Reviews

El espíritu de la ciencia ficción by Roberto Bolaño

mmcloe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Beautiful and strange, a minor work but a lovely one. Desire flees and swarms and evaporates in all places - romance, aesthetics, cool ass motorcycles, noxious literary circles. Bolano is mystical in his tracing of these lines of desire and the gentle hints of something foul coming. 

madeleinece's review against another edition

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4.0

Språket är helt fantastiskt i den här boken som utspelar sig i Bolaños intellektuella, vackra och litteraturfanatiska Mexico City. Vill aldrig lämna hans värld!

lori85's review against another edition

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2.0

Apparently Bolaño rushed to publish this at the end of his life, which means it's pretty much a rough draft. In fact it's so rough it's barely even recognizable as Bolaño at all. You can make out the themes struggling to develop: that characteristic lurking darkness (which reached its height in 2666) in the form of a frenetic, almost hysterical proliferation of indie literary magazines in an uncertain political atmosphere and vague references to an Unknown University. But unfortunately this book was never able to advance beyond the "mishmash about random disaffected kids" stage.

Recommended instead: [b:The Bottom of the Sky|37173507|The Bottom of the Sky|Rodrigo Fresán|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1512854353l/37173507._SY75_.jpg|9404955] by Argentina's Rodrigo Fresán.

yjb1778's review against another edition

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dark emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

It really feels like bolaño flexing. Most approachable of his so far, most lighthearted and dealing with the least murdered women. What I would recommend to anyone wanting to get into B, what a wonderful read. 

blueyorkie's review against another edition

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3.0

Though more a collection of scenes and impressions and thinner than his other novels, this work is an intriguing and dreamy portrait of two writers taking different paths in the pursuit of their love of literature, hoping to discover their voices.

llewyndavisofficial's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

4.25

breadandmushrooms's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

jemini's review against another edition

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2.0

The Spirit of Science Fiction by Roberto Bolaño: 2/5 


not much of it resonated with me, as i didn’t understand a lot of the poetry references. i did enjoy the letters written to sci fi writers that explored the impact and questions of the genre. the ending section was bizarre to me. after researching more about the author and this book, i found out it might’ve been non-consensually published after the author’s death which explains the fragmented way it’s been pieced together. overall im not sure i understood the book to the fullest, only grasping straw that it was about two friends trying to explore the world through literature at the peak of their youths. 

celestecorrea's review against another edition

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1.0

Décadas a ler para concluir que necessito de ser tutelada na hora de comprar livros.
Adquiri este ontem na Bertrand na promoção dos 50%; é certo que não resisto a preços baixos, mas devo recusar ler um autor de quem se diz que fundou com amigos o Infrarrealismo, um movimento literário punk-surrealista, que consistia na provocação e no apelo às armas contra o establisment das letras latino-americanas.

Hoje mesmo, vou devolver o livro. Para bem da minha saúde literária.

jobanna's review

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adventurous challenging funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0