Arturo Belano
Encyclopedia
Arturo Belano is the alter ego
of the Chile
an writer Roberto Bolaño
. The character's first appearance was in the novella Distant Star
, where he was the narrator, while his most prominent role was in The Savage Detectives
where he and fellow writer Ulises Lima are the central characters. Belano also appears in several short stories and in the novella Amulet
; he is of the same age and nationality as Bolaño, with many shared elements in their biographies including a move from Chile
to Mexico
in their teens with their families, traveling around the world, and finally settling in Spain
. According to Bolaño's notes, Belano is also the narrator of the novel 2666
.
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
of the Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an writer Roberto Bolaño
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...
. The character's first appearance was in the novella Distant Star
Distant Star
Distant Star is a novella by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño, first published in Spanish in 1996. Chris Andrews’s English translation was published by New Directions in 2004...
, where he was the narrator, while his most prominent role was in The Savage Detectives
The Savage Detectives
The Savage Detectives is an award-winning novel published by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño in 1998. Natasha Wimmer's English translation was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2007...
where he and fellow writer Ulises Lima are the central characters. Belano also appears in several short stories and in the novella Amulet
Amulet (novel)
Amulet is a novel by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. It was published in 1999. An English translation, by Chris Andrews, was published by New Directions in 2006.-Plot summary:...
; he is of the same age and nationality as Bolaño, with many shared elements in their biographies including a move from Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in their teens with their families, traveling around the world, and finally settling in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. According to Bolaño's notes, Belano is also the narrator of the novel 2666
2666 (novel)
2666 is the penultimate novel written by Chilean novelist Roberto Bolaño. Released in 2004, it depicts the unsolved and ongoing serial murders of Ciudad Juárez , the Eastern Front in World War II, and the breakdown of relationships and careers...
.
Appearances
- Distant StarDistant StarDistant Star is a novella by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño, first published in Spanish in 1996. Chris Andrews’s English translation was published by New Directions in 2004...
(1996) - as Arturo B.; narrator and character. in the introduction he is described as "a fellow Chilean...a veteran of Latin America's doomed revolutions, who tried to get himself killed in Africa." Bolaño explains that Arturo told him a shorter version of the story, which appears as the final chapter of Nazi Literature in the AmericasNazi Literature in the AmericasNazi Literature in the Americas is a work of fiction by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. It was published in 1996. Chris Andrews’ English translation was published in 2008 by New Directions which was shortlisted for the 2008 Best Translated Book Award....
, but Arturo was displeased with the outcome:
-
- "So we took that final chapter and shut ourselves up for a month and a half in my house in Blanes, where, guided by his dreams and nightmares, we composed the present novel. My role was limited to preparing refreshments, consulting a few books, and discussing the reuse of numerous paragraphs with Arturo and the increasingly animated ghost of Pierre Menard."
- The Savage DetectivesThe Savage DetectivesThe Savage Detectives is an award-winning novel published by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño in 1998. Natasha Wimmer's English translation was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2007...
(1998) - main character - AmuletAmulet (novel)Amulet is a novel by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. It was published in 1999. An English translation, by Chris Andrews, was published by New Directions in 2006.-Plot summary:...
(1999) - secondary character mentioned by the narrator/protagonist Auxilio Lacouture as her "favorite young poet, although he wasn't Mexican," and revealed to be of the same age and nationality as Bolaño:
-
- "I thought about young Arturo Belano, who was sixteen or seventeen when I met him in 1970. I was the mother of the new Mexican poetry and he was just a kid who couldn’t hold his liquor, but he was proud that Salvador AllendeSalvador AllendeSalvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
had been elected president of his faraway Chile."
- "I thought about young Arturo Belano, who was sixteen or seventeen when I met him in 1970. I was the mother of the new Mexican poetry and he was just a kid who couldn’t hold his liquor, but he was proud that Salvador Allende
- 26662666 (novel)2666 is the penultimate novel written by Chilean novelist Roberto Bolaño. Released in 2004, it depicts the unsolved and ongoing serial murders of Ciudad Juárez , the Eastern Front in World War II, and the breakdown of relationships and careers...
(2004) - narrator, though this is not stated explicitly in the novel:
-
- Among Bolaño’s notes for 2666 there appears the single line: “the narrator of 2666 is Arturo Belano.” And elsewhere bolano adds, with the indication "for the end of 2666":"And that’s it, friends. I’ve done it all, I’ve lived it all. If I had the strength, I’d cry. I bid you all goodbye, Arturo Belano.”
Short Stories
- "The Grub" (collected in Last Evenings on EarthLast Evenings on EarthLast Evenings on Earth is a collection of short stories, published in 2006, by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño translated by Chris Andrews. The stories in this volume were selected from two Spanish language collections, Llamadas Telefonicas , and Putas Asesinas...
, 2006) - narrator - "Enrique Martín" (collected in Last Evenings on Earth, 2006) - narrator
- "Photos" (collected in The ReturnThe Return (short story collection)The Return is a collection of short stories by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño, published in English in 2010, translated by Chris Andrews...
, 2010) - protagonist; the story consists of his thoughts narrated in the third person. - "Detectives" (collected in The Return, 2010) - mentioned parenthetically