The Savage Detectives
Encyclopedia
The Savage Detectives (Los Detectives Salvajes in Spanish) is an award-winning novel published by the Chile
an author Roberto Bolaño
in 1998. Natasha Wimmer
's English translation was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
in 2007. The novel tells the story of the search for a female Mexican poet, Cesárea Tinajero, by two other poets, the Chilean Arturo Belano
and the Mexican Ulises Lima.
, becoming increasingly involved with the adherents of Visceral Realism, although he remains uncertain about Visceral Realism.
The book's second section, "The Savage Detectives," comprises nearly two-thirds of the novel's total length. The section is a polyphonic narrative which features more than forty narrators and spans twenty years, from 1976 to 1996. It consists of interviews with a variety of characters from locations around North America, Europe, and the Middle East, all of whom have come into contact with the founding leaders of the Visceral Realists, Ulises Lima and Arturo Belano
. Each narrator has his or her own opinion of the two, although the consensus is that they are drifters and literary elitists whose behavior often leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of those they meet. We learn that the two spent some years in Europe, frequenting bars and camp sites, and generally living a bohemian
lifestyle. Lima, the more introverted of the two, serves a short sentence in an Israel
i prison, while Belano challenges a literary critic to an absurd sword fight on a Spanish beach.
The third section of the book, "The Deserts of Sonora", is again narrated by Juan García Madero, now in the Sonora Desert with Lima, Belano and a prostitute named Lupe. The section involves the "Savage Detectives" closing in on the elusive poet and the movement's founder Cesárea Tinajero, while being chased by a pimp named Alberto and a corrupt Mexican police officer.
(translated into English as Hopscotch) by Argentinian novelist Julio Cortázar
both because of its non-linear structure and its portrayal of young, bohemian artists.
According to the Note to the First Edition of 2666, among Bolaño's notes is a line saying that "The narrator of 2666 is Arturo Belano," a character from The Savage Detectives, as well as a line for the end of 2666, "And that's it, friends. I've done it all, I've lived it all. If I had the strength, I'd cry. I bid you all goodbye, Arturo Belano".
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an author Roberto Bolaño
Roberto Bolaño
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos was a Chilean novelist and poet. In 1999 he won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel Los detectives salvajes , and in 2008 he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his novel 2666, which was described by board member Marcela Valdes...
in 1998. Natasha Wimmer
Natasha Wimmer
Natasha Wimmer is an American translator best known for her translations of Chilean novelist Roberto Bolaño's 2666 and The Savage Detectives from Spanish into English....
's English translation was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy...
in 2007. The novel tells the story of the search for a female Mexican poet, Cesárea Tinajero, by two other poets, the Chilean Arturo Belano
Arturo Belano
Arturo Belano is the alter ego of the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. The character's first appearance was in the novella Distant Star, where he was the narrator, while his most prominent role was in The Savage Detectives where he and fellow writer Ulises Lima are the central characters...
and the Mexican Ulises Lima.
Plot summary
The novel is narrated in first person by numerous narrators and divided into three parts. The first section, "Mexicans Lost in Mexico", is told by 17-year-old aspiring poet, Juan García Madero. It centers on his admittance to a roving gang of poets who refer to themselves as the Visceral Realists. He drops out of university and travels around Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, becoming increasingly involved with the adherents of Visceral Realism, although he remains uncertain about Visceral Realism.
The book's second section, "The Savage Detectives," comprises nearly two-thirds of the novel's total length. The section is a polyphonic narrative which features more than forty narrators and spans twenty years, from 1976 to 1996. It consists of interviews with a variety of characters from locations around North America, Europe, and the Middle East, all of whom have come into contact with the founding leaders of the Visceral Realists, Ulises Lima and Arturo Belano
Arturo Belano
Arturo Belano is the alter ego of the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. The character's first appearance was in the novella Distant Star, where he was the narrator, while his most prominent role was in The Savage Detectives where he and fellow writer Ulises Lima are the central characters...
. Each narrator has his or her own opinion of the two, although the consensus is that they are drifters and literary elitists whose behavior often leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of those they meet. We learn that the two spent some years in Europe, frequenting bars and camp sites, and generally living a bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
lifestyle. Lima, the more introverted of the two, serves a short sentence in an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i prison, while Belano challenges a literary critic to an absurd sword fight on a Spanish beach.
The third section of the book, "The Deserts of Sonora", is again narrated by Juan García Madero, now in the Sonora Desert with Lima, Belano and a prostitute named Lupe. The section involves the "Savage Detectives" closing in on the elusive poet and the movement's founder Cesárea Tinajero, while being chased by a pimp named Alberto and a corrupt Mexican police officer.
