Roberto Bolaño’s Big Bang: Deciphering the Code of an Aspiring Writer in Antwerp

Abstract

The widely acclaimed technical virtuosity of Bolaño’s style in the novels and short stories published since the 1990s maintained, to a certain extent, some of his early novels and books of poetry in the shadows. Almost a decade after his decease, Bolaño’s international recognition as one of the most influential novelists in contemporary Latin American literature is still on the rise. As a result, interest in his early writings has gradually grown in recent years and has drawn attention of critics, writers, and readers alike.¹ Although Bolaño’s poetry and narrative written in the late 1970s and the early 1980s has been seen by some critics as part of his “pre-history” or a mere precedent to his best writing, a rereading of the works from these period can provide important insight in the developing of Bolaño’s later style.²