A collection of short stories drawn from Bolaño's early work. Its characters are often writers, drifters and exiles in Latin America, Europe and the United States. They are shown in odd, quiet moments of friendship, rivalry, travel and loss. Some tales are funny, others melancholy or eerie. Together they show his interest in literary life, wandering and the shadow of violence.
Quotes
We never stop reading, although every book comes to an end, just as we never stop living, although death is certain.
His experience of being imprisoned during the regime of Augusto Pinochet, as depicted in "Dance Card", p. 215