Un uso extremadamente sofisticado del lenguaje, una pena que el contenido no este a la altura del continente. ( )

tiene secciones muy buenas, de mucha resonancia pero la novela no termina de cuajar. el cuento de los heroes y el tour de iglesias que usaban halcones son excepcionales. lo demas, meh. ( )

A beautifully written short novel about the often uncomfortable relationship between artists and rulers. ( )

Some sections of this novel really grabbed me, while others left me too easily distracted. Part of this I chalk up to my own indiscipline, part to the demands of the book: the whole thing is a single paragraph, and many sentences are several pages long. But the writing is elegant and the conceit--the monologue of a dying Chilean priest/literary critic lamenting his quiet complicity with the Pinochet government--is arresting. To better appreciate the narrative's temporal unity, I'd read the whole book in one sitting if I had it to do over again--it's slim at 130 pages, and reads fairly quickly once one finds its rhythm. Strong final sentence: "And then the storm of shit begins." ( )

Bolano’s slim novel takes the form of a deathbed confession of a Catholic priest, one Father Urrutia. Although by ‘calling’, a priest, Urrutia is by ‘profession’ a writer and literary critic. The historical context is the period from the rise and fall of Allende to the assumption of power by Pinochet and his Generals. The crucial polemic of Bolano’s text is the collaboration - either active or passive - between the elite literati, the clergy and the repressive regime.

There is one pointed and powerful metaphor that is drawn toward the end of the novel. Urrutia is part of a literary salon that meets several times a week at the home of a Maria Canales. The talk is of the theater, poetry, literature and all of the arts. Meanwhile, as we later find out, the basement of the house is used as an interrogation chamber for enemies of the state by her husband Jimmy Thompson, a sort of shadow CIA operative.

Unfortunately, this one very vivid metaphor does not a compelling novel make. I found it somewhat muddled and lifeless - strangely without much impact. ( )

An odd but ultimately compelling revery, with vivid images & dreamlike logic. Not everything works, but enough does. ( )

An almost surreal account of a priest who becomes complicit in the period of repression of human rights during the Pinochet regime. It has always been of interest to me how seemingly "civilized" cultures of Latin America which produce great writers and thinkers suddenly plunge into savage violence. This has occurred in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The novel addresses the mentality that accommodates and justifies totalitarianism. ( )

It’s Chile sometime in 1990s. These are the last hours of a dying priest. He is lying on his deathbed which he steers through the river of his memory using his hands as oars. All the fused stream of consciousness scenes he goes through while changing landscapes are the flashbacks from his memory. On our journey through his visions, we are taken on a personal journey through his life and through the recent history of Chile. The title then may have a double meaning given the recent Chilean history of political violence.

There is an odd beauty in the imagery, an interesting story of priests, falcons, and pigeons, and we meet characters like Pinochet, Neruda and Allende.
Recommended if you like Jose Saramago, as Bolano’s style is very reminiscent of his. ( )

Susan Sontag
A wonderful and beautifully written book by a writer who has an enviable control over every beat. (The Manchester Guardian)