I ~think~ this is the first mystery-ish novel of the semester, and I have to say I really enjoyed both the change of pace and the novel itself. I recall being quite fascinated by Bolaño’s Amulet in RMST 202, and was absorbed by his eloquent and slightly grotesque writing style yet again in Distant Star. Although the main narrative—that of Wieder and his connection to the bizarre disappearances of young poets in Chile—was at times tough to follow amid the plot diversions, such as when the narrator tells us the story of Lorenzo/Lorenza (best quote: “In the current sociopolitical climate, […] committing suicide is absurd and redundant. Better to become an undercover poet” [80]), I actually liked these moments the most. These extra narratives allow readers to better understand the speaker and what stories attract him in contrast to his almost exposition-like delineation of the novel.
I found Jon’s point in the lecture video on “Wieder’s art [as] fascist in that it […] [celebrates] extermination as a ‘cleansing’ that eliminates everything that no longer belongs” especially interesting. The section of the novel depicting Muños Cano’s experience attending Wieder’s twisted art exhibition was the hardest to get through, yet by far the most memorable. I think that, following the murder scene Wieder makes of the Garmendia twins’ home in the novel’s beginning, I was sort of primed for something this grotesque and extreme to occur, but was still taken aback by the descriptions of the photographs. Wieder as a serial killer is particularly frightening because he simultaneously embodies the ‘pretentious poet’ archetype; his ‘art’—the lecture video asks if we can call it that and I’m going to say no—is allowed to push (crazy) boundaries and break rules (laws) because it represents something greater—it ‘cleanses’. It is “the art of the future” (93). Seems to me Wieder is no more than a man frustrated by a lack of poetic skill who cannot think of an idea more original than killing folks and claiming their art as his own.
A few questions—do you have a favourite quote? One of mine is “Nature intervenes actively in history” (121). Who do you think hired Romero to assassinate (or simply track down) Wieder if not Bibiano? Do you think it’s an individual we’ve encountered in the novel or someone else entirely?
Carlos is indeed intriguing. Perhaps what he is least interested in is demonstrating his poetic talent, if he has any. He could simply be an infiltrator for the Pinochet forces, a spy, informer and executioner. But what you write down on your blog leads us to think of even more dire possibilities. Going back to Jon’s lecture, how do you interpret the necropolitical aspect of the “art” he makes? Is it some kind of macabre “happening”?
Hi,
Great post! I agree that his art is interesting, and that he holds an almost scary power to both inhabit ‘art’ but also go to extreme lengths in that vain (ie. murder). I didn’t have a favorite quote while reading, but flipping through now, I thought “death is friendship (145) was interesting, it was the first string in his sequence and it made me wonder about the relationship between death and friendship!
Hi Neko,
Interesting thoughts on considering Carlos as an artist! It somewhat reminds me of when he wrote in the sky “Death is resurrection” and ‘Death is cleansing”. I guess maybe he’s less of an artist and more so a person obsessed with this idea of death. And I do think theres a difference. I personally stand on the side that what he did was art but the artist isn’t him or him only, but rather this entire event / exhibition almost seems like performative art, as we are pushed to question the ethics and aptitude of Carlos’ creative ability. This conversation of art reminded me of how some talk about the exploitative nature of Picasso’s art that concerns his muses. I think the conditions and background in which the art was created actually largely make up what the art consists of, and I think this exhibition has substance to be considered as art. Sort of like the way Banksy created a painting that would go through the shredder when it was bought counts as art. Like the action signifies something. Personally, I don’t know if I have a favourite quote. there are a lot of good quotes out there. But I found the poem in the sky the most impactful throughout out novel.