The amulet was a confusing mess of history but Bolano somehow made it a must-read. The suspense was killing me only to realize that the horrors were never really going to appear because the narrator constantly dodged those bullets and got to see the better sides of the stories she shared. The first part of the book I believe was the peak, as Auxilio was trapped in the 4th-floor bathroom while the police and military were raiding her university. I thought the officer was going to find her and capture her, but instead, we got to hear her “memories” instead, and honestly, that provided more excitement than the typical rising conflict scenario.
Every character had depth and had a reason for the readers to be invested in. Elena and Arturo were the standouts, and the son of Lillian was definitely the eeriest character. Elena was Auxilios self-proclaimed best friend and would always be worried whether Elena was not around or missing. Although, the friendship did seem one-sided as Elena focused on love with Paulo near the end and constantly left without a trace. But Auxilio would always be there longing for her friend to return. Her relationship with Arturo was a little more complicated as she was his teacher and provided as some sort of secondary mother figure, but at the same time a friend once he returned from the army. The mystery of Arturo’s experience seemed horrifying to the point where he started hanging out with the other sewer boys. It seemed like he was very much humbled and decided to go back to his roots and also act as a leader for these struggling kids. The most important part of the book for me involved the confrontation between Arturo, Ernesto, Auxilio, and The “King” about Ernesto’s debt. I expected some blood and tragedy to occur but instead, Arturo was more focused on helping the slave child and making sure he was to be saved. Whatever happened to the kid seemed horrific, but the book constantly dodges these horrible moments and that seems to be the “horror” part. Constantly narrowing disaster, but still reminding us of the events that still transpired really got me invested. And the fact that I kept bracing myself for the worst, but only getting to see Auxilios connections with many important figures were still eye-opening. The journey was endless, but so were conflicts and terror.
My question for this week is what kind of memories would you want to fall back on? Back in time? Forward in the future? what would be your bathroom moment?
Xyrus Ramos
2 Comments
Thanks for your post, Xyrus!
You were expecting a horror story, as much as blood and tragedy, as we many did. What do we make of this betrayal from the author?
I honestly don’t think of it as a betrayal, as I think he was definitely going in for the twist factor. And he really got me invested cause of that. Every single potential “horror” scene made me want to keep turning the page to see the rising action only for it to be a close call got me pumped regardless of what I read.