A vast novel in five linked parts. It begins with four European literary scholars who chase the elusive, reclusive German writer Benno von Archimboldi, and their search leads them to a violent city in northern Mexico. Other parts follow a Chilean professor, a American journalist, a police investigation, and finally Archimboldi's own life. The book moves between comedy, scholarship and horror, and looks at the ordinary evil of the modern world. It was published after Bolaño's death and is often seen as his masterpiece.
Quotes
About happiness he said not a word, I suppose because he considered it something strictly private and perhaps, how shall I say, treacherous or elusive.