Roberto Bolaño's Fiction by Chris Andrews

Roberto Bolaño's Fiction

An Expanding Universe

Chris Andrews

Columbia University Press · Print & ebook · July 29, 2014

Since the publication of The Savage Detectives in 2007, the work of Roberto Bolaño (1953–2003) has achieved an acclaim rarely enjoyed by literature in translation.

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Genres
Caribbean & Latin American Criticism, Hispanic American Lit Crit, 20th-Century Literary Criticism
Published
Columbia University Press, July 29, 2014

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About this book

Since the publication of The Savage Detectives in 2007, the work of Roberto Bolaño (1953–2003) has achieved an acclaim rarely enjoyed by literature in translation. Chris Andrews, a leading translator of Bolaño'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.

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Andrews provides new readings and interpretations of Bolaño'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 Bolaño's fiction in English translation, examining the reasons behind its popularity. Subsequent chapters explore aspects of Bolaño's fictional universe and the political, ethical, and aesthetic values that shape it. Bolaño 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 Bolano's Fiction offers an invaluable understanding of one of the most important authors of the last thirty years.

Where it sits

Caribbean & Latin American Criticism71%
20th-Century Literary Criticism26%
Hispanic American Lit Crit25%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Caribbean & Latin American Criticism
  • Literary Theory
  • Books & Reading
Authors
Chris Andrews
Publisher
Columbia University Press
Published
July 29, 2014
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
Caribbean & Latin American Criticism