A haunting novel by the much-acclaimed, late Roberto Bolano.

A cast of characters from both sides of the tracks assemble in a coastal resort town in Spain. We have a governmental official, second-in-command to the woman mayor of the city; an opportunistic entrepreneurial businessman who runs tourist gift shops and bars; a down-and-out Chilean poet (who could that be?); a beautiful national champion figure skater and several semi-homeless folks who live on-and-off in abandoned houses and a campground.



The story is told from the point of view of the first three, all males, as sequential one-voice chapters. The story is structured as a who-done-it, but un your usual murder mystery, no one gets killed until very late in the book, so, part of the mystery is, who is going to get murdered?

But, since this is Bolano, we don't read this book for the mystery. The author creates a dream- environment with a lot of local color, character development and dark humor. Almost everyone in the novel is in love with someone so it is also fundamentally a book about love, unrequited love, lust and romance.



Photo of Calella in Catalonia from 1zoom.me
Photo of the author from posfacio.com.br
chilean-authors mexican-authors122 s Guille828 2,088

Hace poco comentaba por aquí lo mucho que puede influir en nuestra consideración el nombre del autor del relato (por cierto, lean “El mundo deslumbrante”), y ahora, tras leer “La pista de hielo”, me debato entre dos opciones: seguir orgulloso de mi iconoclasia y por mucho que sea Bolaño y aunque se vean trazas de lo que después fue el autor, "Los detectives salvajes" se atisvan por aquí, sostener que no es una buena novela o, si quieren, que no me ha gustado lo que debiera; o, por el contrario, admitir que es precisamente la firma de Bolaño y lo mucho que le exijo al autor la causa de que esta novela no me haya parecido nada del otro mundo. Quién sabe.

Hasta que no saque una conclusión definitiva le mantendré las tres estrellas, aunque solo sea por el cariño que le tengo al autor y porque la historia no deja de ser entretenida: unos hechos, asesinato incluido, contados desde tres perspectivas distintas, aunque apenas se toquen entre ellas, con un amor imposible, triste, desganado, helado, en el centro de todas ellas, y en las que encontré un cierto aire a Marsé, no me pregunten por qué (aunque según he leído después, no he sido el único).91 s Sawsan1,000

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?????? ????? ??? ????? ?????, ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ?????????
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???? ??????? ??? ?????? ???????? ????????? ??? ????????
????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ????????, ???????, ??????, ?????? ??????

69 s foteini_dl472 134

??? – ??????- ?????????? ??????????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ? Bolano. ??? ???? ???? ???????, ? ?., ??? ????? ?????? (????? ?????, ??????) ??? ????????????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ???????. ???, ????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????, ??? ???????? ??? ???? ?????.

????????? ??? ?? ????? ??????????? ??? ?????????, ?? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ?? 2666 , ?? ?? ??? ????? ????????? ????????. ????, ????, ????? ??????? ??? ??? ????????? ?????? (????????, ??? ????? ??’ ????) ??? ???????, ?’ ???? ???????? ?????, ?? ???????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ??? 2666 . ???? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ? Bolano ??????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????????? ??? ?????????. ????, ????, ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ????????: ?? ???????????? ??????????, ? ?????????, ? ?????????? ??? ?????????? ?? ???????? (?, ?????, ?? ????????;), ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ??????, ???

?????? ????? ????????????? ??? ??? ??????? ???,

? – ?????? ???????? - ??????? ??? ?????????.

??? ?????? ??????? ???????, ?? ???????? ??? ????????? ??????.

? Bolano ????? ???? ?????.

?.?.: ???? ??????? ???????????? ?? ?????????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????, ???? ???? ?? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ????????, ????? ? ???????. ??????? ????? ??? ??????? ????????.

??? ???? ??? ????? ?????????? ?? ?? ????? ???, ?;around-the-world favorites38 s Comfortably127 43

??????????? ?? ?????????? ???????????? ????? ????? ? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ??? 2666 ???? ???????????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ?????????? ??? ?? Bolaño. ???????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ??????. ?????????? ??????, ???? ????? ???? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???????, ??? ??? ????? ?? ????????? ???? ?? ??????. ? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???????????????? ?? ?????????, ?? ????, ?? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????????, ??? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ????. ????? ??? ?? ????.. ???? ?? ??????? ????????? ???????? ?? ????????? ??? ???? ???. ??? ??? ????? - ??? ????? ?? ???????????. ?? ?????????? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ?? ??????, ??? ?? ???????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? Bolaño. ??? ??????????? ??????, ????????? ?? ?????????, ???????? ???? ????? ??? ????????? ???? - ????, ??????????? ???? ????? ??? ????????, ??????? ???? ???????????????? ??? ???????? ???? ???????????.. ?? ???????????, ??????, ????????, ??????, ????????????, ????, ??????????, ????, ?????????. ????? ?? 2666! 28 s Paul1,262 2,038

