Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

ThatCommanderShepard OP t1_j5zrmdx wrote

Reply to comment by DogFun2635 in Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 and my struggle to love it by ThatCommanderShepard

That may also have something to do with my chafing against his language. There’s a through line of apathy in the book from beginning to end that I think wore on me, especially with the dense text and often meandering asides. I found a good stopping point between novellas so maybe once I pick it back up I’ll get to see that style used to greater effect

Edit: not sure why this warranted downvotes!

1

gatocurioso t1_j62fvg3 wrote

The apathy is a choice. It's supposed to make you uneasy, and then to question that uneasiness ('hey, nothing happened, this is boring"). This becomes apparent in later chapters. I think a lot of the book is about society's reaction to horrible violence, how the latter becomes background noise eventually

Ninja edit: also, the comparison to Márquez is reaching. It's shorthand for big south-of-the-USA fiction, I guess

1