2666 (Part IV): THE PART ABOUT THE CRIMES by Roberto Bolaño

This is part of a 5-video series on 2666.
• 2666 Group Read
I am happy to be reading this in tandem with The Recognitions Book Club.
Check them out:
/ therecognitionsbookclub
/ trbcmag
/ the-recognitions-book-...

[@BR-lx7py]

I chuckled every time that he named the dump El Chile

[@estebanmejia3473]

No one could've said it best, this is a part you survive. Part 4 was utterly exhausting to read, depressing... and living in Colombia just made it harder. At the end of this part I was left with this emptiness and helplessness. As always, very insightful comments!. And the epigraph of Boudelaire that Bolaño chose is just perfect. I have no idea how this book will end but it's been quite a journey so far, literature is so powerful

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You’re so right-literature is indeed powerful. Now take a deep breath and get ready for this last part. Bolaño is going to take you places.

[@lock67ca]

Apocalyptic is absolutely the best way to describe this section. Equal parts Dante, McCarthy and Dostoevsky.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

What a cocktail!

[@pinkzeppelintheater]

I think one of the messages I got from part 4 was that the question to ask was not "who or what is committing these murders?" But rather, "why does nobody care or even acknowledge that they're happening ?"

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Great point! It shows just how much sway the murderers had over the government, police, and media.

[@lalitborabooks]

Having just read THE PART ABOUT THE CRIMES, all i can say is that it strangely mimics the newspaper headlines we read everyday, especially after the pandemic. It is truly Apocalyptical and Prophetic too.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Extremely eerie. Whether man or virus, useless slaughter is menacing.

[@manchro8672]

You might want to check Felix Feneon's Novels in Three Lines :)

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks!

[@electrodynamicorb6548]

Nothing happened during the plandemic

[@n2the1]

I think Bolaño's rather cold descriptions simulates the culture of apathy towards these murders. It seems like the more murders there are the more people surrender to the normalizing of such conditions and behavior.

[@duncan_xyz]

I just reached the Part About the Crimes. I loved The Part About Fate. You mention that the Part About the Crimes is prophetic. In the previous section, Fate recollects that the suspect killer said "No one pays attention to these killings, but the secret of the world is hidden in them". I believe this is Bolaño revealing his prophetic vision.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yes, and that statement is probably the most-quoted of the whole book, perhaps of Bolaño's whole repertoire. In a recent NYRB review of Hurricane Season, this same quote is brought in to contrast Melchor's vision versus Bolaño's.

[@300spartansgym]

Part IV reminded me of Don Winslow's The Cartel. I know that's an unlikely comp. But in both cases, the narrative voice recedes and is replaced by reportage. The novel becomes catalog of violence, leaving the reader numb. Which is, I think, the point.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I haven’t read that book, but I agree with your assessment.

[@therecognitionsbookclub8673]

Very well done. All the passages you brought in from other writers were great

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, mate! I’m afraid my next and last video won’t be very high caliber. That final part demolished my ability to think.

[@dcdc139]

I just finished the Part About Fate and will begin reading the part about the crimes later today. I will be keeping a few recent events in mind while I read. A young 14 year old girl in my area has been missing since early may. Her body has never been found. I fear that she is being trafficked. Actually, a number of young teenage girls have gone missing over the past few months in the region (Eastern Canada). I also enjoyed listening to your analysis about part 3

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Human trafficking deeply troubles and disturbs me. It is a harsh, cold, regrettable reality.

[@MxGrr]

There’s a long history of women trafficking and femicides in rural Canada, particularly against Native young women. The most regrettable thing, is that it still happens today and that these cases get very little attention. As Bolaño says in his novel, the people who are outside society are seldom recognized as worthy of attention.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😔😔😔

[@neburern44]

Love youre thoughts and talks about this book. I’m reading it right now and i love watching youre videos after finishing the parts of the book. Keep up the good work man! :)

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Glad to hear the videos are of value! Enjoy your journey!

[@beno_4785]

I had put down the book through this chapter after one year I picked it up then finished the novel. Can't beleive the novel actually has been written.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I understand that feeling.

[@kalishakta]

The murder of the Senator's friend and it's connections with the narco ranchos was VERY significant.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

This comment makes me want to return to the bleak but intriguing world of 2666.

[@kalishakta]

@@LeafbyLeaf I just watched season 3 of Narcos:Mexico and was pleased that they referenced the Juarez femicides.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Oh, I may have to watch that one. Thanks for the tip.

[@duncan_xyz]

The theme of detachment is prominent throughout this part and part 5. I noticed that in The Part About Archimboldi, the narrator emotionally detaches the reader from the death of Archimboldi's wife, Ingeborg. We are made of aware of her death through a letter that the Baroness receives. I love how well Bolaño carries themes throughout this novel.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yes, detachment, exactly. The most horrific element of the whole book is treated with a surgeon’s bedside manner.