I think I’m rather on the fence about this one; Bolano’s first novel. It is a mix of genres; a touch of murder mystery, which is entirely secondary to the plot. Throw in obsession, political corruption, immigration, poets, a seaside resort on the Costa Brava, a homeless opera singer, an Olympic skater, a ruined mansion, the influence of Borges, a secret skating rink, a love triangle and lots of individual oddities.
The novel is set in a Costa Brava town over a summer season and the narrative is told alternately by three men; a Mexican poet, who is an illegal immigrant and works as a night watchman at a camp site; a civil servant who embezzles public money to build the skating rink for Nuria Marti, a beautiful skater who has been dropped from the Olympic team and needs somewhere to practice; and a Chilean writer who runs a group of jewellery shops. Working out who the victim will be is fun; working out the murderer much more difficult and unimportant. There are some stunning descriptive passages, but also some oddity and a few passages that, for me, didn’t work.
One of the issues I had was that the narrative voices were a little a and tended to merge into each other. However it is a minor point and the word play is very good; the sky appears “a lung dipped in blue paint” before going pink “ an enlightened butcher”.
It’s a good read, quirky and off the wall; a little slight with the narrators too a, but colourful and interesting.
3.5 starssouth-american26 s Davide493 117

Sicuramente non il miglior Bolaño ma si riconoscono già diversi elementi dei suoi libri maggiori, a partire dalla serie di testimonianze di personaggi: qui tre, che si alternano regolarmente e intrecciano le loro vicende ambientate a Z, paese catalano di mare, vicino a X e a Y. (Blanes?)

Letto adesso, è come riabbracciare un vecchio amico.
Un vecchio amico di quando «eravamo tutti adolescenti, adolescenti scafati, questo sì, e poeti, e ridevamo.»
Un vecchio amico magro, che ad abbracciarlo senti le costole; e ti racconta qualcosa di quel che è successo nel frattempo, con una certa sprezzatura dropout.

In un rapidissimo profilo dei suoi libri, anni dopo, dirà che in questo libro parlava «della bellezza, che dura poco e finisce quasi sempre in modo disastroso».1976-2000 america-latina cile ...more24 s Nad Gandia173 51 Read

“Todos estamos acostumbrados a morir cada cierto tiempo y tan poco a poco que la verdad es que cada día estamos más vivos. Infinitamente viejos e infinitamente vivos.”

Publicada por primera vez en 1993, nos muestra ciertas trazas de lo que terminaría siendo el Bolaño más absoluto. Una novela de apariencia sencilla, fragmentada y contad a medias. Termina con un final redondo. A través de entrevistas y testimonios, sin florituras, pero con la atmósfera sardónica, y tensa de las mejores novelas policiacas, novelas que Bolaño empapó durante muchos años. Un germen de lo que vendrá siendo el estilo de los Detectives salvajes, o de su novela absoluta 2666. No se puede considerar, la segunda novela de Bolaño como la mejor, pero sin duda, no e en absoluto una segunda mala novela.
A veces cruel, en otras cariñoso o melancólico, ocurre en un lugar ficticio donde muchas veces la magia se asemeja a la realidad. Una estructura cuanto menos curiosa, carente de ubicación concreta de la línea temporal, juega al despiste hasta el último momento de forma magistral. Siempre he pensado, pensaré que, Bolaño cae en la redundancia cuando a él le da la gana, juega con el lector, lo convierte en parte de su juego. Incluso, no en este caso, pero en otras novelas, si cae en la redundancia, del sinsentido, simplemente por el placer de hacerlo. Para ello se necesita un dominio del lenguaje, del ritmo narrativo y de la sintaxis. Lo complicado de la sencillez. Una lectura perfecta para empezar a leer a Bolaño, aunque siempre recomendaré sus cuentos para empezar. A ver si este año consigo leer toda su obra, una obra a la que le venía siguiendo la pista desde hace varios años, como un buen detective salvaje.
Siempre que reseño a Bolaño me permito un tiempo de reflexión, no solo para digerirlo. Si no para desentrañar los entresijos de los misterios de su lenguaje
18 s Matthew Ted839 824

119th book of 2023.

2.5. You'll see some articles calling this a bona fide masterpiece but it isn't. One of those books reserved for the mad readers who to complete entire oeuvres. A sort of murder story with three first person narrators, all of whom sound too similar and just end up confusing things instead of deepening them. For newcomers to Bolano, it's worth starting somewhere later down the line.20th-century lit-latin-american lit-writ-spanish ...more12 s1 comment Araz Goran831 4,206

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???? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ????????? ???????? ?? ??????? , ??????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????..
??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? : ???? ?????? ? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????????? ? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ??????, ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???????? ???????? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ..


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??????? ????? ??????? ????? , ????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???????, ????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???, ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ?? ????????..





??? ?????-???????? ??????17 s Giuseppe SirugoAuthor 9 books46

Que no leía una novela del poeta fue un año! Aparte de unas pocas reseñas, o fragmentos de biografía editada con el nombre User:Baffo o GseSro sobre la enciclopedia Wikipedia de Italia u de España, el último libro de Roberto Bolaño fue Il terzo Reich:


