2666

2666 is one of my boyfriend’s favorite books, and when I first mentioned that I was thinking about reading it and asked him to describe it to me, he described it as “a mapping of the ecology of Hell.”  Between this description, a few other things he’s said about the writing, and the sheer size and scope of the book, I found myself rather intimidated to start reading.

But, while I’m only about 40 pages in, I’m really surprised at how accessible, funny and almost warm I’ve found it to be so far.  It’s kind of like finding yourself in a friendship with someone whom you’d initially assumed would be way too cool to ever be your friend.  My favorite bit of writing so far is the description of Espinoza and Pelletier’s first phone conversation regarding Liz Norton:

“Liz Norton’s name was spoken fifty times, nine of them in vain.  The word Paris was said seven times, Madrid, eight.  The word love was spoken twice, once by each man.  The word horror was spoken six times and the word happiness once (by Espinoza).  The word solution was said twelve times.  The word solipsism seven times.  The word euphemism ten times.  The word category, in the singular and the plural, nine times.” - Roberto Bolaño, 2666, p41.