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3.0 

The Spirit of Science Fiction

By Roberto Bolaño & Natasha Wimmer
The Spirit of Science Fiction by Roberto Bolaño & Natasha Wimmer digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

From a master of contemporary fiction, a tale of bohemian youth on the make in Mexico City

Two young poets, Jan and Remo, find themselves adrift in Mexico City. Obsessed with poetry, and, above all, with science fiction, they are eager to forge a life in the literary world--or sacrifice themselves to it. Roberto Bolaño's The Spirit of Science Fiction is a story of youth hungry for revolution, notoriety, and sexual adventure, as they work to construct a reality out of the fragments of their dreams.

But as close as these friends are, the city tugs them in opposite directions. Jan withdraws from the world, shutting himself in their shared rooftop apartment where he feverishly composes fan letters to the stars of science fiction and dreams of cosmonauts and Nazis. Meanwhile, Remo runs headfirst into the future, spending his days and nights with a circle of wild young writers, seeking pleasure in the city's labyrinthine streets, rundown cafés, and murky bathhouses.

This kaleidoscopic work of strange and tender beauty is a fitting introduction for readers uninitiated into the thrills of Roberto Bolaño's fiction, and an indispensable addition to an ecstatic and transgressive body of work.

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36 Reviews

3.0
“not my favorite! obviously bolaño is an excellent writer but im not sure how i feel about posthumous work being published years after the author passing… it felt mostly complete but also not fully finished if that makes sense? like since he didn’t have this published despite years of it being completed it makes me wonder how/if he felt like it was good enough to be put out into the world. however, it was a quick read and maybe i’ll revisit it one day and feel different, who knows”

About Roberto Bolaño

ROBERTO BOLAÑO (1953-2003) was born in Santiago, Chile, and later lived in Mexico, Paris, and Spain. A poet and novelist, he has been celebrated as "by far the most exciting writer to come from south of the Rio Grande in a long time" (The Los Angeles Times), and as "the real thing and the rarest" (Susan Sontag). Among his many prizes are the prestigious Herralde de Novela Award and the Premio Rómulo Gallegos. He is widely considered to be the greatest Latin American writer of his generation. His books include The Savage Detectives2666By Night in ChileDistant StarLast Evenings on EarthThe Spirit of Science Fiction, and The Romantic Dogs.

Natasha Wimmer is the translator of eight books by Roberto Bolaño, including The Savage Detectives and 2666. Her most recent translations are The Dinner Guest, by Gabriela Ybarra, and Sudden Death, by Álvaro Enrigue. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

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