Sarah Kerr reviews 2666 and The Romantic Dogs in the most recent issue of the New York Review of Books.
Bolano’s vision is fierce, not total. Technology, various kinds of intimacy, and levity as opposed to satire don’t have much of a place here. Bolano’s sexual staging can feel like a lecture; his women can seem larger or smaller than life.
I disagree with that second sentence. Just in the first part of 2666 you see lots of emailing (technology), Norton’s multiple and endearing romances {not to mention the unusual friendship of Pelletier and Espinoza} (various kinds of intimacy), and El Cerdo (levity).
