Description
Amulet is a monologue, like Bolano's acclaimed debut in English, By Night in Chile. The speaker is Auxilio Lacouture, a Uruguayan woman who moved to Mexico in the 1960s, becoming the "Mother of Mexican Poetry," hanging out with the young poets in the cafes and bars of the University. She's tall, thin, and blonde, and her favorite young poet in the 1970s is none other than Arturo Belano (Bolano's fictional stand-in throughout his books).
As well as her young poets, Auxilio recalls three remarkable women: the melancholic young philosopher Elena, the exiled Catalan painter Remedios Varo, and Lilian Serpas, a poet who once slept with Che Guevara. And in the course of her imaginary visit to the house of Remedios Varo, Auxilio sees an uncanny landscape, a kind of chasm. This chasm reappears in a vision at the end of the book: an army of children is marching toward it, singing as they go. The children are the idealistic young Latin Americans who came to maturity in the '70s, and the last words of the novel are: "And that song is our amulet."
About the Author
Author of 2666 and many other acclaimed works, Roberto Bolano (1953-2003) was born in Santiago, Chile, and later lived in Mexico, Paris, and Spain. He has been acclaimed "by far the most exciting writer to come from south of the Rio Grande in a long time" (Ilan Stavans, The Los Angeles Times)," and as "the real thing and the rarest" (Susan Sontag). Among his many prizes are the extremely prestigious Herralde de Novela Award and the Premio Romulo Gallegos. He was widely considered to be the greatest Latin American writer of his generation. He wrote nine novels, two story collections, and five books of poetry, before dying in July 2003 at the age of 50. The poet and translator Chris Andrews has won the Valle Inclan Prize and the French-American Translation Prize for his work.
Reviews
"Bolano's reputation and legend are in meteoric ascent." -- Larry Rohter - The New York Times
"The most influential and admired novelist of his generation in the Spanish-speaking world." -- Susan Sontag - Times Literary Supplement
"He is by far the most exciting writer to come from south of the Rio Grande in a long time." -- Ilan Stavans - Los Angeles Times
"Bolano wrote with the high-voltage first-person braininess of a Saul Bellow and an extreme subversive vision of his own." -- Francisco Goldman - The New York Times Magazine
Book Information
ISBN 9780811217460
Author Roberto Bolano
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint New Directions Publishing Corporation
Publisher New Directions Publishing Corporation
Weight(grams) 182g
Dimensions(mm) 206mm * 132mm * 15mm
As well as her young poets, Auxilio recalls three remarkable women: the melancholic young philosopher Elena, the exiled Catalan painter Remedios Varo, and Lilian Serpas, a poet who once slept with Che Guevara. And in the course of her imaginary visit to the house of Remedios Varo, Auxilio sees an uncanny landscape, a kind of chasm. This chasm reappears in a vision at the end of the book: an army of children is marching toward it, singing as they go. The children are the idealistic young Latin Americans who came to maturity in the '70s, and the last words of the novel are: "And that song is our amulet."
About the Author
Author of 2666 and many other acclaimed works, Roberto Bolano (1953-2003) was born in Santiago, Chile, and later lived in Mexico, Paris, and Spain. He has been acclaimed "by far the most exciting writer to come from south of the Rio Grande in a long time" (Ilan Stavans, The Los Angeles Times)," and as "the real thing and the rarest" (Susan Sontag). Among his many prizes are the extremely prestigious Herralde de Novela Award and the Premio Romulo Gallegos. He was widely considered to be the greatest Latin American writer of his generation. He wrote nine novels, two story collections, and five books of poetry, before dying in July 2003 at the age of 50. The poet and translator Chris Andrews has won the Valle Inclan Prize and the French-American Translation Prize for his work.
Reviews
"Bolano's reputation and legend are in meteoric ascent." -- Larry Rohter - The New York Times
"The most influential and admired novelist of his generation in the Spanish-speaking world." -- Susan Sontag - Times Literary Supplement
"He is by far the most exciting writer to come from south of the Rio Grande in a long time." -- Ilan Stavans - Los Angeles Times
"Bolano wrote with the high-voltage first-person braininess of a Saul Bellow and an extreme subversive vision of his own." -- Francisco Goldman - The New York Times Magazine
Book Information
ISBN 9780811217460
Author Roberto Bolano
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint New Directions Publishing Corporation
Publisher New Directions Publishing Corporation
Weight(grams) 182g
Dimensions(mm) 206mm * 132mm * 15mm
