A review by sonnetson
2666 by Roberto Bolaño

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

What a fantastic, ambitious book. This novel, written in five distinct parts, grows in tension up until the great release of its final part. Brutality and the attempts to understand brutality, making peace with that which is impossible to be at peace with: Bolaño plums these depths with precision and mastery. The final two parts in particular are spectacular, horrific (this is one of the hardest, most gruesome books I have yet read). The payoff of the ending is sublime. When I first started this book, I didn't understand its neo-classic distinction; having finished it, I have been converted. 
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