Babble About Overriding Themes

Okay, *Capitu. Fair enough. I just cannot believe that you are putting that much faith in something this author said about his own work.

How sad I am that you are leaving. Your notes are wonderful as always. And thank you for this parting shot.

With my penchant for overstatement, I have probably overstated the worthlessness of research with regard to this book. I did read the excerpt from the interview that you translated for us at No. 20 before I ever read one word of 2666. There among the big books in his life was this:

The Completed Works (my translation) by Borges. (Emphasis mine obviously.)

Initially, I took this to mean that Bolaño had himself translated the complete works of Borges and that he was so proud of the fact that he emphasized it there. When I saw that, my heart sank and I said to myself, "Oh, oh!"

Then I looked at the Spanish text and figured out that the phrase "my translation" was your phrase, *Capitu. I breathed a bit easier then. No much though, because the Complete Works of Borges is still up there toward the top of his list. But then again, I don't completely trust him in that interview anyway.


*Capitu is a fictional character in Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis, a classic Brazilian novel.