Roberto Bolano "Woes of the True Policeman" (2012)

The root of my ills, thought Amalfitano sometimes, is my admiration for Jews, homosexuals, and revolutionaries (true revolutionaries, the romantics and the dangerous madmen, not the apparatchiks of the Communist Party of Chile or its despicable thugs, those hideous gray beings). The root of all my ills, he thought, is my admiration for a certain kind of junkie, the kind you rarely come across, the kind who literally gnaws at himself, the kind like a black hole or a black eye, with no hands or legs, a black eye that never opens or closes, the Lost Witness of the Tribe, the kind who seems to cling to drugs in the same way the drugs cling to him). The root of all my ills is my admiration for delinquents, whores, the mentally disturbed, said Amalfitano to himself with bitterness. When I was an adolescent I wanted to be a Jew, a Bolshevik, black, homosexual, a junkie, half-crazy, and - the crowning touch - a one-armed amputee, but all I became was a literature professor. At least, thought Amalfitano, I've read thousands of books. At least I've become acquainted with the Poets and read the Novels. (The Poets, in Amalfitano's view, were those beings who flashed like lightning bolts, and the Novels were the stories that sprang from Don Quixote). At least I've read. At least I can still read, he said to himself, at once dubious and hopeful.
--- Chapter 16, pg. 86

Omamoodi kaaslane Bolano massiivsele tellisele "2666", mis sai alustatud 1980. ja mille kallal töötas ta veel aastal 2003. Peategelaseks on kirjandusprofessor Amalfitano, kes "2666"-s teiste seas oma rolli täidab. Polnud kõige mahedam lugemine, ehk on mul Bolanost lihtsalt üleküllastumine. Tegu pole normaalse romaaniga, rohkem on tegu eraldi lühijuttudega, mis kaudselt Amalfitanoga seostuvad, kui üldse. Vahel on lood tüütud, a la tegelastevaheline kirjavahetus kus Bolano jutustab sisu lakooniliselt ümber ja ma ei jaksa jälgida. Justkui on huvitav romaan, aga sulle vuristatakse selle asemel monotoonselt ette selle sisukokkuvõte.
   Professor väänleb ja võimleb sisekaemuse käes, avastab homoseksuaalsuse võlusid ja piinu ning reisib tütrega mööda Ladinaa-Ameerikat. Tunda on Bolano armastust ja teadmisi Ladina-Ameerika luuletajate vastu. Taas kasutab Bolano ka kujutletavate raamatute nippi, eriti Arcimboldi teoste kirjeldamisel. Sama tegi kunagi ka Lovecraft. Pmst annab ta olematute romaanide sisukokkuvõtteid. Romaanid on muidugi sürreaalsed ja raske oleks neid päriselt olemasolevatena ette kujutada. Kõik on tal üldse nii sürr ja kuidagi ängistav, täidetud salajaste oomenite ja ennetega. Väga hea tunne sisse ei jäänud.