The Spirit of Science Fiction

The Spirit of Science Fiction (Spanish: El espíritu de la ciencia-ficción) is a novel written by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño around 1984 and published posthumously. It was published in Spanish in 2016;[1] an English-language translation by Natasha Wimmer was published in 2018 by Picador[2] and in February 2019 by Penguin.[3]

The Spirit of Science Fiction
First edition (Spanish)
AuthorRoberto Bolaño
Original titleEl espíritu de la ciencia-ficción
TranslatorNatasha Wimmer
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish
PublisherEditorial Anagrama, Barcelona
Publication date
2018
Published in English
February 5, 2019 (US)
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages209

Although unpublished at his death, The Spirit of Science Fiction was one of Bolaño's first completed novels, the manuscript bearing the inscription "Blanes, 1984",[4] and reviewers saw it as a precursor to The Savage Detectives.[1][5][6]

Plot

The novel is set in Mexico City in the 1970s; the central characters are two young Chilean would-be writers who have emigrated during the Pinochet dictatorship, 17-year-old Jan Schrella and 21-year-old Remo, and Remo's friend José Arco. Jan, a science fiction author and Bolaño's alter ego, sits in the attic they share and writes, much of the time letters to authors he idolizes. Remo, a poet, falls in love with a girl he meets at a poetry workshop, and with Arco, also a poet, quests on the latter's motorbike after Dr. Carvajal, who can explain the simultaneous rise of illiteracy and proliferation of poetry journals in the city. In addition to Jan's letters the story is intercut with dreams and with flashforwards to Remo's life after he is successful;[1][4][5][6] Remo also narrates the last section of the novel, "Mexican Manifesto", a love story that was published on its own in The New Yorker in 2013.[4]

References
  1. Paul Di Filippo (February 10, 2019). "Roberto Bolaño's popularity surged after his death. What does a 'new' book do for his legacy?". The Washington Post – via The Frederick News-Post.
  2. ISBN 9781509851928.
  3. ISBN 9780735222854. Audiobook ISBN 9781984839121.
  4. Lucie Shelly (February 16, 2019). "Roberto Bolaño's The Spirit of Science Fiction: a little disappointing". The Irish Times.
  5. Lily Meyer (February 8, 2019). "In 'Spirit Of Science Fiction,' Seeds Of A Great Career". NPR.
  6. Alex Preston (February 10, 2019). "The Spirit of Science Fiction by Roberto Bolaño review – no justice for a literary outlaw". the Guardian.
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