Joder! ¿Qué, y cuánto distraído soy, pienso sin darme cuenta! Una mañana de cerca un año antes iba a una reunión de trabajo. Tomo el autobús, veo una silla vacía y me siento. Básicamente tuve que hacer algunas paradas, pero la fatiga del trabajador en paro se hace cargo y empieza a pasear en mi mente, eso hasta que me suena el mòvil: hago algo para tomarlo en manera de contestar, y de aquellos momentos entiendo que me quedé dormido en la silla.
Mientras tantos el autobús había llegado a fin camino, en el otro lado de la cuidad de Turín.
En esta temporada no estabo calvo, corto que hago de gusto proprio, llevaba la barba larga y el cabello cortado a casco, tipo un chico hippie, o como el cabello de la puta actriz Valentina u Manuela, o como coño se llama la actriz. Probablemente, he sido confundido con una persona sin hogar, un sujeto que no sabe dónde ir a dormir. Y me dejaron absuelto en la paz de mi sentito. Me despierto de repente, por que en mis manos no he tenido ningún movil. Ademàs me di cuenta que había perdido la entrevista de trabajo, quién sabe, tal vez incluso el trabajo futuro. Pero desde entonces esto no era importante ya, porque había conseguido bajar del autobús perdiendo también el número de teléfono de ellos, nombre de la empresa y la misma calle.
Sucesivamente, en las alturas del centro de Turín, no sabía a dónde ir. Así que hice un paseo, como un ratón que busca refugio. Y terminó dentro una biblioteca: yo no queria leer! Es probable que esto dìa ni siquiera he tenido gansas de caminar, o ir a la reunión del trabajo futuro. Pero, una vez dentro de la biblioteca, decidí ver los libro. Hasta que por casualidad encontré Roberto Bolaño, fue "Il terzo Reich". Lo pido como prestamo y me perdí con ellos unos días.


Este libro: "La pista de Hielo", a partir de un contexto crítico merece de seguro un cinco estrellas. Sin embargo, como lectura sólo no soy capaz de dar más de dos u tres estrellas. Quién sabe, a lo mejor no puedo interpretar el libro, o simplemente no me gusta.
En la versión escrita se ve el abismo literal con el que Roberto Bolaño vivía: un abuso de lectura. La narrativa está llena de flashbacks. Y de acuerdo a un prólogo, en las primeras 60 páginas yo había ya interceptado tres asesinos, cuando para tener una primera lectura con herida de arma blanca en la espalda tuvo que acceder a la página sesenta y seis. […] Sólo después tuve la impresión de estar viendo una imagen de un cuadro, que por el poeta se puede traducir como algo constante en su mente: es decir un obsesión. El poeta chileno se encuentra inmerso en la escritura, llena de detalles, y con frecuencia se pierde en las mismas circunstancias. Pero eso es parte del abismo literal de Roberto Bolaño! Muy suavemente toca temas que van desde la simple tienda a la política, pero también toca facetas de miseria, o momentos de placer como por ejemplo los 30 cm del pene con el que hizo a su esposa.
Sin dudas este segundo libro del escritor no fue unos de los mejores. Es escrito en manera muy antigua, y a sido desconocido por muchos años. Probablemente, desde el año 2015, según la visión de la directora de cine Valeria Sarmiento con el actor chileno Benjamín Vicuña tal vez "La pista de Hielo" será una película.



El texto está disponible bajo la Licencia Creative Commons Atribución Compartir Igual 3.0; pueden aplicarse cláusulas adicionales.16 s Come Musica1,714 461

Questo è il romanzo di esordio di Roberto Bolaño e già si presenta nella sua forma non lineare.

Tre le voci narranti: il cileno Remo Morán, il messicano Gaspar Heredia e il catalano Enric Rosquelles.

Da tre punti diversi, si giunge alla ricostruzione di un omicidio avvenuto l’estate precedente a Z., che si intreccia a una storia d’amore tra la protagonista Nuria Martí, una giovane pattinatrice su ghiaccio di fama nazionale, e Remo Morán.

“Capii che nessuno aveva visto il coltello in mano a Caridad, tranne me e i tedeschi. La precipitosa fuga di questi ultimi veniva attribuita alla mia determinazione nel mantenere l’ordine al campeggio. La torcia caduta: un gesto di rabbia prima di cacciarli via a forza di botte. La presenza di Caridad: naturale apprensione di un’innamorata. I fatti là fuori erano stati sfumati dagli alberi e dalle ombre.”

“Nel buio gli occhi di Caridad erano spariti. Povera Carmen, disse, io so chi l’ha uccisa. Io e il tuo amico Remo ne abbiamo parlato. Quando?, dissi. È venuto a trovarmi qualche giorno fa e abbiamo parlato di tutto. Remo sa chi ha ucciso Carmen? Lo so anch’io, disse Caridad. E allora perché vuoi andare a Palazzo Benvingut? Dovresti andare alla polizia, dissi, senza riuscire più ad addormentarmi...”

Tracce, indizi che svelano e al tempo stesso confondono, in un gioco di luci e ombre che invitano il lettore a seguire le piste giuste, per lasciar andare quelle fuorvianti: “I sentieri che ricordavo luminosi adesso sono pieni d’ombra. Così premetti il freno, feci un’inversione in mezzo alla strada e tornai a Z. Finché non mi fui allontanato abbastanza evitai di guardare nello specchietto retrovisore. Quel che è perso è perso, dico io, e bisogna guardare avanti...”

