The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano REVIEW

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[@dandeluca]

One of my all-time favorites, I've read maybe three times, the last time in Mexico City which was really a treat. One aspect of the book that I like very much (probably because I am older!), is how the vignettes of the characters lives that you hear from so many sources paints this not-that-clear picture of these vibrant youths trying to maintain their idealism as they get older and start having more 'real world' experiences. The Visceral Realists were going to set the world on fire, but, as with the rest of us, reality hits hard and they end up sleeping on couches and in caves, and then just kind of disappearing. In that way it felt like a book about capital-L Life, even though at first read it seems mostly about youthful hijinks.

[@chokingmessiah]

I think the enduring quality of Roberto Bolaño's work is that in some way it's always referring to the redemptive and transcdendent power of art. The transformation of the mundane into the sublime. The resultant labyrinths that occur from chasing the desire to create and to be liberated, even obliterated, through the alchemical sublimation that occurs in the investigative and artistic processes themselves. Living art, not just creating it. A true bohemian Daedalus. Orpheus' descent into the underworld.

[@TheBookchemist]

That sums it up pretty sweet - they should put it on the back of his books :)

[@francostrong202]

I think this analysis of Bolaño is a bit simplistic and lacking. I only say this because many of Bolaño's greatest villains are artists themselves and/or have links to the artistic world of creation. Carlos Weider, the antagonist of Distant Star, literally writes lines of poetry across the sky. Father Urrutia, the priest who gives Pinochet lessons on Marxism, is a reader of poetry and writes critical analyses of it. The book ends with a torture chamber set below a house where the cream of Chilean literature gather. His short fictions are also populated with artists. They too follow the urge to create but end up performing heinous acts. So I'd hesitate in proclaiming Bolaño's prose as a praise for the redemptive qualities of creation. Bolaño also needs much more contextualizing than other authors. It's important to note how many of the characters in his prose are thinly veiled references to real authors and the relationship he had with the Chilean literati at the time (like his portrayal of Raul Zurita). He definitely championed certain authors/poets while dismissing others, which leads me to believe that Bolaño thought there were more appropriate ways of pursuing the urge to create and that other means might indeed lead to banality and evil.

[@jamespoppitz3336]

Wow,what a mouthful....but your arrow hit the bulls eye.

[@chokingmessiah]

@@francostrong202 Not an analysis, just an inspired rant. I agree with yours though.

[@lorodoscar]

Bolaño himself have said it: literature should be a game, that after La invención de Morel and Sobre Héroes y Tumbas there is not place for just plot-driven novels. The Savages Detectives is a game, because who is the detective? And what is he looking for? This can have many answers, but my opinion is that the reader is the ultimate detective of the novel (Belano and Ulises are obviously in a literary quest) and that what we are looking for is both Arturo Belano and Ulises (and trying to anticipate and decipher that misterious event that took place in The Deserts of Sonora) through the eyes of so many characters. Is like the novel spins around them but we never get to get close to them, they remain unknown till the end. It's very important to considere the autobiografical aspect of the novel, Arturo Belano is Roberto Bolaño, and many of his friends are real people that were his real friends (like Ulises Lima) and a lot of what he describes actually happened to him, in that sense it is indeed much like On The Road, but not just the discovery of certain kind of bohemian freendom but also its aftermath, its consecuences through time, space and other people's life. For me was not just similar to DFW but to Pynchon too, it has an end of the world uncanny feeling that is very pynchonian. Now read 2666, that is way more pynchonian and apocalyptical. Bolaño considered both Novelas Río (River Novels), in wich the plot lines meet or diverge from one single moment, event or place, like the afluents of a river. PD: Sorry for my horrible english.

[@ellelala39]

One of my favorite books. Poets, writers, and lovers of literature will adore it. It made me read everything Bolaño wrote.

[@francolopez2460]

Great video! "Distant Star" is my favorite Bolaño's book. I highly recommend it.

[@mattellis7906]

I really enjoyed this novel. It's so sweeping and such a love letter to literature. I enjoyed this book immensely. I wanted to call it a "post-modern novel," "thriller novel" or something else, but I find that trying to classify this defeats the purpose. Just as elusive as the visceral realists is the novel itself, and that harmony between content and form makes me smile. It was indeed challenging, but I loved it.