[@ikacohen27]

Hey man! Found your channel recently! Everytime I finish a part in the book, I come here to delve deep into what i read. Anyway, i just finished part IV (can’t wait to see the last episode of this review!) and i got to tell you man... this part was exhausting and bleak... which in away made me feel much more grossed out by the killings... I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next part of the book... but i know that this part was like a survival test. And right now i feel like i got out of there with my skin and teeth. The description of the murders, were really disturbing. Some parts of it were really visual, and made feel sick to my stomach for times. I really liked the parts with florita the seer (I’m not going to spoil it to anyone who didn’t read it). Oh! And Klaus Haas, what a creepy character! Anyway, what a fantastic read! And I’m really happy that you made videos that let me understand the book more in depth! P.S: i saw in a different video of yours, that you have section in your library dedicated to Philip K. Dick! I’m a long time fan of him... and I wondered if you could do a video about his books some day. Thanks a lot man!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hey! Welcome! Glad to have you here. And really thrilled you’re getting something of worth out of the videos. That fourth part is...difficult. Phew. The last part is probably the best. Unexpected turn but a perfect way to end this beast of a book. I’ll keep the PKD suggestion in mind for future videos. All my best to you!

[@ikacohen27]

@@LeafbyLeaf hey! Thanks! Can’t wait to finish the book haha!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Enjoy!

[@dreamyphil]

Great vids! I’ve been following along as I finish each section. Yeah, the power of Bolaño's statement is in the sheer volume of his dispassionate catalogue ... w/o any need to spoonfeed the reader with analysis or conclusions or like you say extra-graphic detail. I was reminded a bit of Norman Mailer in the sort of journalistic feel to some parts of it, but I agree it’s also very different. I’m also gonna have to re-read Blood Meridian!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

A re-read of Blood Meridian is in my near future, too!

[@ja6975]

The 181 bodies were pretty much plagiarized expertly from Sergio Gonzalez Rodriguez’ Huesos en el desierto. Very much recommended. Sergio was a good friend of Bolano’s so the plagiarism was a-ok’d. By plagiarism, I mean, that in Sergio’s book, the same catalogue of deaths are reported. Practically in the same order, same details, except the names are changed in 2666.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I remember reading about that in some essay or another. There are two schools of thought apparently: (1) Gonzalez Rodriguez was feeding Bolano inside info; and (2) some other party completely fed him info directly from the police reports and the link to Gonzalez Rodriguez was coincidental. I tend to side with (1), especially after some of the stuff I read in Between Parentheses.

[@ja6975]

@@LeafbyLeaf Definitely one. The first edition of Huesos en el desierto came out in 2002, and 2666 came out in 2004. Huestos en el desierto is about the murders in Juarez, and the events surrounding it, like Ressler coming to the city, the main supposed culprit Abdul Latif Sharif (inspo for Klaus Reiter), and if I remember correctly even a television clairvoyant, etc. In Huesos en el desierto in the chapter "La vida inconclusa" Sergio catalogs the deaths in Juarez starting from September of 2002 and works its way back to 1993. It reads like the Part about the Crimes, but much less narrativized. Someone should translate and publish that book. It's amazing in it's own right. An English-translated book by Sergio, called "the Iguala 43," was published by MIT. Worth checking out.

[@dcdc139]

This part took me a while to read, probably because I raced through the first three sections and I was kind of tired by the time I made it to the part about the crimes. I wanted to take my time with it. Always love your analysis my friend.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Those first sections are definitely quicker reads. This horrifyingly clinical, cold section is rough in many ways. But you'll want to slow down even more and taken in this final, best section. Take in the journey!

[@xgryphenx]

Another potential reference point for Bolaño here could be Pierre Guyotat's Eden, Eden, Eden--though it was only translated to spanish this past year, EEE's explicit content of sexual and violent degradation was so notorious immediately following its publication in 1970 that it was banned in France for the next ten years (despite protests from the likes of Barthes, Foucault, and Genet), so it is very likely its huge reputation and other people's summation of the text's style could have made its way to Bolaño. Likewise it seeks to draw attention to that which is unspeakable, outside historical justification and reason, but in this case it is within France's legacy in Algeria culminating in the Algerian war.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Great input here, griffin! I hadn't heard of this. You've effectively sent me on a Google journey.

[@micraan1579]

Stumbled across your chanel a few days ago and love everything I've seen fo far, especially this series. Since you seem to realy care about the recomendations you get, I'd like to recommend J. G. Ballard's "The Atrocity Exhibition". it's short, but good.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! Yes, I love recommendations. This is not the first Ballard rec (though it's the first of this particular story). Adding it to my list with your name. I'll follow up with you when I get round to it!

