Amulet - Roberto Bolano

I came to know about Bolano 5 years back. I bought his monumental "2666" first , then "The Savage Detectives", then "Nazi Literature in the Americas" and at last " Amulet". I started reading "2666" last year , read some pages then I thought it was better to read it continuously so I stopped reading. Then some poems and stories by Bolano. Last week I took this book and I read continuously for two days and finished the book.

First striking thing about this book is time. The description of time at various points itself makes you hallucinate.  This novel is a convergence of politics and literature. This is the story of Auxilio Lacouture who is trapped for 12 days in a lavatory on the fourth floor of the UNAM.  She is the mother of Mexican poetry. i.e she works for various poets at various times, listen their conversation etc. "I could say I am the mother of Mexican poetry, but I better not" . In stream of consciousness she started telling her stories.Another important character in this story is Arturo Belano, Chilean poet and friend of Auxilio, who after returning from the war and live his life on his own.I think he is the real narrator of the story or its his story.

The story is based in the true events which happened during 1960's as mentioned in the book. The Mexican government sent troops to quell student protest. Bolano uses this event in his work. The author brings the realities of the life in Latin Americas.  The first line sets the story "This is going to be a horror story,".  There are lots of real and imaginary characters like León Felipe, Pedro Garfías, Bonifaz Nuno and even Che Guevara pops up.

After the roller-coaster ride , the end is very sad as the "ghost children" marches towards the abyss. The final pages are moving For the author literature is important and he celebrates good books and writers and contempt others. The writing is fluid , very rich in description and easy to read. I don't think so it's a classic but definitely worth reading.