About book I Dispiaceri Del Vero Poliziotto (2011)
I read The Savage Detectives last year and ever since I wanted to read more Bolano. Woes of the True Po9liceman starts off very promisingly. Any person who really loved reading a Bolano novel would love it. But then there occur many very interesting parallel stories which do not meet cohesively by the end because of the novel wasn't completed. Don't please start reading Bolano with this. REst, if you want to buy it don't hesitate if there is nothing interesting around. There are some really lovely chapters and scenes and has all the things I love about Bolano. Poets, Literary Academicians, people with courage, cowards, wannabe poets living on the margins, scandals, love, sex..." So obviously unfinished, at times I felt like I was reading files from Bolano's Trash Folder. The whole book feels like deleted bits from a larger work, 2666. However, there is some amazing writing in Woes of the True Policeman, and there is some satisfaction when aspects of the numerous story lines begin to overlap towards the end. Chapters 18 and 19 in Part II: Amalfitano and Padilla are incredible and showcase the book's most redeeming quality, the criticisms of art and literature in the 20th Century. The way Bolano layers a fictional narrative with references to real works and artists (OULIPO, Gombrowicz, Larry Rivers, etc) give the text some much needed depth. There is no clear plot. There are no clear motivations. No arcs and no conclusions, with exception to the character of Padilla who evolves from a plot device, a mere catalyst, to the book's real protagonist. The commentary and the observations of the characters, their letters and their conversations, make it a worthwhile read. Also, I found the Arcimboldi chapters impressive. Bolano gives brief summaries of fictional narratives by a fictional author. Each could be unpacked into a full novel. Ultimately, these chapters are frustrating for 2 reasons. 1. They illustrate just how talented Bolano is/was and how much more he could have offered. 2. They interrupt the development of the plot just as it is beginning to delve into one of the novel's most intriguing characters, Rosa.
Do You like book I Dispiaceri Del Vero Poliziotto (2011)?
Unfinished, like some other of his work. A bit patchy, but still good for someone who loves Bolaño.
—linsay32
Lost patience with this one quickly. More of an outline for a novel.
—nusa