Partial Character List
| Characters | Description | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Arturo Belano Arturo Belano Arturo Belano is the alter ego of the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. The character's first appearance was in the novella Distant Star, where he was the narrator, while his most prominent role was in The Savage Detectives where he and fellow writer Ulises Lima are the central characters... |
One of the founders of Visceral Realism. More extroverted. Chilean. (Bolaño's alter ego) | Roberto Bolaño Roberto Bolaño Roberto Bolaño Ávalos was a Chilean novelist and poet. In 1999 he won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel Los detectives salvajes , and in 2008 he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his novel 2666, which was described by board member Marcela Valdes... |
| Ulises Lima | One of the founders of Visceral Realism. More introverted (Bolaño's friend's alter ego) | Mario Santiago Papasquiaro Mario Santiago Papasquiaro Mario Santiago Papasquiaro is the pen name of José Alfredo Zendejas Pineda . Mexican poet and co-founder of the infrarrealista poetry movement.-Biography:His first reading was in 1973... |
| Juan García Madero | 17-year-old Visceral Realist. Moved in with the Font family for a while, and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of classical and medieval poetic forms. | Juan Esteban Harrington |
| Lupe | Young prostitute. Friend of María Font's; dates Juan García Madero. | |
| Alberto | Lupe's pimp. Gangster who measures his penis against his (large) knife every day. Chases Lupe through the Sonoran desert. | |
| Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:... |
Celebrated Mexican Poet. Nobel Prize Winner. Hated by the Visceral Realists; meets Lima in a park accompanied by assistant. | Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:... |
| María Font | Angelica's oldest sister. Sleeps with Juan García Madero. | Mara Larrosa |
| Angelica Font | Won the Laura Damian poetry prize. | Vera Larrosa |
| Joaquin (Quim) Font | The Font sisters' father. Architect. Spends most of the novel in a mental institute. | Manolo Larrosa |
| Julio Cesar Alamo | Visceral Realists met in his poetry workshop. Led trip to Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean... when Lima was lost. |
Juan Buñuelos |
| Cesárea Tinajero | Poet considered the 'mother of Visceral Realism', dating from the conception of the Visceral Realist movement in the 1920s. Nearly forgotten. Belano, Lima, Lupe, and Garcia Madero embark on a quest to find her in 1976. | Concha Urquiza |
| Amadeo Salvatierra | Old guy who drinks Mezcal Mezcal Mezcal, or mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant native to Mexico. The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl metl and ixcalli which mean 'oven cooked agave.'... . Former poet turned scrivener Scrivener A scrivener was traditionally a person who could read and write. This usually indicated secretarial and administrative duties such as dictation and keeping business, judicial, and history records for kings, nobles, temples, and cities... . A member of the original Visceral Realists who is interviewed by Belano and Lima, revealing to them the only published work of Tinajero. |
Rodolfo Sanabria |
| Perla Aviles | Went horseriding with Arturo in high school. | |
| Laura Jauregui | Lover of Arturo, who claims Arturo started Visceral Realism to impress her. | Lisa Johnson |
| Cesar Arriaga | Used to date Laura. | |
| Rafael Barrios | Rubén Medina | |
| Felipe Müller | Another of the second generation Visceral Realists. Also Chilean. Took care of Arturo's mother in Barcelona. | Bruno Montané |
| Fabio Ernesto Logiacomo | Poet. Won Casa de las Americas competition. | Jorge Boccanera |
| Luis Sebastian Rosado | Contemptuous towards the Visceral Realists. An occasional lover of Luscious Skin. | José Joaquín Blanco |
| Alberto Moore | Friend of Luis Rosado | |
| Pancho Rodriguez | Second-generation Visceral Realist poet, older brother of Moctezuma in love with Angelica Font | Ramón Méndez |
| Moctezuma Rodriguez | Younger brother of Pancho, also poet. | Cuauhtémoc Méndez |
| Luscious Skin | Visceral Realist Poet. Bisexual. | Jorge Hernández Pieldivina |
| Carlos Monsiváis Carlos Monsiváis Carlos Monsiváis Aceves was a Mexican writer, critic, political activist, and journalist. of French decent He also wrote political opinion columns in leading newspapers and was considered to be an opinion leader within the country's progressive sectors. His generation of writers includes Elena... |
Published a collection of work by Visceral Realists, much to his own cost. | |
| Manuel Maples Arce Manuel Maples Arce Manuel Maples Arce was a Mexican poet, lawyer, diplomat and writer, founder of the Stridentism movement in 1921.... |