[@micraan1579]

@@LeafbyLeaf In that case I thoroughly recommend going through them in chronological order. Ballard is one of those authors whos themes and style changed drastically over time. Hope you enjoy.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks for the tip!

[@michaelisaacs1888]

Is that The Familiar I see up on your bookcase? Danielewski included 2666 on the suggested reading for Volume 1 (there are suggested readings on the product pages on the penguin random house website). That suggestion was what first put Bolaño on my radar and years later I’m reading it for the first time. I assume it was suggested in relation to the detective pastiche of the Ozgur sections. I adore that series (RIP(for now...)). Have you read The Familiar? What are your thoughts? Would you consider doing a video about them?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Oh, yes. I’ve read everything Danielewski has put out. As luck would have it I edited and uploaded an old video on The Familiar last night. And I plan to launch it tomorrow. It’s more of an appreciation than an analysis.

[@michaelisaacs1888]

Leaf by Leaf Wow! What a coincidence. I’m excited to see it. I’m loving this Bolaño series that happened to line up with my reading. Glad to have found your channel

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yeah, your comment stopped me in my tracks on the bread aisle of the grocery store, which almost caused a bit of a pileup because the patrons of my local Publix do not understand the unit of measure that is a foot. Let alone six of them. It's like a pack of Corgis nipping at my heels!

[@liquidpebbles7475]

Great vid, apocalyptic tradition indeed, we're about to get a lot more of them arent we? Cureently reading Blood Meridian, my first mccarthy and goddmn is it good but it's too damn bleak, waiting for the vid! Also I need more happy literature lol, any recs jaja?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yep, I'm sure we will be flooded with apocalyptic pieces coming out of the COVID-19 epidemic, but hopefully there will be at least one that will transcend a mere period piece. McCarthy--Blood Meridian--yes. Strong, potent literature there. 2666 and other readers have been making me consider a reread, but I kind of want to read a McCarthy I haven't read--perhaps Outer Dark. Well, my friend, happy literature just doesn't sell as well unless it's that particular brand of self-deprecating, helpless-bumbler brand of happy literature, which I find to be dull. I shall suggest the painfully British antics of P. G. Wodehouse, whom I've recently started exploring as a means of lighthearted reading. Other than that I would say, Calvin and Hobbes and the Dog-Man series by Dave Pilkey.

[@liquidpebbles7475]

@@LeafbyLeaf thx for the response! Will be waiting for that mccarthy video regardless! See ya

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Always a pleasure!

[@intellectualreads5696]

Hey! I read 2666 almost 10 years ago! and loved following your journey through it! Have you had a chance to pick up his book Between Parentheses? Which are his essays articles and speeches? Where he discusses many of the works that have had an effect on him? Definitely want to recommend that to you! Also I just found Orpheus KZbin channel and have found you often comment there :) Would you ever do a recommendation video of some other channels you enjoy following?

[@intellectualreads5696]

Oops commented too soon! LMAO only to watch u pull up the book HAHAHAH!!!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😜 I talk about some channels I like in my first Q and A video. But I am not very comprehensive with it.

[@intellectualreads5696]

@@LeafbyLeaf Must have missed it will rewatch! Thanks

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Could be the second part of Q and A. Anyway, I'll save you some time. Honestly, I don't watch a lot of other KZbinrs (I am very protective of my reading time :-P), but I like Better Than Food, Orpheus, Paperbird, Beyond the Epilogue, Silje, and, well, Intellectual Reads.

[@intellectualreads5696]

@@LeafbyLeaf Yeah I think I started with Better Than Food his videos are dope! Also follow all the rest! I have been prunning a lot of my subscription list and updating it. Have you watched The_Bookchemist ? I very much enjoy his videos!

[@TheCollidescopePodcast]

There's a lot that can be said about this part, of course. Forensic, yes, not as brutal as I imagined it would be and a much breezier read than I anticipated, probably aided by all the short sections, like the rest of the book, but still disturbing. What's with the German guy who gets arrested? His nationality made me connect him in some way to Archimboldi. Not sure what to make of that but perhaps it's based on some real-life aspect that I'm unaware of. Thanks for enlightening me about the Sergio character.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I *think* I talk about it in video five, but it is indeed based on a true account. Bolaño was obsessed with these crimes and surrounding “investigations”and had a friend on the inside giving him information.

[@rickharsch8797]

108

[@rickharsch8797]

108 is significant in Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity at least.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks, Rick! I wonder if it was intentional.

[@rickharsch8797]

@@LeafbyLeaf definitely