Translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer

My earlier Bolaño experience, namely 2666, created two expectations vis-a-vis The Savage Detectives: to finish with a dearth of understanding, and a wealth of impressions. In neither expectation was I disappointed. Nor was I disappointed.

Synopsis: A poet gets lost, then another poet gets lost, then lots of poets talk about two poets who didn’t really get lost.

Happily it is not necessary to grasp the finer points of Bolaño’s vision in order to be bowled over by the grandeur of its scope, its magnificence.
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