[@thunderwood]

Wonderful review Bookchemist! You have a fantastic ability to create enthusiasm about literature that I would not normally be aware of. Thank you!

[@henryvargasestrada2320]

Great review, Mattia. Bolaño has always been a favorite of mine. His novels are amazing. This one especially. As a proud latin american, he was a great example of our literature. It's really sad he's no longer with us.

[@booksandallthatjazz1654]

A very good review. Thanks for giving me a very good idea of the reading experience.

[@pontiuspilates]

easily one of my favourite books of all time. I still think about it from time to time.

[@bumsmanifesto123]

I've read 2666 by Bolano, it was disturbing, which means I enjoyed it. I will have to try this next.

[@johnrankin7135]

I'm sad you read 2666 before detectives

[@TheSamthaman24]

The sadist reader is the best reader my friend

[@adameggers8146]

I enjoyed your take on this book and was glad it made you reevaluate and/or deepen your appreciation of Kerouac. I loved Savage Detectives as I had loved On the Road, although they are very different. Often times reading a book that deliberately tries to alter the ¨shape¨ of the novel can be tedious. Here, the structure follows the need of the story and makes good sense. I would recommend Woes of the True Policeman and The Unknown University (beyond 2666) for more Bolaño.

[@fuzzydunlop4513]

I never read Bolaño, but based on what I heard I thought I was going to love this. I got like 150 pages through and it was the first book I’ve put down in a long time. Could not stand it. Then I read Chile By Night and loved it. The part where (spoiler but not really because it happened in history) Allende comes into power and the narrator reads works of antiquity was probably one of my favorite moments in literature

[@Pantano63]

Finally, a Bolaño review!

[@captaintrips4490]

Hey, I really like your reviews. You should try The Darkroom of Damocles by Willem Frederik Hermans.

[@Idiosyncfilms]

I JUST started Savage detectives, now I'm really excited to continue! I bought 2666, started it but put it down not far in. It's staring at me from the shelf.

[@TheBookchemist]

I know the feeling

[@wolfboy868]

My friend told me to read this book about 7 years ago. I loved the beginning and hated when the story switched. I re-read it 3 years later and loved it. I loved this review and cant wait to watch more of your videos.

[@user-qb3jg8ep9t]

I loved it. It was one of my first "big" novels I read and it's still one of my alltime favorites. Liked the middle section way more than the frame narrative. To this day I pick up the book every few weeks and reread a random chapter. It's awesome and I will finally start 2666 next month

[@TheBookchemist]

I can definitely see how it's the kind of book that stays with readers forever - and because of its form it invites the type of constant re-reading you mention. Thanks for the comment!

[@rjd53]

It is strange, Bolano is one of the writers I really read everthing of, including his poetry - with one exception: The Savage Detectives. I bought the book three or more years ago and it is on my tbr-pile since. Why? When I took a look inside I had (maybe the wrong) impression that it is very different from his other writings, I enjoyed reading a lot, and wasn't shure if it was as good. I didn't want to spoil my "Bolano-experience" on the last meters of the track. Your review encouraged me now to take it up finally.

[@suneasmussen2650]

So... what was your impression?

[@dbag57]

So..how was it?

[@rjd53]

It was definitely better than I had expected, in fact, although different conceptionally, objectively on the same level as his other novels. I had the impression that it could have been a late novel of his just as well. The novel has three parts. I enjoyed the first part and the third part even more. But I had some problems with the second part, it just felt too long and dragged on a bit. Nevertheless it made sense. So it did not spoil my Bolano-experience, and I can understand that it might be the favourite novel by Bolano for some readers. But when you read it, you really need the (not quite complete) character list on Wikipedia, otherwise you'll get lost in the herd of protagonists.@@dbag57

[@dbag57]

@@rjd53 Thanks, I literally started part 2 a few minutes before reading your comment and yes, that list on wikipedia will come in handy. Part 1 was phenomenal and so like part 1 of 2666. Cant wait to get to part 3!

[@curioushmm9027]

wow..i can't believe you've convinced me that i might enjoy "the savage detective"..thanks.

