Poor Sad Mexico

[Joseph Tracy]

>> From what I know, part of Bolano's style is to leave readers  
>> uncertain
>>
> of authorial intent. He apparently invented a lot of his biography and
> played around with his public persona, creating his own myth of the
> author. The various voices he writes 2666 in fit with this and are one
> of the best aspects of the novel - actually, it would be interesting
> to know if the English translation does justice to the original in
> this regard.
>
> I also think that those geometric arrangements might be part of a
> bigger dialectic going on in the novel between chaos and patterns, and
> how on a personal and social level madness can't necessarily be
> aligned with either.
>
Thanks John , and everyone. Comforting not to be alone. If that is  
his intent he succeeded with this reader.  The thought about the  
philosopher/geometry is helpful as to both the incident and larger  
scheme of the novel.

In the first chapter I see a specific example of a larger social  
reality. That reality is the way  most of us attach ourselves to some  
great representative/s of our favorite sport/art form/ social  
contest,  and our own identity gets wrapped up in that individual and  
that world.  Heroes and fans. More and more the culture produces  
"heroes" that have all the attributes of outlaws and mass killers,  
and the results which can be charming and romantic at a distance like  
the Border ballads mentioned in the book, become terrifying when they  
define a culture: Taliban, Warlords, Cartels.  It happens here too  
and it produces equal or greater amounts of horror.  People emulate  
and admire Tony Soprano, Rush Limbaugh, the effectiveness of Nazi  
propaganda,the Wall Street masters of the universe, Ronald Reagan,  
Ronald Mc Donald, maybe one should include The Velvet Underground  or  
the Country music glorification of substance abuse.

Just finished the 3rd part of Bolaño's book.   There is a line where  
Rosa Amalfitano says its just bad luck. I often feel that one of the  
great failures of humanity is to try to impose meaning on issues of  
chance, but then I turn and think of the great beauty  and instances  
of heroic love produced by imposing meaning.  There is something  
about the distance between words and actions that Bolano may be  
pointing to, between natural processes and human puzzles.
Don't know, but that is where I find my thoughts going.
On Apr 28, 2009, at 10:23 PM, John Bailey wrote:


>>
>>
>
> On Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 12:00 PM, Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net>  
> wrote:
>
>> Yes, the Bowden article truly opens the door to a disturbing world,
>> particularly the police involvement in kidnap and and murder.  I'm  
>> reading
>> Bolaño's 2666 which is moving all the characters to this region of  
>> Mexico.
>>  Not sure how I feel about the book, so strange to start with an  
>> examination
>> of the culture of lit crit.  I like Amalfitano's part better but  
>> don't know
>> if I should look more closely at the geometric arrangement of  
>> philosophers,
>> or how he expects readers to respond to these puzzles.  If others  
>> read this
>> I'd love to hear some thoughts, maybe a pointer or 2 about how to  
>> get close
>> to the writer's intent, whatever.
>>
>> Reminds me a little of DF Wallace.
>>
>> On Apr 28, 2009, at 4:43 PM, rich wrote:
>>
>>
>>> what with swine flu, earthquakes and drug murders now 2666 reads  
>>> even
>>> more prescient don't it?
>>>
>>> if u guys remember Anton Chigurh from No Country for OLd Men--read
>>> Charles Bowden's piece in the new Harpers about a Juarez cartel
>>> hitman--wow
>>>
>>> poor sad beautiful mexico
>>>
>>> rich
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>