I read this as a part of the Bolaño Bolaño group read, intending to blog my progress along the way. Ha! As it transpires, any ”progress’ was limited to a strictly mechanical traverse from beginning to end. I finished the book but, despite the perusal of nigh on nine hundred pages, reached the end not one jot wiser.
Really? Nothing?! Well, not quite nothing… The five books that constitute the whole are linked by shared references, some less tenuous than others. And the all pervasive threads? *mutters shamefacedly* Vampirism and insanity…? Not vampirism, per se. Obviously. Although there are references to Dracula in more than one of the books, including a protracted scene in ‘Dracula’s Castle,’ and a reference to Roberto Rodriguez’ vampire flick From Dusk till Dawn, also various anecdotes not unrelated to cannibalism.
‘And he didn’t let go of the native’s hand, and tried to look him in the eye and smiled at him and showed his white teeth and still he didn’t let go but instead patted the native’s shoulder with his left hand, bonjour, Monsieur l’Indigène, as if he really was very happy, until the native let out a bloodcurdling yell, and then he spoke a word, incomprehensible to the Frenchman and the Frenchman’s guide, and upon hearing this word another native hurled himself at the pedagogic anthropologist, who still hadn’t let go of the first native’s hand, and with a stone smashed open the anthropologist’s head, and then the anthropologist let go.’
The word which is mentioned in the above quote translates as cannibalism and/or various degrees of sexual abuse. The parallel, as has been observed at Bolaño Bolaño, with the murders earlier in the book is obvious, the intent, at least to me, less clear. I empathise with this quote. There were times, plodding through, when I was the hapless anthropologist seeking to impose my version of the universe on this inexplicable phenomenon. Alas, no stone!
The symbiotic relation between writer and critics also seems to fit with my (almost) random vampirism conjecture. Although it would be difficult to say who is feeding off whom.
And creativity is linked all the way through with insanity. Given the vile nature of the The Part About the Crimes I would not like to say that insanity is also linked with creativity, but… it is there.
Do I regret the hours that this has cost me? No. And would I care to repeat the experience? I wonder if the books could be re-ordered to some advantage, and the answer, therefore, is yes.
A Rat in the Book Pile 
Yeah, I gave up on this one. Congratulations on finishing it. :)
I’ll probably give it another go someday, but don’t bet on it.
Well done on finishing it. I won’t take this as a resounding recommendation.
Pleased to see you back blogging!
Definitely well done. Still a rather you than me though I’m afraid. It really doesn’t tempt, despite you and Trevor both sort of recommending it.
Still, no small thing to get to the end of such a project. Perhaps some novellas now? A thriller or sf novel? Or are you going to dive straight back in to the literary deep end?
I really liked your original take on this monster. You brought a perspective I had not really seen before, which is saying something given the number of reviews of this book I have read. I have to think the vampire allusions easily could have slipped past me, but perhaps now they won’t. The hook for me is that you may read it again. That, to me, is a good recommendation.
Great job.
Uncertain Principles – I remember that you ‘gave up on it,’ but I also recall the enthusiasm you initially expressed for Bolano’ s writing. Wrong book at the wrong time? Shan’t be surprised if it pops up on your blog one day…
Random – Thank you! I was trying extremely hard not to sound like an unresounding recommendation, but that could, perhaps, have gone better…
Max – Compared to some, a rather small project, but yes, I did feel a certain amount of satisfaction on reaching the end. There were parts of 2666 which I enjoyed very much, but I didn’t understand Bolano’s aims sufficiently to be able to recommend or not.
Some good prophetic guesswork wrt my next read! Yes, SF novel on the go. And since Cryptonomicon is rather long I well may break it up with a few novellas…
Kerry – Hm. Never seen that take before? That suggests to me that I have proudly emerged from the swamp of 2666 bearing a red herring. But it is my red herring, and I stand by it. (At least until I read the thing again…) I would love to hear your take on 2666; yes, you should definitely read it!