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.