Well, I’m a few days behind the rest of the gang.
In fact, my reading will probably be quite slow for the rest of the month and I may not finish any of the 4 or 5 books I’ve started before April. Two weeks ago my grandmother had surgery for cancer, but her prognosis is poor. The day after her surgery, my grandfather had a heart attack while visiting. He died in the operating room last Wednesday. Those of you reading along on Facebook know this already. Obviously, that’s been what I’ve been thinking about, not my reading. And my duties are not yet ended.
Nevertheless, I have not put aside the books. I just will be playing catchup for a bit. Better late than not at all.
What’s my impression of The Savage Detectives so far (at page 75 or so)? Not really impressed yet. Not driven away either though. Bolaño can write; he can move things along pretty well. But I’m not so enamored with the characters, particularly García Madero, the narrator. He’s a young kid at university, living with his parents and without any real world experience. He falls in with a group of ne’er-do-well poets and general layabouts who call themselves the visceral realists. García Madero drifts from person to person, looking for a place in the world vicariously. The secondary characters have not yet been fleshed out.
I do like one secondary character, Maria Font. She’s a willful girl who sleeps around. I like that she doesn’t apologize for seeking pleasure, and she asserts herself with the men she beds. So far, I’m not too happy with how the characters treat her though. Several of the boys in the story pejoratively call her a slut and act as if her behavior is less savory than their own participation. Typical male, of course. Roberto Bolaño isn’t writing anything that’s untrue.
I read somewhere that this is a Huck Finn story from a South American Spanish perspective, but I’m not seeing the similarity yet. Perhaps later.
I think I like Garcia Madero so much because I just see him as a big dumb tool. He wants so much to be a visceral realist, but he’s really just a lazy kid who really only wants to get laid.
I just finished this week’s section (post will appear by the weekend), and I started getting into the story more, although thus far the huck finn part seems like a stretch.
I’m very sorry to hear about your grandparents; I don’t think I’d be able to read at all under those circumstances. You’re in my thoughts.
PS – I see you’re also reading Accelerando…that book is also on my “to read’ list this year. I tried it a few years ago but gave up early on. Since you’ve agreed to do TSD with me, maybe I’ll give Stross another go. Stay tuned.
So far I wouldn’t recommend the stross either. But it was on dailylit.com, so it’s easy to pace too.