By Night in Chile

By: Roberto Bolaño, Chris Andrews - translation

Narrated by: Thom Rivera

A deathbed confession revolving around Opus Dei and Pinochet, By Night in Chile pours out the self-justifying dark memories of the Jesuit priest Father Urrutia.

As through a crack in the wall, By Night in Chile's single night-long rant provides a terrifying, clandestine view of the strange bedfellows of church and state in Chile. This wild, eerily compact novel - Roberto Bolaño's first work available in English - recounts the tale of a poor boy who wanted to be a poet but ends up a half-hearted Jesuit priest and conservative literary critic, a sort of lapdog to the rich and powerful cultural elite, in whose villas he encounters Pablo Neruda and Ernst Jünger.

Father Urrutia is offered a tour of Europe by agents of Opus Dei to study "the disintegration of the churches" - a journey into realms of the surreal - and, ensnared by this plum, he is next assigned, after the destruction of Allende, the secret never-to-be-disclosed job of teaching Pinochet, at night, all about Marxism, so the junta generals can know their enemy. Soon, searingly, his memories go from bad to worse.

Heart-stopping and hypnotic, By Night in Chile marked the American debut of an astonishing writer.

©2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Dreamscape by a Talented Chilean Writer

I was told that Bolaño’s 2666 was a masterpiece but thought that I would try this book first as the length of 2666 was daunting. This was possibly a mistake for a couple of reasons.

By Night in Chile is written by a Chilean for a Chilean audience, if for any audience at all. It is more a reflection, a meditation, a journal entry by a man going through a difficult time in the history of Chile. I have to admit that I could not understand or identify with many of the writer’s feelings or references. This is not said to invalidate his words, just to say that they meant little to me.

This book, I won’t call it a novel, may have been written to express Bolaño’s feelings and the prose, even in translation, is often quite elegant, but never touched me. I had to fight to get to the end.

Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be attempting 2666.

Wonderful hallucinations

This book is an amazing collection of ponderings and sometimes babbles of the mind of a man at his death bed. Amazing work of art.

A Deep and Relevant Masterpiece

I found this a beautiful piece of literature. Not to give too much away, a priest and literary critic looks back on his life following the Pinochet regime and after being criticized by a young man for his past actions. It reflects on many aspects of Chilean life at that time including the importance of literature, the complicated balance between religion and modern culture and what it means to “collaborate”. I am sure it can have many different meanings to different people. Highly recommended.

I love Roberto Bolaño

Bolaño is a master of complexity. In this beautifully read piece he explores the mind of a culture as well as his own, through literature. The narrator, a priest and literary critic wanders through his life recounting tales of people he has met who while believing they worked for the greater good most likely fell very short. In the end, he realizes his own shortcomings.

Take Only Memories. Leave Only Footprints.

By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolaño (translated by Chris Andrews) is an amazing, expansive, and compelling book. Five stars. The narrative performance by Thom Rivera is also outstanding and adds to the impact of the story. I was surprised by this book and I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates great writing.