[@andymarin6725]

I would love a review of "The Dharma Bums" by you.

[@georgeguest9498]

I think the term you're looking for is writers writers, meaning that it takes someone who knows about writing to truly love the authors writing - now I write that down I realise how pretentious that is. Great video. I'm gonna read this next, although I've already read a few extracts to syke myself up, when I finish cathedral and read it over Easter as one of my big books of the year. Really enjoy his short stuff, his stories basically read like extracts from this. Would highly recommend Cesar aira, a writer who bolano really admired.

[@eterimach7697]

Thanks for recommending this book, it is an absolute tour de force, it gets better with every page

[@nickshaffer8115]

Thank you!!!

[@Prussian_Indigo]

Read The Book of Chocolate Saints by Jeet Thayil (Also read Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil).

[@richardbenitez1282]

After reading 1st 71 pages I threw book in the trash. I’m an old dog who lived 50 years in San Francisco. I have already lived lived with what is saying in order to break down traditional mental ideas for the purpose of freeing oneself to real life. I’m no longer a young guy. I definitely don’t need to be reminded or conjure up stuff that is going to make life in this senior center difficult.

[@lysanderhock7014]

Great review again, I really appreciate your work. There is a cafe frequented by Spanish and Latin American people in my street, which I haven't checked out yet, though. Perhaps I try reading the book there, as it seems to me that it might benefit to increase the vibe of the experience, although I generally prefer to read in my room. I'm not sure whether I should read it in English or my native language German. Mostly I read English/American authors, but I somehow have the impression that my experience of books that have been written in other languages can somehow be affected by reading them in English. I think the reason for that is that by reading a book in English translation I unconsciously link it to my perception of English/American 'culture', while reading the German translation enables me to approach it from a more neutral perspective. It would be interesting to know what you think about that.

[@TheBookchemist]

It's an interesting point, and I'm interested in these facets of translation myself. Say, I read Bolano's books in English, and he definitely reads like an American writer; but I'm not sure if that's his style (which would explain his popularity in the States) or whether the translator "adapted" the prose to a point. I'd be curious to read Savage Detectives, or at least excerpts from it, in Italian (or to attempt it in Spanish) to see what perception I get.

[@crimsonblood01]

Hey Bookchemist, love your channel. Ive never heard you talk about Haruki Murakami and wondered if youve read him? I reccommend Hard Boiled Wonderland, its a true labyrinth of a story with a satisfying ending.

[@TheBookchemist]

Thanks for the suggestion! I have only read his Dance Dance Dance, which I absolutely loved. There's really no reason why I haven't read more of his stuff - if not that it's very much outside my research area, and it's difficult to justify (even to myself!) the time commitment :P

[@TomHollandGuitar]

hey! Your shadow of the wind video brought me here. I loved the Zafon book and have only seriously gotten into reading again for the first time since I was in my teens. I wouldn't really consider myself a reader of readers books....not yet anyways; but I'm enjoying reading thrillers that I find interesting and I do enjoy the self involved styled narratives.Just wondering if you could recommend similar books or series that I might enjoy? Perhaps something you consider to sit somewhere in between The Shadow Of The Wind and this one?

[@TheBookchemist]

I'd recommend Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. In many ways it's quite different from Zafon, but it's equally entertaining, equally thrilling, and paints a similarly evocative picture of its setting (in K&C's case, New York in the late 30s/early 40s).

[@TomHollandGuitar]

@@TheBookchemist Sounds Awesome! Thank you!

[@chaoshuffer]

Do 2666 or Nazi Literature in the Americas next; other than Pynchon, Bolaño is easily my favorite fiction author of the last 50 years or so.

[@Pantano63]

I would advice him to read Distant Star, By Night in Chile, and all the other smaller works before tackling the main dish.

[@chaoshuffer]

I’ve heard good things about those novels, though I haven’t read them myself. However, Savage Detectives is a pretty substantial work itself, so if he read and liked it, I think he’s more than primed to tackle 2666, which is generally regarded as Bolaño’s magnum opus. Either way, he’s one of those authors who seems to have never written anything that wasn’t brilliant, so it doesn’t really matter what order you tackle his oeuvre.

