Roberto Bolano's Fiction - An Expanding Universe

Since the publication of The Savage Detectives in 2007, the work of Roberto Bolano (1953--2003) has achieved an acclaim rarely enjoyed in contemporary fiction. Chris Andrews, a leading translator of Bolano's work into English, explores the singular achievements of the author's oeuvre, engaging with its distinct style and key thematic concerns, incorporating his novels and stories into the larger history of Latin American and global literary fiction. Andrews provides new readings and interpretations of Bolano's novels, including 2666, The Savage Detectives, and By Night in Chile while at the same time examining the ideas and narrative strategies that unify his work. He begins with a consideration of the reception of Bolano's fiction in English translation, examining the reasons behind its popularity. Subsequent chapters explore aspects of Bolano's fictional universe and the political, ethical, and aesthetic values that shape it. Bolano emerges as the inventor of a prodigiously effective "fiction-making system," a subtle handler of suspense, a chronicler of aimlessness, a celebrator of courage, an anatomist of evil, and a proponent of youthful openness.
Written in a clear and engaging style, Roberto's Bolano's Fiction offers an invaluable understanding of one of the most important authors of the last thirty years.

List of contents

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionList of AbbreviationsNote on Translations1. The Anomalous Case of Roberto Bolano2. Bolano's Fiction-Making System3. Something Is Going to Happen: Narrative Tension4. Aimlessness5. Duels and Brawls: Borges and Bolano6. Evil Agencies7. A Sense of What MattersAppendix: Victims in "The Part About the Crimes" (2666) and Huesos en el desiertoNotesBibliographyIndex

About the author

Chris Andrews teaches at the University of Western Sydney, where he is a member of the Writing and Society Research Center. He has translated ten books by Roberto Bolano. His book Lime Green Chair won the 2011 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize.

Product details

• Authors: Chris Andrews
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 26.08.2014
• EAN: 9780231168069
• ISBN: 978-0-231-16806-9
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 164 mm x 232 mm x 28 mm
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; Chile, LITERARY CRITICISM / European / Spanish & Portuguese, LITERARY CRITICISM / Caribbean & Latin American, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 20th Century, Spanish, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, LITERARY CRITICISM / Novel as Form, Caribbean; Semiotics; Books