E nel romanzo delle piccole perle sono consegnate al lettore. Una è questa:

“Allora sillabai: Nu-ria-de-vo-ri-at-tac-care-qua-lun-que-co-sa-ca-pi-ti-ri-cor-da-ti-che-ti-a-mo...”20 s Alma657

“We all have to die a bit every now and then and usually it's so gradual that we end up more alive than ever. Infinitely old and infinitely alive.”2019 bolaño clb15 s George-Icaros BabassakisAuthor 40 books295

???????? Bolaño, ???? ?????. ????? ?????, ????? ????????, ????? ????????? ????????. 15 s Jycel128 20

Tenía ganas de leer a Bolaño desde hace tiempo. Lo lógico hubiera sido empezar por su novela más famosa “Los Detectives Salvajes”, pero quería acercarme a él desde algo más modesto, para así conocerlo un poco cuando llegara a Los Detectives (que estoy segura, ahora mucho más, de que me gustará).

Pista de hielo no es pretenciosa, no tiene aires de grandeza, y puede que por eso me haya gustado tanto. Intentaré hacer la reseña sin hacer spoilers (como siempre), pero la voy a hacer de manera bastante subjetiva (también como siempre).

Es una narración de un espacio de tiempo en las vidas de un grupo de personas que viven (algunos intentando sobrevivir) en un pueblo costero de Cataluña. Está contada desde el punto de vista de 3 de los personajes principales:

- Remo: chileno afincado en España, que construye su negocio desde la nada, es divorciado, y algo romántico, es esa clase de persona que le da a la gente lo que la gente necesita a cada momento. Por ello, igual puede ser terriblemente comunicativo, que ser un espectador silencioso. Me gusta Remo.
- Gaspar: mejicano, es el típico bonachón que de ser tan bueno, es un poco tonto. Está de manera ilegal en España, pero tiene trabajo, es cuidador nocturno en un camping. Se conforma con poco, y vive intentando atesorar momentos felices. Me cae bien Gaspar.
- Enric: catalán, funcionario, egoísta, bastante cobarde, de los que sólo hacen caso a las personas cuando le puede traer algún beneficio, o cuando se han encariñado (de manera obsesiva) con alguien. Es el que tira la piedra y esconde la mano, esperando que todo vaya a salirle bien, sin que le cueste demasiado esfuerzo. Desprecio a Enric.

Remo, Gaspar y Enric se conocen, la relación que les une se va desentrañando en la novela. Al leerla, tienes la sensación todo el rato de que algo chungo está por pasar, y ese suspense es lo que me ha tenido enganchada. Si sucede algo o no, lo voy a dejar sin desvelar.

Me ha encantado la manera de escribir de Bolaño, y estoy deseando leer algo más de él. Tiene una manera muy peculiar de describir personajes. Y es magistral cómo, con pocas líneas, te deja muy claro el tipo de relación que tienen sus personajes entre sí.

He de decir que me hubiera gustado darle entre 3 y 4 estrellas, pero eso no es posible, y se queda con 3.
kindle14 s ??????369 53

???????.
??? ?? ????????? ???????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? (??????, ???????????? ???... ????????????, ???' ???) 2666 ???????? ??? ???.
???? ??? ????? ????????, ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????????????? ??? ????? ????? ?????, ???? ?? ??????, ??? ????? ?? ????????, ????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? «?? ????????» ???? ???.
??????? ??? ?????, ??? ????????? ??? ????????? ? ??????????????;
????? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ???, ???? ?????????????, ???? ?????????????, ???? ???????????????, ???? ??????????????, ???? ???????, ???? ???????????, ???? ???????? ??? ?????????. 15 s Angie313 232

3.5 estrellas
Primer libro del #NELCLUBDELECTURA --->https://www.facebook.com/groups/nelcl...

Este primer acercamiento a Bolaño me ha sorprendido bastante. Por un lado no ha sido lo que he esperado y por el otro me he divertido mucho pensando en la trama, ya que por varios días estuve muy conectada con lo que estaba pasando. Sin embargo, no ha logrado llegar a las 4 estrellas porque siento que le faltó "intensidad", aunque puede ser que el autor escriba de esa manera. Ya lo iré descubriendo cuando lea otros libros de él.15 s Hakan709 559

Yeni y?la bir Bolano kitab?yla ba?lamaktan güzel ?eyler de vard?r ?u fani dünyada mutlaka, ama edebiyata ilgi duyanlar için bu da hiç fena bir seçenek de?il. Yine ba?lar ba?lamaz sizi içine çeken, yaratt??? atmosferle, laf salatas? yapmadan karakterleri oya gibi i?leyen, ama toplumsal ve siyasal arka plan? ihmal etmeyen tarz?yla, ayr?ca tüm bunlar?n üzerine yaratt??? merak unsuruyla, zira bir suç roman? özelli?i de var bu kitab?n, okuyan? sürükleyen bir roman Paten Sahas?. (Herhalde Türkçe’ye böyle çevrilir, ya da Buz Pateni Sahas? olarak.) K?sa bölümler halinde ve dönü?ümlü olarak üç erkek karakterin a?z?ndan anlat?lan kitap san?yorum Bolano’nun yay?nlanan ilk roman?ym??. ?spanyolca özgün metni 1993’de, okudu?um ?ngilizce çevirisi 2009’da bas?lm??. Türkçe çevirisi de yak?nda bas?l?r umar?m. Can ya da Jaguar’dan bekleyelim bu hamleyi. Bolano’yu her okudu?umda ayn? ?eyi hissediyorum, bu adam niye 50 ya??nda bu dünyadan göç etti. Hiç adil de?il...12 s PeterAuthor 6 books173

That's Right. It's five star time! If this rating were a rap song it would be telling you to Pop Champagne and fill your cup with Patron. Then the Auto-Tune would begin. But since it is a review on an internet book site, it is coming at you in five little orange stars, which, according to Good Reads mean "It was amazing."

