Ink & Quill Episode 50: "2666"

In this 5 parts very large novel, everything and everyone converges in Santa Teresa, a small town south of the Mexican border.

May it be four international literary critics and university professors studying the works of German author Archimboldi, a Mexican scholar and his daughter, a journalist from New York sent to write an article on a local boxing fight, they all gather in Santa Teresa where numerous young girls have been found raped and killed by a mysterious person or persons for no particular reason.

Rich in its emotion-free descriptions, 2666 portrays with gusto life and death in a small Mexican town. Dark yet funny at times, poignant and well put together, 2666 the last novel by Chilean author Roberto Bolano is a work to be reckoned with. With its 5 different stories, 5 different styles in the 5 different parts that compose to text, everyone can find something of interest, may it be the descriptions of the murders in part 4, how a normal unassuming person can become a great and famous author on the verge of getting the Nobel prize in part 5, or how can a literary critic develop and sustain a life-long passion about a work of fiction in part 1, to name just a few.

To discover what humanity and life in a small town are really all about with their joy and darkness, 2666 is the novel to read.

Visit the show website!