Roberto Bolano “Amulet”

This book caught my attention instantly with these first couple of sentences, “This is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection, and horror. But it wont appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller. Told by me it won’t seem like that. Although, in fact, it is a story of a terrible crime.” Automatically I questioned how the narrator was able to tell what they described to be a horror in a way that it won’t seem like a horror. I felt that I needed to continue reading, until I was able to understand what the narrator meant. 

Throughout the story, I noticed how much detail the author put into the story to help their readers create little scenes in their heads. I liked the attention to detail, and found that it wasn’t overpowering the entire storyline like how it had in some of our previous books. 

I like how the story was condensed of shorter stories that the narrator- Auxilio, told as one story. I was always waiting for the next one to start and see what adventure was told through the next chapter or a couple chapters. I felt that it kept me from getting bored of one story. Another aspect of the story that I liked was how the author addressed questions to themselves as a way to stage their opinions, instead of blatantly stating their opinion. For example, on page 130, the narrator states, “What did I think of his drawings? I didn’t like them much to be perfectly honest.” This made the book have a more conversational style to it that I really enjoyed. I haven’t come across many books where I felt that I could actually connect with the narrator. I also liked how at the end, we got to see more of what she was talking about at the beginning of the story, and you can understand more of what she went through and how it connected to the beginning. It was interesting to read about her thoughts that went through her head during those ten days in the bathroom, and how they helped her get through it. Like many of the other books we have read throughout this semester, this one came in full circle. Starting with Auxilio trapped in the bathroom and ending with how she was able to escape. 

My question for this week’s reading:

Did you like how this story was told, or would you have rather read more about Auxilios experience of survival? 

5 Replies to “Roberto Bolano “Amulet””

  1. Hello Sophiacinelli! Thank you for your blog!
    I also had the same feeling about the transition of stories from the ordinal everydayness to something melancholic at the end of the book. And I agree with your point that the story is divided into many parts that make it keep us attracted to the book. So, I think I did like how it was told generally.

  2. Hi! I really liked the structure, as I felt like it paralleled how history is often told – many narratives that may be erratic and consist of some missing details or inaccuracies. I enjoyed the few snippets of her survival but didn’t expect any details and looked more forward to the stories of adventure!

  3. Hi Sophia! It seems like you enjoyed this book and were able to resonate with the narrator, which must have added to your enjoyment of the novel as a whole. I personally did not like how the book was structured, as I found it difficult to keep track of what was going on. In all honesty, the stories felt very random to me.

  4. Hi Sophia!

    I agree with that Eliza said in that the book felt quite sporadic at times and all over the place; though not all books have to abide to a linear structure, I think it still helps in engaging the reader throughout the book a lot more. Having more stories about Auxilio’s experience of survival would’ve been great!

  5. Hi Sophia,
    I enjoyed reading your post! I also enjoyed the attention to detail. It made it easier for me to visualize and better understand what was happening in the novel. To answer your question, I would have preferred reading more about Auxilio’s experience of survival because I was distracted and somewhat stressed out by this scenario as I was worried about what would happen to her.

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