I have to admit I feel a little bad giving this short near-perfect work the five star treatment when I did not grace Bolano's masterwork 2666 with such a full constellation of praise. Maybe I'm guilty of loving the perfect exercises of an author instead of their giant sprawling attempts at cramming all of life into one novel. Yes, the former is more ambitious but at what cost? At what cost?

I don't feel so bad about saying that this is (by a large margin) my favorite of Bolano's works. First of all, the main narrative thread is amazing. An assistant to the mayor of a Spanish town becomes obsessed with an ice skater who has been kicked off the national team so he uses government money to build her a rink in the ruins of a broken down palace. Genius! Then toss in three competing narrators, all with their own angles on the story, and all equally fascinating. Add a murder mystery with a genuinely surprising set of twists and turns. And...how about an opera-singing vagrant named Carmen?

Despite the narrator pyrotechnics, this is actually the most reigned in I've ever seen Bolano. Sure there are the usual diversions about sex, pop culture, and poetry. But they are relevant to the story (mostly) and do a lot of work to keep some thematic cohesion going. I think the firmer set of boundaries that comes with this semi-foray into detective fiction makes him a better storyteller. The short chapters keep him honest, making Bolano choose his moments of meditation carefully in a fast-paced what-happens-next kind of book.

Overall, I can't say with authority that his is finest work (can I?). It is simply my favorite. But especially for newcomers to his stuff, this would be an ideal starting point. Then you can move on to hundreds of pages of clinically described murders in the Mexican desert. Pop Champagne!

11 s Matteo FumagalliAuthor 1 book9,268

Videorecensione: https://youtu.be/VH9UL2JvWvA di adelphi letteratura-sudamericana pacco-polacco16 s ???????? ????????Author 6 books574

http://diavazontas.blogspot.gr/2016/0...
? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??? 50 ???, ???? ????, ?? 2003. ?? ???? ??? ??????, ??? ?????????? ???? ?????, ??? ??? ????? «??????????». ????? ???? ???? ??? ?????????? ??? ??????????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ? ?????????? ?? ?? ?????????: ?? ???????????????? «2666» ??? ??, ???? ??? ?????????? ???? ??? ???? ??????, «?????? ?????????». ??? ??? ??? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ???????????? ??? ??? ?? ????. ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? «??????? ??????», ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? «Amulet», ?????? ???? ??? ?????????, «????????????» ??? «???????? ????????», ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? «????????? ?????????? ???? ???????». ???? ????? ?? «??????????» ??? ???? ????? ? ??????? ??? ????????. ?????. ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????. ??? ???’ ??? ??? ????????? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??????????? ?????? (3? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???????????) ??? ??? ???? ??? ????????????? ??? ?????, ????? ???? ?????????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? 2666 ???? ???, ?????? ?????? ???? ???????, ??? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ????. ??? ??? ???????. ??? ?? ????????.

??? ?????????? ????????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????, ?? ???????, ??? ?????, ??? ??????????? ????, ???? ?????????? ?????????????????, ???? ????????, ?? ???????? ???, ????? ??? ??? ??????????, ????? ????????, ????????. ????? ??? ??????????? ?? ????? ????????, ??? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ????????, ???????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?? ??????????. ??????????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ?????????? ????????? ? ???? ?????, ???? ????????????? ???????? ?????????? ??? ????? ???? ?. ??? ?????????? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ????????? ????, ? ?????? ??????, ??? ????????? ??????? ??? ????????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ???????? ?? ???????????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ????, ?? ???? ????????? ?????????, ????????? ??? ???????, ? ????? ?????????. ? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?????????? ??????? ?? ??? ????????, ?? ??? ????????? ??????? ??????, ??? ????????? ??????? ??? ?. ??? ??? ?????? ????????????? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????.

?? ???????? ????????????? ???? ? ??????, ??? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???????????? ? ?????, ????? ??? ????????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????????? ?????. ???? ? ????? ?????????? ?? ??????? ??? ?????????? ???? ?. ?? ??????? ????????, ??? ??? ????????? ???, ???? ?? ??? ?????????? ??????.

? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ??????????? ??????, ???? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?????????? ? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????????, ???? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? 2666. ??? ??? ???? ??? ????????? ??? ???? ? ??? ??? ?????????, ???? ??? ?????? ?? ? ????? ??? ???? ??????, ???? ??? ? ???? ??? ?????- ??????????, ????????, ???? ???????????. ????? ??? ?? ??????. ??? ?? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ????????.

??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ??????????, ?????????? ?? ??? ???????? ?????????? ???? ??? ?????????????. ???? ????, ??? ???? ????? ??????????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??? ????????, ??? ?????? ??????????, ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ????????? ???? ??? ???????, ??? ?? ??????? ?? ????????? ???? ???????? ??????. ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???.

