I feel the authors point was to make it real, but I truly can’t encourage someone to read that.

Besides that I loved the book. I can’t begin to describe all the wonderful phrases and similes. The repetition in theme and small recurrences are a joy to discover. The characters are easy to befriend and their interaction with world is engaging. I hope to read other books by this author.

11 out of 13 – If not for the problems discussed could easily be a 13.


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