[@Pantano63]

I wasn't thinking in terms of him being "unprepared", but more in terms of "starting with his magnus opus will make his other works seem like a less intense experience". I'd advice him this in crescendo way, but he's free to do as he pleases.

[@chaoshuffer]

You’ve got a point. I can see other novels seeming underwhelming after reading 2666, no matter how excellent they might be. I have a similar experience every time I read Pynchon; unless it’s someone like a Jean Genet, the language of anybody I read after him just seems dull in comparison.

[@emaf5623]

Great review! Who are the people on the photographs in the background?

[@TheBookchemist]

Thanks man! In no particular order (and not all of them may be in focus), Shakespeare, Wilde, HG Wells, JL Borges, Paul Auster, JG Ballard, and a picture from Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon :)

[@blaze34]

I started seriously digging fiction with DFW. But since I found Bolaño I must say he tops David! SD is so amazing; you should read Nazi Literature next. Two things about The Savage Detectives that are worth mentioning: all characters have a more or less poetic life. I think the biggest achievement of Bolaño is to create a poet-populated world that doesn't seem far-fetched, Second, his literature is best when he tells. He puts so much information in one or two pages with such skill that he's been regarded as a maximalist. His books are proof that showing not telling is a rule to be broken when you are a good writer. My favorite parts are when those faux-interviews get into describing someone or something in a vague sentence that somehow triggers our imagination into something beautiful.

[@TheBookchemist]

Absolutely agree with your second point!

[@jorgemedina8083]

Great to see you read TSD! As someone who has studied Latin American Lit, I can tell you that not all the names are real. Some of the authors are made up. Just FYI. I liked the book, but I found part two confusing. I understood it, but there were some nuances that I missed. It was too nuanced for me, but overall still a good read.

[@jamespoppitz3336]

Good reviewer....explains the hard to explain,feels the humanity....great novel in 10 different ways....gives great perspective to all our imaginary first world problems and the eternal hungry heart of a poet....what a walk thru Bohemia,what a stumble towards the stars,what a long cool drink of youth and those pure at heart being raped by this cruel ,corrupt world....and what a love story of poetry and literature....

[@diegomariacardona8273]

Hey, I know both English and spanish and want to get into Italian literature (especially Italo Calvino). Do you suggest I read the English translation or Spanish translation (since Spanish and Italian are similar)? You probably haven’t read the translations (because why would you?) but if you have an opinion...

[@Pantano63]

I'm on the same boat, I think Italian translates better into Spanish than into English, both being Romance/Latin languages. Unfortunately, Calvino's books in Spanish are expensive as fuck (three times the English price) and hard to get in my country, so I'll probably go with the English ones.

[@TheBookchemist]

As you mention I read him in Italian, and my main suggestion would be to go with the language that's closer to (or is) your mother tongue. He was a highly influential writer on the English-speaking world, so I'm guessing his translations in English shouldn't be that very terrible, but it's true as you say that Spanish may preserve the original pace and sentence-structure better.

[@ericgrabowski1468]

Monsuier Paine by Bolano. Dope.

[@elenamakridina8196]

I DNFed it. Now I'll have to go back and reread it. It wasn't a bad reading experience it just didn't grip my attention. It's a very neat phrase "discover sexuality" sounds so much better than the one I would use:)))))

[@patrickrichardson2529]

read 2666 .. fantastic !

[@JuanviHN]

I read it a few months ago, and it was a strange book for me. I could really tell it was well writen, but I did not find it engaging. The prose was great, but the meat of the story did not appeal to me, some parts were enjoyable, but others I had to struggle to get over them.The thing is, I understand why a lot of people loves TSD. I didn't, but I have a lot of respect for this book.

[@havefunbesafe]

I like book.

[@firestarter7680]

uno dei miei libri preferiti, bellissimo

[@MrRenardbleu]

bolaño was also a board game fan. Specially strategy games

[@TheBookchemist]

Was he? I didn't know! I enjoyed The Third Reich (which is dedicated largely to the world of war games) very much, but got the impression he was a bit condescending toward the medium's fanbase. It's definitely possible it was a mistaken impression though.