10 s Ricardo Carrión Pavez265 1,032

La novela está recargada de una atmósfera de marginalidad, de vidas al límite. Bolaño siempre admiró la vida de los poetas, esa forma de dejarlo todo de lado por amor a las palabras. Y sus protagonistas latinoamericanos reflejan esta admiración. En un país Europeo, se desenvuelven como pueden, siendo muchas veces menospreciados. Pero cuando uno de ellos logra progresar a costa de esfuerzo no duda en darle la mano a un amigo, así como el chileno Remo se la da a Gaspar, al cual conoció en su paso por México. A pesar del esfuerzo y del trabajo, siguen siendo considerados ciudadanos de segunda y, por lo mismo, conviven constantemente con la pobreza y la mendicidad, la cual es expresada brutalmente con los personajes de Caridad y Carmen, dos inmigrantes. Estos aspectos resaltan aún más cuando se muestra la contraparte en las vidas de Nuria y Enric, una patinadora artística y un político y funcionario público, que a pesar de vivir muy alejados de la realidad de los otros personajes, carecen de algo que ellos sí poseen, como lo es la solidaridad entre pares. Los marginales constantemente se dan la mano, mientras en posiciones más acomodadas solo se traicionan. Pero en el fondo, todos sin excepciones, carecen de un sentido fuerte para vivir, y por lo mismo se ven arrastrados por lo primero que los impulsa, en este caso: el amor.

Reseña completa: https://eligeunlibro.blogspot.com/201...10 s Edward420 428

An odd little book, but the flavour is distinctively Bolaño. The plot (which is quite intricate for a novel of this length) is told from a narrative viewpoint that rotates between three characters. This device is interesting as it illuminates the characters and events from different perspectives, but it is not entirely successful. Sometimes it has the effect of getting in the way, of clouding and over-complicating the story. The voices are difficult to differentiate initially, but one gets the hang of it before long. What carries the novel is Bolaño's dark tone, with its seedy undercurrent, and the compelling draw of inevitable violence. The Skating Rink is a solid and ambitious first novel, though there is nothing groundbreaking here.2018 literary-fiction10 s Xenja640 64

Primo romanzo di Bolaño che leggo, pensavo non fosse il mio genere, ma devo dire che mi è piaciuto abbastanza. La vicenda è un finto giallo, il delitto è un pretesto per raccontare un intreccio di vite più o meno vagabonde, emarginate o fallite, e una storia d’amore romanticamente disperata. Molto ben scritto, in uno stile fin troppo poetico, pieno d’atmosfera soprattutto nella descrizione del luogo cruciale, quel fantasmagorico e fatiscente palazzo Benvingut in cui i destini dei personaggi si intrecciano. Nella trama, lungi dall’essere un perfetto congegno narrativo come è scritto nella quarta, c’è qualche goffaggine, proprio perché si presenta come un giallo e invece non è un giallo, lasciando molti particolari irrisolti e senza senso. Per esempio è molto strano che due dei protagonisti, essendo poeti, non leggano né scrivano mai nemmeno un verso e neanche rivolgano mai un pensiero sia pure fuggevole a questo che dovrebbe essere il loro interesse principale. Ma il vero problema, per me, è quel tono da spaccone che compare spesso, quel tono che prendono molti uomini che vogliono fare i romantici e invece risultano soprattutto gigioni, tono fatalista che si compiace di se stesso; l’amore sempre impossibile, le illusioni perdute, la vita che è una puttana, la poesia dell’alcol, una pacca sulla spalla tra uomini soli, anime disperate nella notte e niente ha un senso. Un po’ di Casablanca, un po’ dei vecchi noir con Bogart. Ma forse sto perdendo troppo tempo a cercare di spiegare un dettaglio che, anche se per me è stata una spina, a molti piace e in ogni caso non è così importante: tutto sommato, i pregi di questo romanzo sono superiori ai difetti.9 s Leer En el Sur481 112

Muy destacable la narración de Bolaño, este ha sido mi primer acercamiento con el autor y sin duda no creo que sea el último, sin embargo, a pesar de la buena descripción de los personajes y sus relaciones, la trama de fondo me dejo un poco fría, siempre esperando el gran momento que nunca llegó.9 s Raquel32 1 follower

Este libro ha sido mi introducción al universo literario de Bolaño. El bautismo a su escritura. Un buen libro; bastante entretenido, aunque la trama del asesinato no es la principal, es más bien una excusa para centrarnos y profundizar en los personajes.

Su forma de escribir es particular. Sin prisa pero sin pausa, continuada, con movimiento. Este libro no tiene casi puntos y aparte y aún así es una escritura ágil, suelta, locuaz. Delicada pero ruda, descriptiva y capaz de transmitir la belleza hasta de lo que no la tiene. Bolaño hace posible que llegues a visualizar con nitidez los lugares e, incluso, las emociones:

“Dicen que el amor hace a las personas generosas. No sé, no sé; a mí sólo me hizo generoso con Nuria, nada más. Con el resto de la gente me volví desconfiado y egoísta, mezquino, maligno, tal vez porque era consciente de mi tesoro (de la pureza inmaculada de mi tesoro) y lo comparaba con la putrefacción que los envolvía a ellos. En mi vida, lo digo sin miedo, nada hubo semejante a las meriendas-cenas que tomamos juntos en las escalinatas que descienden del palacio al mar. Ella tenía una manera, no sé, única de comer fruta con los ojos perdidos en el horizonte. Aquellos horizontes de auténtico privilegio. Casi no hablábamos. Yo me acomodaba un escalón por debajo y la miraba, aunque no mucho, mirarla demasiado a veces era do-loroso, y bebía mi té con delectación y parsimonia”.

