I know novels and poetry have almost become extinct in today's society, but I have always remained an avid reader whether it be Fiction or Non-Fiction. I believe novels and poetry are the purest form of art. I have read the complete works of Kafka, Woolf, McCarthy, Steinback, Roth, Joyce, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Jones, D. Johnson, Bradbury, H.S. Thompson, etc (essentially every major writer). Bob Dyaln would consider me well read. My hope is that perhaps one of you whom read this post will consider the purchase of novel by Roberto Bolano. He is a chilian writer whom passed away earlier this decade. His works have recetnly become available in the english language. I decided I must read all of his works before this post, and as of yesterday It has been completed. I urge everyone here to try one of the following novels : 2666(His Masterpiece, but a lenghty 900 pages), The Savage Detectives, By Night in Chile, Amulet, and Last evenings on earth. I hope you'll give it a shot, I think Bolano is perhaps the greatest writer ever, maybe next to Kafka. I hope you enjoy.

it's funny, my costa rican friend alejandro was reading books by some writer 3 or 4 years ago and he couldn't stop talking about them. "wait til this guy gets translated into english," he said, "he's gonna be huge." ale has great taste, but i guess because i don't read/speak spanish and we all kind of make hyperbolic statements like that occasionally, i sort of just dismissed what he said. but i guess about i year ago i started seeing bolano's books around, and now every decent bookstore has his novels prominently displayed and every other person on the subway is reading 2666. and yes kevin, i agree with you, bolano is probably the greatest writer of the decade. quite a force.

Hey Kevin, thanks a lot for this thread. It has been a big surprise for me to know that Bolaño (is written with an “ñ”, like “España”) is having such success with the English translations (“every other person on the subway is reading 2666”, wow!). Probably I’m the only fortunate one on the forum that have read “2666” in the Spanish original two or three years ago. But the biggest surprise is that such a difficult novel could be so successful. In fact I think that the first and last parts of the novel are absolutely fascinating (the critics and the Archimboldi parts) and the second and third part are intriguing (the Amalfitano and Fate ones). Anyway I’ve found the fourth part (the crimes in Santa Teresa) redundant, repetitive and (yes, I dare) even boring.
Thanks a lot again, Kevin. And, knowing that you’ve read all his works. What should I read now after “2666”? Maybe “Los detectives salvajes” (“The Savage Detectives”)?

2666 is taking the complete Bolano plunge. There's really isnt thing that compares to it. The savage Detectives is still one of my all time favourites, and I guess it would be the logical next choice for a person that doesnt read very much. Personally I wish I could redo the whole things all over again and start smaller with something like (Nazi Literatures, By Night in Chile, amulet, or even Last Evenings). I wont presume to know the answer as to which book you should read next. If you plan to read all of his works, the least I can provide is a list of my favourites of Bolano.

1)2666
2)Savage Detectives
3)Amulet
4)By Night In Chile
5)Distnt Star
6)Last Evenings (Short Stories - Hard to find)

7)Romantic Dogs (A collection of poetry. A very unique voice, very simple, yet very eligant. I read Godzilla In Mexico while on "special brownies", and It almost destroy'd me. I dont get gushy over very many things, but I had some tears a rollin)

I agree with your 2666 observations. The part about the critics, and the part about Archimbaldi (forgive spelling errors) are my favourite parts. However, I still feel very strong about the remaining 3 parts. To me 2666 was about desperation, and longing. A Longing for something you arent meant to know, but if you found it the world would change forever. Its about secrets and pain. I think the purpose of the killings in Santa Teresa, and the endless detail involved was half the point. As readers, bolano wants us to connnect to the feeling of not having any control. By the time I finshed the part about the crimes, I was phsycially and emotionally drained. the process and the detail we are subjected to will haunt me forever, as would they the detectives and people involved in the story. It reminded me alot of the movie ZODIAC by David Fincher. Maybe he was a 2666 fan. I think "The part about the crimes is the sacrifice we have to make in order to read the part about archimbaldi. I think you havent earned the right to the ending unless you go through the crimes...lol...beside that, you probably wouldnt get it, and have to go back to the crimes anyways for "Hanz"

Thanks a lot, Kevin (and sorry for the late reply). You have developed a very interesting theory about the fourth part as a “sacrifice” for earning the right of reading the last part. And you’re right, the part about the crimes leaves you devastated with so much detail.
Definitely I will look for “The Savage Detectives”. But later, right now I’m beginning to read an American classic if there’s one: Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road”.

On The Road is a classic. I read it in High School and loved it. If you like it, I would check out Tom wolfes "Electric Kool-aid acid test" or Hunter S. Thompson "Fear and laothing in las vegas"

I've been looking for something new to read. I love reading but TV ruined my attention span so I don't get through books very fast. Consequently it made my standards really high because I don't want to make a 20 hour investment with a book that isn't really great. (That and I generally prefer modern settings and really eccentric characters).

Really the only books I've really liked over the past few years are White Noise, The Human Stain, and Sophie's Choice. Maybe 2666 is a good new one to start?

BA (and anyone else) - maybe short stories? t.c. boyle writes about pretty much everything, mostly contemporary, in a quirky, clever style. raymond carver has a much simpler style but explores his characters' emotions & actions in more depth.

some contemporary novelists who are very popular right now (besides bolano) are david mitchell (cloud atlas - interrelated chapters/stories that range from sci-fi to mock-historical fiction; very playful language), haruki murakami (the wind-up bird chronicle - noirish, dreamlike, kind of like a david lynch movie) and w.g. sebald (the rings of saturn - very unique, draws all kinds of connections between natural & cultural phenomena; not as "entertaining" as mitchell or murakami but more personal & intellectual).

also, delillo's underworld is long, but it's pretty awesome.

2666 will take you every hour of that 20, if not more. Its a huge book, and a big undertaking for even the most well rounded novel reader. That said, 2666 is worth the time and effort.

There are other great modern novels, like others here have pointed out.

Denis Johnson's (Jesus Son, and Tree Of Smoke)
David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest)
Philip Roth (American Pastoral, Portnoy's complain, and many others)
Cormac McCarty (The Road, Blood Meridian, No Country for old men, and more)
Michal Chabon (The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Yiddish Policemans Union)

i was at a book sale at my library and i noticed there was a roberto bolano novel there and i thought of you guys. i picked up the savage detectives for a cool 10 cents