[@MrRenardbleu]

yes, I love watching his interviews. I think he was nos as good a writer as he was a reader, such as borges. I love his books but I think the structure of his books is more interesting that his narrative, he lacks poetry in his prose. In a documentary about him some friends talk about how he liked playing strategy board games and there's even an interview to a games store manager that knew him.

[@MrRenardbleu]

also his knowledge about latin american poets is not onlyshocking to readers otside america but also latin americans too, I'm from argentina and I don't know half of the writers he mentions

[@TheBookchemist]

This is great stuff, thanks! And I'm glad to hear you had difficulties with all the names too :)

[@fabriziobuonpane3125]

Grandissimo romanzo,fra i miei preferiti in assoluto.Io ti direi di andare di 2666 senza timore,quando vorrai.Certo,è lungo,difficile e abbastanza disturbante,ma pensa che in confronto a Gravity's Rainbow è una puntata di My Little Pony (come del resto tutti i romanzi del Pianeta Terra,con la probabile eccezione delle opere di Vollmann). Potresti provare anche con Amuleto,se ti interessa leggere un libro di Bolaño breve ma intenso,anche perchè è molto collegato a Los Detectives.Ti avverto,è estremamente criptico,ma è anche mooolto affascinante.Una vera esperienza.

[@TheBookchemist]

Guarda mi hai rassicurato molto! Punto a leggere 2666 a breve (prima che mi passi la voglia - o che rinsavisca, chissà) e superato quello a procurarmi il resto di Bolano, visto che fin'ora mi è sempre piaciuto molto - e nell'ambito accademico e letterario è talmente studiato che orami conoscerlo è un must!

[@kzinful]

Okay Okay you want a confession is that It? Here it is : I haven't finished Gravitys Rainbow ( years now- its last few pages (!) my therapist suggests to just let go and read them..what does she know, I'm paying her tons of money. Now it's Bolano, and guess what (?) I have 2666 and yep..its waiting to be read...laughing. Some day Some day....peace from Texas

[@TheBookchemist]

I know the feeling!!

[@jackvatsal6447]

I m sorry but did u say u read the book in 4 hours?

[@TheBookchemist]

No!

[@emsulich]

So I'm a huge Wallace fan, and I just finished Savage Detectives. Aside from girth and sheer number of characters, I don't quite see the Wallace/Bolaño connection. The lack of cohesiveness was slightly frustrating, as was the endless name-dropping of all of those obscure/esoteric Latin poets. That's not to say there it didn't have it's charm. I feel like there wasn't much of an arc or resolution, just a bunch of short somewhat-related stories strung together. And I guess it was somewhat autobiographical in that Arturo Belano was somewhat of a representation of the author (kinda like how Charles Bukowski wrote about himself as Hank Chinowski or whatever), but like, he was super self-deprocating about the whole Viceral Realist movement, so in that way, it wasn't overly pretentious.

[@Happytreefriendsfan3]

I've just finished reading the book and I completely agree on "just a bunch of short somewhat-related stories strung together" description. I did enjoy the book but I wish the stories were more connected. I do love the little foreshadowing to 2666 that there is, though.

[@JoseOrtiz-pe2jp]

It's one of the most disgusting books I've ever read 🤢

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

I honestly don't see what people see in Roberto Bolano. A more overrated author there has never been. I read 2666 and it is tied with Naked Lunch for worst book I've ever read. The writing was terrible, the characters were flatter than Charles Dickens', and to top it all off the whole thing was rabidly misogynistic. Literally any time a female character is introduced she will have sex within two pages. Worse than all that though, is the pretentious air the book possesses. The reader constantly wants to believe that there's some subtext, some point to the whole thing, but there's not. It's literally just hundreds of pages of rambling nonsense written by an egotistical tool with diarrhea of the mouth. While it is sad that Bolano died so young, I have to say that the literary world didn't lose much.

[@josebohorquez2439]

Jajajaja

[@suneasmussen2650]

Not once do you puse and wonder if, perhaps, it's you and not the book missing something. I totally get the disappointment one can get from investing time and not feeling a return of the investement - but you seem to have read it cover to cover - why do that if you hated it so much? Masochist are we? :)