While I enjoyed the beginning and the end of Amuleto, I did not enjoy the book overall.
Most of the time I was annoyed or bored. I just wanted the book to end but the process got dragged out even longer for me because my mind kept wandering and so I’d have to go back and re-read pages. For some reason, this style of writing doesn’t bother me as much in Savage Detectives, maybe because the first part was written in a different way (more journal-style entries) and maybe because we have different voices in part two, but I found Auxilio’s repetition extremely annoying (how many times did she say she was the mother of Mexican poetry?). At first I found it funny, but after a while I got annoyed. It felt like a weird way to fill in the words but Amuleto is a short story, so why the fillers? I provide an example here:
“Tal vez más delgada, pero en realidad no estaba más delgada. Tal vez más demacrada, aunque en realidad no estaba más demacrada. Tal vez más callada, pero me bastaron tres minutos para darme cuenta de que tampoco estana más callada… (Maybe more skinny but she wasn’t less skinny. Maybe more haggard [is this the correct translation?] although in reality she wasn’t more haggard. Maybe quieter but it took me three minutes to realize she wasn’t quieter either…)” (Bolaño 38-39).
The stories all seemed the same and so it felt like it was all blending together. I also hated the dialogue-style of writing, the back and forth of “I said and then she said and then I responded”… Sometimes it made for such long sentences and I just found it dull to read that over and over again. I named this post pulling teeth because that’s how it felt for me to get through this book… and what was with the two-pages of her prophecies?? It seemed unnecessary to me.
However, as I mentioned above, I did enjoy the ending. I found it more interesting to read about these “dreams” she was having, conversing with other artists, such as Remedios Varo and Lilian Serpas. Since she continued to talk about being in the bathroom, on the fourth floor of the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature, you could really see how traumatic of an experience this was for her (and I’m sure would have been for anyone). There were moments in which I thought maybe she had actually died and she was conversing with these dead artists in the Otherworld. It was interesting to notice as well that she seemed to be acknowledging more of her Uruguyan side, rather than just being the mother of Mexican poetry towards the end of the book. She is even surprised to find that her escalofríos (shivers) are Uruguyan and the guardian angel of her dreams is Argentinian, and we see more use of “vos” rather than “tú.” It seemed like an interesting coming home for her, perhaps as she was on the threshold of life and death? Did anyone else feel this way, when they were reading this story?
I will admit that I’m glad this book is over though, and we can continue with Savage Detectives and our book-of-choice.
Hi Amanda! I can see where you are coming from. But, overall, I enjoyed Amulet. I was captivated by Auxilio’s reflections and the dreamlike quality of her experiences, especially in the washroom and her conversations with artists. Her repetition and imagination felt immersive, adding rhythm and depth to the story.
– David C.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
“I found Auxilio’s repetition extremely annoying”
There is repetition (and we might ask why), though the example you proceed to give seems to be a question of contradiction… “perhaps this, but perhaps not this.” Why does Auxilio seem so often unable to land on the right word or phrase?
Yes, I agree that the example I provided is also related to contradictions but I saw it as repetition because she goes on about it for a long time: “she was like this but not really, she was like that but not really, maybe she was more like this but not really, etc etc”
I enjoyed our discussion yesterday though around this very theme of not being able to land on something… it was on the tip of her tongue then she lost it again.
Hi! I agree that the beginning of the book its the strong suit. I, however, find the repetition as something really cool, even if its just read by itself without the context of the book. I think trying to think why you find it annoying might be a good line to follow.
It’s also really interesting how different reading experiences can be. My Savage Detectives is your Amulet.
Thank you for the reflection 🙂 I will definitely ponder that some more.
It’s been interesting to reflect on that as well, and why I prefer Savage Detectives over Amulet when its written in a similar way
Hi Amanda! I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t really enjoy reading Amulet, but indeed now we’re done with it so you can move on with The Savage Detectives and your book of choice (perhaps this is another advantage of shorter books where you can finish it faster). Since I read the English version I’m not sure I picked up on the “vos” vs “tu” distinction, I’d have to compare the texts side-by-side. I, too, enjoyed the writing style in The Savage Detectives more but perhaps for different reasons that I mention a bit in my blog post. You also mention that some parts feel “unnecessary” and that definitely seems like a common feeling in Bolano’s works, however, I don’t take much issue with it as long as I enjoy reading those parts, and it keeps me engaged as I try to keep track of what’s “important” and what’s not.
Thank you for your thoughtful reflection!
I came away from this experience wondering if maybe I prefer long books over short books… 🙂