Reviews

Om natten i Chile by Roberto Bolaño

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year23's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A fever dream, stream of consciousness exploration. Not for me - but I can see the incisiveness here in exploring some of the evils around the dictatorship intermixed with literary/artistic life musings.

thewilyfilipino's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

jimmyfission's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is a very odd stream of consciousness novel, following a priest, poet, and literary critic over the course of his life and involvement with the literary elite in Chile under Pinochet. Long sentences and unravelling thoughts drift back and forth across time, linking politics with literature and generational divide. Darkly funny, but always distant, By Night in Chile feels more like a fever dream than a coherent narrative, expressing the complicity and unwanted regret of artists who flourish under tyrannical regimes.