This was an interesting book, definitely one of my favourites that we have read. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised. Something that really stood out to me was how different the overall writing style of the book was, in a way it was a lot less magical then the other books we have read. Also, I found the way the characters were written and the way the story was narrated to be quite interesting. I was definitely captivated by the way the story was progressing.
Throughout the novel I couldn’t help but fixate on two characters, Carlos Wieder and the narrator. I found Carlos to be such an interesting and complex character. He was seen and described as being a brilliant poet who wrote poetry when flying his airplane (which is so cool), and attracted a lot of admirers for his poetry. The way he is described makes him seem like a normal character, however when it’s later discovered that he is a serial killer, there is something new added to the story. Something I kept coming back to with his character was how you can’t really escape your past. It didn’t matter that Alberto changed his name and essentially started a new life for himself, he still couldn’t escape that desire or need to kill people and portray it in some way. I found it ironic how when he was known as Alberto, he was a mysterious poetry student that not many people knew too well, and then when he changed his name to Carlos, he became this famous poet. The attention and power he had as this brilliant person who writes poetry with his airplane in the sky, ended up becoming his downfall. In a way he became more corrupt as he grew more famous, and he allowed his true-self to be shown when he displayed those horrific photos. It seemed that Wieder/Ruiz-Tagle couldn’t escape his love for poetry…and killing.
Moving on from the character of Carlos, there is one piece of imagery that I haven’t been able to move on from, and that was Lorenzo’s attempted suicide. With everything else that was going on throughout, it felt kind of out of place to mention suicide, but also made sense at the same time. Regardless of that, the way it was described “Then he went under again. This time too he kept his eyes open: he turned his head calmly (as if under anaesthetic), looking for something, anything, as long as it was beautiful, to be his last memory.” (pg.81), was one of the most poetic lines written in the novel. This writing style and imagery was such a stark-contrast from overall writing in the book.
Question to think about: Why was poetry a central theme throughout the novel? The actual concept of poetry isn’t really expanded on, like actual poems, but instead its used as a foundation for the storyline. I’m just curious to know why Bolaño chose to use poetry, as a backdrop for a, relatively, dark-themed novel.
Carlos would be something much more terrible than a serial killer, an executioner of the opponents of the Pinochet dictatorship, which makes him even more sinister, if that is possible. And in that there is also a chameleon aspect, which reminds me a bit of Zelig, the one in the Woody Allen film. What does a poet do murdering others? In addition, Bolaño himself was a poet and knew those environments. In a way, it’s like a “What if…?” in the style of Borges, don’t you think?
Hey Alizey, I think your question is super important here!
Actually, I’ve chosen to write about the lack of clarity throughout the book – using as an example the lack of explanations for the art, and suggesting that perhaps this blur of purpose is symbolic of the confusion felt by young people at the foot of an authoritarian revolution. Of course – we would know the anti-art feelings harbored against creative thinkers – leading to their attack and abuse from the oppressive system – so perhaps it worked as an applicable demographic to base the story around.
Perhaps it was random… I’m not sure!
Hi Alizey! Loved your blog post! I loved your question!
I feel like maybe he added poetry to lighten the storyline instead of focusing on the coup and its consequences. Poetry adds an artistic, lighter feel to the book. Poetry also makes Weider more mysterious; he seems like a chill poet but is more underneath. Weider would be seen as a murderer solely having a more negative view of him. But, him being a poet, it lightens his view because he is an artist. Allowing people to think of his ways in an artistic one, sending a message, and the fact that he’s a poet; makes people question how could he have killed these people? Many other reasons could be. These are just some that popped into my head when I read your question. thanks for sharing!
Hi Alizey! Brilliant blog post, as always 🙂 You pose a very interesting question. I think the reason that poetry is so important in the novel is that it can be very ambiguous. Poetry, in my opinion, is one of the most flexible art forms because there are so few firm conventions and so many potential layers of meaning, making it good for expressing ideas that you don’t want everyone to see at the first glance. Perhaps this quality of poetry was inspiration for Bolano’s writing. Truthfully I don’t know, but there’s an idea!
ps I meant : ) without the space, not the creepy 🙂 it automatically replaced with lol