Cada uno de los capítulos los cuenta uno de los tres protagonistas. Todos ellos contando la historia desde su perspectiva vital. Todos hombres, todos enamorados, todos bastante decadentes. De hecho, todo el libro tiene atmósfera de inminente tragedia o de próximo drama. Todo conduce a ese inevitable final: está llegando el frío y con ello acaba la temporada del camping, que va a cerrarse; los amigos se van a separar y llegan las despedidas; el inminente descubrimiento de la construcción, la constante preparación al lector sobre que se avecina una muerte…

No queda claro el contexto temporal ni el ritmo en el que transcurre el tiempo durante el libro. En Remo y Gaspar parece que todo transcurre durante los meses del calor, para Enric parece que se tratara de unos cuantos años.

En todo caso, me ha parecido una buena forma de empezar con él. Es cierto que quizá siento demasiado simple la trama principal, pero sigo pensando que es una cuestión accesoria y que lo importante aquí son los narradores y su forma de vivir la historia.11 s Cymru RobertsAuthor 2 books87

Fresh off the heels of The Savage Detectives, this book was a nice, easy read. a stroll through a secret garden at dusk. What is essentially an elongated chapter from Detectives, The Skating Rink shows that within Bolaño's myriad ideas and sketches true greatness can be found. It also works well as a genre piece: an elegantly crafted gothic crime story in the style of Jorge Luis Borges.


2020 review:

Bolaño became indispensable to me while on vacation in the summer of 2012. He offered me what is so hard to find, in literature or anywhere— true escape. At the time I valued this quality in literature highly. There was something hypnotic in the mundane descriptions of everyday life, which is why I suppose I can understand why some readers find the work of Carls Jr. Noseguard Knusknus so addictive. You can plow through pages! Wow! I’m no stranger to the feeling of false accomplishment that reading can provide; I get it. The first time around, when I was naïve enough, the feeling was true and earnest, and I was actually transported from the beautiful surroundings of my vacation home to the setting of the novel. This “boring writing” that has somehow found a place on the faux-wood trophy cabinet of the Profound is vastly misunderstood, particularly with Bolaño. At his best, instead of being overly descriptive most Postmodernists, the atmosphere is rather left intentionally vague so as to create an environment in which the reader may wander. It’s an active daydream, a video game Myst or Riven. It is that feeling of being down and out in Europe in your early twenties, hoping for but not quite believing in the magnitude of your own destiny. One is left with a dream emptiness, and this can have some charm for a first-timer. The myriad plot points serve only to keep you in this world (or in this “state”) as we await with growing eagerness for something truly great to happen. Sometimes it does happen, as we see frequently in Distant Star, Mr Bolaño’s best work, or in the first four parts of 2666, or in some of the short stories (“Crimes”, “Anne Moore’s Life”, “Dentist”). The Skating Rink in comparison to these better efforts falls easily into the category of second-tier Bolaño, and would even become third-tier but for a few striking moments. What I mean by this hierarchy is that so many more awesome moments are to be found in his best work. Rink is not entirely useless, however. It begins with a great idea—that of sneaking into a castle at night and coming upon, of all things, a skating rink, where a beautiful dancer twirls on the ice to bombastic music…. A secret experience, and purely magical. Any realism is neither here nor there in terms of importance. What is real exists only to hold the reader in suspense as we wait for the true promise of the premise to express itself. Bolaño is an amazing premist—that is, he has tons of good ideas. Some of these great ideas make up the best bits of his best work—the fictitious novels of JMG Arcimboldi for instance, in Woes of the True Policeman. However Don Roberto is not immune—as he would no doubt have admitted—to the truth that a good writer has plenty of ideas, while a great artist pulls them off. The Skating Rink is not Bolaño’s masterpiece, not even in the sense of being one of the “perfect exercises of the great masters” preferred by so many bookish pharmacists. I don’t think the novel in question even rises to its glorious premise. It has a few moments—Gasparín’s first trip to The Castle, esp.—and the established daydream environment is maybe more apparent than when I first read this book (August 2012 Goodreads tell me. Wow.). opiates themselves, a bit of the charm and euphoria has worn off since then, and I’ve also read a ton more (inspired by Bolaño’s tireless reading ethic it must be said), so that this novel holds up at all is some kind of testament to its merit. I’m not so prepared as maybe some other former Arturo B-heads to proclaim him a flash in the pan just yet. In my first review I called this book “an elegantly crafted gothic crime story in the style of Jorge Luis Borges.” I would say now that it is less elegant than mundane, gothic but only at times (and I wish it was more gothic, more foggy streets of Mexico City, more Saucy Jack, more of the skating rink….) while as for any sign of Borges in the piece I detected none this time around, either in style or substance. Chalk that one up to a naïve book reviewer eager to drop a literary reference :D! In sum, I wish RB would have unleashed the fury a bit more on this one, maybe simmered in the juice longer, developed some of the underlying ideas to more effect; but he can’t be blamed for the circumstances of his sudden fame and need to publish. The crown jewel of the book, other than the gorgeous sparkling green flake that lights up the spine of the New Directions 2009 edition, is that it serves as one of Bolaño’s fictitious novels that was actually written out. It is an idea, and a good one, expanded upon, taken seriously. Strangely, other such experiments (Monsieur Pain for example) the idea isn’t carried off or executed well enough, which leaves for an unfortunately smaller experience. The question, however, as to whether or not one should read it, ultimately doesn’t matter—true Bolaño freaks will have to. roberto-bolaño8 s Matthew BalliroAuthor 1 book6

