Author: Roberto Bolaño
Picador, 2009 (2004)
Ladies and gentlemen, I advice you all to steer clear of this behemoth of macho intellectualism. As always, I am wary of lengthy novels but wanted to give this one a chance due to all the rave reviews. I shouldn't have bothered. I finished the first three parts (of five) and while I don't mind the post-modern, the intellectual or the challenging novel, it still has to be interesting and engaging. This was mostly boring. And - if a woman had written a novel so exclusively about women as Bolaño writes about men in 2666, it simply would not have been considered significant.
Furthermore, apart from boring me, too often, in parts one and two, the third part contained a scene where a woman (yeah!) did not reach true climax until she was gang-banged simultaneously (mouth, vagina, anal) by unknown assailants (eeuwwww!) Since the last two parts of the novel seemed to be headed for the story of the abduction and murders of hundreds of women in Mexico, I just did not feel comfortable letting Bolaño take me down that particular road. So, in conclusion, spend your time on other books and the next time a man waxes lyrical over 2666 - give him a wide berth!
