Roberto Bolano - Chilean Fiction Writer

I first heard about Roberto Bolano a year or two ago when his novel 2666 was first published in English. The book received tremendous critical acclaim. However, any thoughts I had of reading this novel were scuttled when I realized that the book is about 1,000 pages in length. I don't mind long stories, but 1,000 pages!!! Bolano, who died at the age of 50 in 2003, was a poet, who turned to writing fiction in his 40s. 2666, which was originally published in Spanish in 2004, was heralded by some as the first great novel of the 21st century. I figured this was one of those novels that people were buying as a result of the buzz, but not actually reading.

Recently, a couple of Bolano's short stories appeared in The New Yorker. (I keep mentioning this magazine, but it is a great source of short fiction). I don't remember the name of the first story I read, but it was a taut crime/mystery story. The more recent story is called the Prefiguration of Lalo Cura. It is about a man who grew up with his mother and aunt while these ladies were involved in the Columbian porn industry. They worked exclusively with this German director who strove to make "art porn". The story was strange, but I can't get it out of my head (and not because of the subject matter). There is something hypnotic in his writing that I can't quite put my finger on. Below is the link to the story. I hope you check it out. I may have to bite the bullet and commit to his 1,000 page magnum opus after all.

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/04/19/100419fi_fiction_bolano