Zhao Deming, translator of 2666’s Chinese version

 

Roberto Bolaño

Roberto Bolaño, the late Chilean poet and novelist, was a bit of a prophet: Despite living pennilessly and rather miserably his entire life, he predicted that he would achieve world fame after his death, which, surprisingly, turned out to be correct.

Bolaño passed away in 2003 from liver disease at the age of 50. After his death, his reputation as a literary giant began, with his posthumous magnum opus 2666 being published in Spanish in 2004, and then translated into English in 2008, receiving tremendous critical acclaim.

Latin American revival

Now with a fan base that rivals that of Gabriel García Márquez, another celebrated Latin American novelist, even Bolaño himself could not have predicted that his fame would reach as far as China.

The Chinese version of 2666, translated by renowned Spanish-Chinese translator Zhao Deming, hit China's bookshelves recently, with all copies of the book's hard cover version selling out completely. Paperbacks will soon be put on bookshelves across the country. Critics and writers here speak highly of the novel.

Shi Hongjun, general manager of Shanghai Century Publishing Co., Ltd, publisher of 2666's Chinese version, said that all 50,000 paperback copies have been distributed, an encouraging figure for the literary work, and they are preparing for a prompt reprint amid the book's warm reception into China.

2666's success follows the unexpected popularity of the republished One Hundred Years of Solitude by Márquez, earlier this year, which was surprisingly listed as a best-seller for months.

Critics generally see this, along with 2666's release, as another wave of Latin American literature heat in China, after Solitude received high praise from literature lovers here in the 1980s.

"We were obsessed with the Marquez-led Latin American literature movement," Chinese novelist Yu Hua recalled. "Every one of us, the so-called 'literary youth,' can recite the first paragraph by heart."

The art of storytelling

Bolaño's 2666 carries on the traditions of Latin American literature: stories are told in the usual mysterious, sometimes even obscure, manner of narration, inviting readers into a mystical, imaginative space in which reality is not always what it seems.

The work consists of five sections, each with their own story lines and individual forms that can stand alone as novels in their own right (the novelist, actually, had expressed a wish to publish them separately). The five long pieces, however, interlock with each other so perfectly that they form an astonishingly beautiful whole, thus constructing a remarkable book.

The story begins with four literary critics from different European countries who are all obsessed with a German novelist named Benno von Archimboldi. Very little is known about the writer: he's very old and tall, and he disappeared years ago.

The four critics become obsessed with finding Archimboldi's whereabouts. A chance encounter tips them off that he might be in Santa Teresa, a Mexican border town.

The town, as a matter of fact, is believed to be based on the real town of Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, home of a tragic incident in which local women were raped and murdered, and toward the end of his life Bolaño himself became obsessed with researching the events that occurred there.

The other sections of the book turn their attention away from Archimboldi completely, finding new protagonists.

Throughout the complex structure of the novel, Bolaño's focus seems to be on the subject of murder, explained translator Zhao. "The reaction toward murder by the characters, as well as the reader, I think is what Bolaño cared about most."

Surpassing 'Solitudeñ'

After years of working on the novel, Zhao joked that for him, 2666 was like a post-doctoral project. "It is far from being a simple novel. You learn about politics, murders and exoticism," Zhao said. "It delves deep into the matter of human nature, like any great work."

The novel was the primary effort of the last five years of Bolaño's life, which he spent writing with the urgency of poverty and failing health. The title 2666 is an utter mystery, and it is likely to remain so.

While the Chinese literary world tends to compare 2666 with Solitude, some writers, like Yu, don't believe that Bolaño surpassed Márquez in terms of artistic achievement.

"These two great works are just like two different trees in the vast world of Latin American literature," Yu commented. "Chinese writers will surely find inspiration in 2666, just as they have from Solitude over the decades."

Although Bolaño had publicly expressed disdain for Márquez and the "magic realism" literature movement he led, his writing was inevitably influenced by Márquez, and his success abroad was certainly due in part to the iconic writer and his legacy.