Chile: Antwerp (Roberto Bolaño, trans. Natasha Wimmer)
Roberto Bolaño (1953-2009) was a Chilean writer, known for his novels, short stories, poets, and essays. Bolaño spent the majority of his childhood on the coast of southern Chile, where he was bullied and lonely. When he was 15, his family moved to Mexico City, and Bolaño left school to become a journalist and activist. In 1973, Bolaño returned to Chile to support the socialist-democratic Salvador Allende, although he was later arrested when Auguste Pinochet successfully held a coup against Allende. Known for his paradoxical views on Chile, he at once criticized the writer Isabel Allende and other Chilean writers, while also demonstrating his commitment to the country's political success. In 1974, Bolaño returned to Mexico and became a terror in the literary scene, acting erratically and causing great alarm amongst publishers. By 1977, Bolaño had decided to move to Spain, where he spent the rest of his life, eventually turning from poetry to primarily fiction. In 1999, he wont the Rómulo Gallegos Prize, and in 2008 he won the National Book Critics Circle Award posthumously.
Background: Before the Spanish conquest, the Chilean region was inhabited by the Mapuche, an ethnic group consisting of many different communities who shared social, linguistic, economic, and religious structures. In 1520, Magellan came to Chile while trying to circumnavigate the world. In 1535, Diego de Almagro arrived from Peru, in the hopes of finding gold. By 1540, Pedro de Valdivia began to attempt colonization with determination, eventually founding Santiago. The Mapuche fought back, killing Valdivia and destroying many colonial settlements until 1655. In 1683, the Spanish abolished slavery since it only seemed to drive the Mapuche to fight back more, although tensions did not resolve. Since Chile is so geographically isolated, the colony was very centralized, with a large army. After 30 years of peace, the 18th century saw continued uprisings from Mapuche in 1723, 1759, 1766, and 1769, which allowed them to maintain their own territories. In 1810, the Chilean War of Independence began. Beginning amongst a small group of elites (many were in support of the Spanish royals), the Government Junta of the Kingdom of Chile attempted to take over from the Royal Governor while still maintaining ties to Spain. In 1814, however, the Spaniards reconquered, setting back independence, although the idea itself spread like wildfire. On February 12, 1818, Chile declared itself independent, but little changed. Throughout the 19th century, borders and territories were solidified, as the social order stayed the same. In 1891, the Chilean Civil War redistributed power, and a parliamentary democracy was established. The 20th century saw economic degeneration as oligarchy and then Marxism took over. A coup in 1924 started a period of instability until 1932, during which ten different governments held power. The Radical Party took over until 1942, turning the country back to conservatism. In 1964, a Christian Democrat won the presidency (Eduardo Frei Montalva), who initiated countless reforms in agriculture, education, and unionization. The Socialist Part of Salvador Allende took over in 1970, although his rule was challenging: economic depression, destabilization by the American government, and rapid inflation reigned. Auguste Pinochet overthrew Allende in a coup in 1973, and held power until 1990. A harsh dictator, Pinochet was responsible for many human rights violations, including torture, murder, and imprisonment. In the '80s, mass resistance called for greater personal freedom for citizens, and the country moved towards a free market economy. By the '90s, things had turned around, and the last decades have seen a mix of right and left wing governments.
Antwerp (New Directions Publishing) is a novella, written in 1980 when he was only 27 years old, but not published until 2002. Considered by many to be the origin point of Bolaño's literary cosmology, the novella is fragmentary, without a central plot. 56 vignettes speak to small moments concerning crime, sex, corruption, isolation. Although Bolaño acts as the narrator, he is fictionalized. Some vignettes are full of exquisite writing, while others are hard to get into. More poetry than fiction in certain moments, the novella reads as if Bolaño is still working out how he wants to write. I found a lot of it difficult to understand; the disjointed nature of the writing is hard to follow. I'm not sure I particularly enjoyed it, but it might be more your cup of tea if you're more into post-modernism or poetry. At the very least, Bolaño had this to say: "The only novel that doesn't embarrass me is Antwerp" so worth reading at least if you're interested in Bolaño.
