Antwerp (novel)
Encyclopedia
Antwerp is a novella by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño
. It was written in 1980 but only published in 2002, a year before the author's death. An English translation by Natasha Wimmer
was published in 2010.
Considered by Bolaño's literary executor Ignacio Echevarría
to be the big bang of the Bolaño universe, the loose prose-poem novel was written when Bolaño was 27. Antwerp is short and fragmentary, composed of 56 pieces (which could be seen as vignette
s or sketches) with a loose narrative structure. Though there are some recurring characters and story lines, there is no central narrative. Many of the subjects dealt with become Bolaño's common material for his other works of fiction - crimes and campgrounds, drifters and poetry, sex and love, corrupt cops and misfits.
Bolaño had once stated that "The only novel that doesn't embarrass me is Antwerp.". In the introduction he wrote for the book in 2002 Bolaño claimed:
Roberto Bolaño
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos was a Chilean novelist and poet. In 1999 he won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel Los detectives salvajes , and in 2008 he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his novel 2666, which was described by board member Marcela Valdes...
. It was written in 1980 but only published in 2002, a year before the author's death. An English translation by Natasha Wimmer
Natasha Wimmer
Natasha Wimmer is an American translator best known for her translations of Chilean novelist Roberto Bolaño's 2666 and The Savage Detectives from Spanish into English....
was published in 2010.
Considered by Bolaño's literary executor Ignacio Echevarría
Ignacio Echevarría
Ignacio Echeverría is a Spanish literary critic. He is currently a staff member of El País newspaper.-References:...
to be the big bang of the Bolaño universe, the loose prose-poem novel was written when Bolaño was 27. Antwerp is short and fragmentary, composed of 56 pieces (which could be seen as vignette
Vignette (literature)
In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting and sometimes an object...
s or sketches) with a loose narrative structure. Though there are some recurring characters and story lines, there is no central narrative. Many of the subjects dealt with become Bolaño's common material for his other works of fiction - crimes and campgrounds, drifters and poetry, sex and love, corrupt cops and misfits.
Bolaño had once stated that "The only novel that doesn't embarrass me is Antwerp.". In the introduction he wrote for the book in 2002 Bolaño claimed:
"I wrote this book for myself, and even that I can't be sure of. For a long time these were just loose pages that I reread and maybe tinkered with, convinced I had no time. But time for what? I couldn't say exactly. I wrote this book for the ghosts, who, because they're outside of time, are the only ones with time."
External links
- Antwerp - New Directions Publishing's page for the book.
- Roberto Bolaño's Antwerp - review of the book on the Book SoupBook SoupBook Soup is an independent bookstore located at 8818 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, and is the largest general interest independent bookstore in Hollywood...
blog, 1 April 2010. - Roberto Bolaño's Antwerp - review of the book on the Complete Review by M. A. Orthofer, 13 January 2010.
- Summer Reading: Roberto Bolaño's Antwerp - review of the book on The Smart SetThe Smart SetThe Smart Set was a literary magazine founded in America in March 1900 by Colonel William d'Alton Mann.-History:Mann had previously published Town Topics, a gossip rag which he used for political and social gain among New York City's infamous elite known as "The Four Hundred." With The Smart Set,...
by Morgan Meis, 23 July 2010. - Tales by Chilean master of malaise - review of Monsieur Pain, The Return, The Insufferable Gaucho, and Antwerp
- Antwerp by Roberto Bolaño: review - review of the book in the GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper, 21 October 2011.