Respected poet. Full of himself. | |
| Barbara Patterson | American hippie Hippie The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's... girl. Dates Rafael. Filthy, funny, and foul-mouthed. |
|
| Ernesto San Epifanio | Young gay man, associated with the second generation of Visceral Realists. | Darío Galicia |
| Catalina O'Hara | Painter. | |
| Jacinto Requena | Dating Xochitl. Slept with María Font. | José Peguero |
| Xóchitl Garcia | Dating Jacinto. Eventually publishes poems and is successful writing essays. Franz's mother. | Guadalupe Ochoa |
| Auxilio Lacouture | Mother of Mexican poetry. Hid in an UNAM Unam UNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City... bathroom during the 1968 military massacre. She is the narrator of Bolano's novel Amulet. |
Alcira |
| Joaquin Vazquez Amaral | Respected poet. Liked Visceral Realists. | |
| Lisandro Morales | Publisher. Published Arturo, among others. | Lautaro |
| Vargas Pardo | Ecuadorean novelist. | José Donoso Pareja |
| Simone Darrieux | Dated Arturo in Paris. Ulises showered at her house in Paris. | |
| Hipolito Garces | Friend of Ulises in Paris. Cooked for him, but ripped him off. | |
| Roberto Rosas | Friend of Ulises in Paris. Hated Hipolito. | José Rosas Ribeyro |
| Sofia Pellegrini | Friend of Ulises in Paris. | |
| Michel Bulteau | French poet. Ulises called him in Paris. | Michel Bulteau Michel Bulteau Michel Bulteau is a French poet, essayist, occasional musician and experimental filmmaker, born on 8 October 1949 in Arcueil.-Biography:When he was twenty-two, he contributed with seventeen other young poets, including Matthieu Messagier, Jean-Jacques Faussot, Jacques Ferry, Patrick Geoffrois and... |
| Mary Watson | English hippie. Slept with Arturo when he was a park ranger. | |
| Alain Lebert | Fisherman in Spain. Friend of Arturo's, along with the pirate, Margarite. | |
| Norman Bolzman | Friend in Israel Israel The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... of Ulises. Lived with Claudia and Daniel. Dated Claudia. Ulises was in love with Claudia. |
|
| Heimito Kunst | In jail with Ulises in Israel. Lived with him in Vienna Vienna Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre... . Mad. |
|
| Jose "Zopilote" Colina | Publisher. Full of himself. | José de la Colina |
| Veronika Volkow | Trotsky's great-granddaughter. | |
| Alfonso Perez Camarga | Painter. Bought drugs from Arturo and Ulises. | |
| Hugo Montero | Brought Ulises to Nicaragua with Don Pancracio, Labarca and Mexican poets. | |
| Andre Ramirez | A Chilean stowaway, goes to Spain, wins the lottery - gives Belano a job. | |
| Susana Puig | A nurse who has an affair with Arturo | |
| Edith Oster | A lover who broke Arturo's heart in Barcelona. |
Critical reception
Several critics have compared the novel to RayuelaRayuela
Hopscotch is a novel by Argentine writer Julio Cortázar. Written in Paris and published in Spanish in 1963 and in English in 1966, the English translation by Gregory Rabassa won the 1967 U.S. National Book Award. Hopscotch is an introspective stream-of-consciousness novel where characters...
(translated into English as Hopscotch) by Argentinian novelist Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...
both because of its non-linear structure and its portrayal of young, bohemian artists.
Elements in Common with 2666
2666, Bolaño's final, posthumous novel has many points in common with The Savage Detectives.- Both conclude in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, in the Mexican state of SonoraSonoraSonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, which acts as a stand-in for Ciudad JuárezCiudad JuárezCiudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
. - In the second part of The Savage Detectives, an author named Arcimboldi is mentioned. In 2666 he will become the central character Benno von ArchimboldiBenno von ArchimboldiBenno von Archimboldi is the pen name of the fictional German author Hans Reiter , one of the central characters in Roberto Bolaño's 2666....
. - In a dialogue about Cesárea Tinajero, the year 2600 is referred to as "the year of misfortunes".
- Late in the novel there is a section where, 'Cesárea said something about days to come... and the teacher, to change the subject, asked her what times she meant and when they would be. And Cesárea named a date, sometime around the year 2600. Two thousand six hundred and something.'
According to the Note to the First Edition of 2666, among Bolaño's notes is a line saying that "The narrator of 2666 is Arturo Belano," a character from The Savage Detectives, as well as a line for the end of 2666, "And that's it, friends. I've done it all, I've lived it all. If I had the strength, I'd cry. I bid you all goodbye, Arturo Belano".