About halfway through The Skating Rink, I was already quite sure that this was my favorite out of all Bolano's short novels (the others being Distant Star, By Night in Chile, and Amulet; I didn't count Nazi Literature in the Americas because I wouldn't classify it as a novel, really, but I still enjoyed TSR more). I spent the rest of the text trying to figure out just why this was (and, of course, just enjoying it).

I think the reason I d this book so much is that it reminded me, more than any other book, of my first exposure to Bolano: The Savage Detectives. On the surface, there aren't many similarities here, besides multiple narrators. TSD starts in Mexico but stretches out to the entire world: all of South/Central American, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa; it has more characters than you can shake a stick at, and nearly all of them get their own sections of narration; and the action is spread over a period of nearly 25 years. The Skating Rink is the opposite in terms of dramatic unities: everything takes place in the Spanish town of Z; there are only about a dozen characters to keep track of, and only 3 get narration; and everything happens over the course of a few summer months. These mirrored attributes are conspicuous; I've no doubt that TSR was some sort of experimental playground, stylistically, of what would later become the world of TSD, and Bolano kept things simple to work out the kinks.

Do you ever consciously wonder, when you're reading a book that has a first-person narrator, exactly to whom the narrator is speaking? Unless the author makes a big deal about it, you probably don't. I never did, until I started to get really deep into Bolano. One of the best parts of The Savage Detectives is trying to figure out what the heck is going on there, and this carries over (or, actually, predates it) in The Skating Rink. You just get the feeling that these three guys need to spill their stories, that they need to confess at last. Are they talking to investigators (not much spoilage: a murder is central to the plot here), to their priests, to the general reading public? If the last of these, is it just to warn us, so we don't make the same errors? (I'm sure that's not it; that's be much too simple for Bolano.)

What's seeping through every single pore of this book is a deadly paranoia, the same thing that drives a lot of The Savage Detectives and (to some extent, or maybe to an even greater extent [I'll have to reread it:]) 2666. There are so many instances of characters watching, being watched, and thinking about being watched, found out, discovered, and....? The thought is not always completed here, as if the characters don't think it through but know it's a bad thing. It's extremely easy to find historical grounding for this theme: Bolano, so many other Central/South Americans in the 20th century, lived under a number of regimes that could pull you out of bed at night and throw you in a cell forever. I'm sure there's more to it, though: something about that paradoxical human drive to seek companionship and community but also to suspect the worst from people; we must always be simultaneously open and closed; always (not a typo, repeated for emphasis). And what results from that? The failed relationships of The Skating Rink, the callous unfeeling of By Night in Chiles, the ultimate horror of Santa Teresa in 2666? Some of these, all of these? I am not sure yet, but I think I've stumbled across the one thing I'll want to keep in mind when reading all of these books a second time (as well as the other books that'll trickle in in translation for the next few years).

If I had to describe the feeling of the narration in one word, I'd call it Poe-ish...or Poean...or whatever the word is that means it's in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe. Think "The Tell-Tale Heart" or "The Cask of Amontillado."

Also of note: once again, in the world of Bolano, the people here are just so bored. They go to work, go to parties, make love, eat, drink, and do anything any real person could do, but no one really cares. Their actions could not be devoid of any more meaning. This toes the line between tragic and comic all the time, but trust me, it's not as bad as it sounds.

Recommended for anyone, but especially to those looking to get into Bolano. If you're put off by the length of his bigger works, I suggest tasting this before jumping into The Savage Detectives. 2009 20248 s Geoff444 1,316

One of the New Directions series that came out this year, The Skating Rink is a brief, intense, and very memorable novel from Bolano. It could have been one of the many branching stories that populate 2666, it even shares some themes, and even scenes, with that monster of a book. It is a story of murder, obsession, small-time political corruption, the immigrant experience in Spain, and (because it is Bolano), madness, sex, violence, ghosts, poets who are detectives, society's dropouts, nightmares, and fragmented, multiple-perspective narration. The story unfolds over one summer in the coastal town of Z, focusing on three main narrators, who tell the story of the central murder through the lens of their own experiences and prejudices. All the characters feel real and fully drawn, and as is always the case with Bolano, the prose is brilliant, unsettling, dream-, and really sticks with you after you have closed the pages of the book. Bolano is my current favorite contemporary author (if it is proper to refer to a dead person as contemporary) and The Skating Rink is more sure proof of his talent. 8 s Drew238 122

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