The Insufferable Gaucho
The Insufferable Gaucho (El Gaucho Insufrible, 2003) is a collection of short stories by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño, published in English in 2010, translated by Chris Andrews. During his lifetime, Bolaño made his name as a writer of short stories, and The Insufferable Gaucho collects a disparate variety of work.[1] From its comical title story to the Kafkaesque "Police Rat", the book's wide spectrum of storytelling techniques "makes an ideal introduction to the Bolaño imaginaire."[1]
The Stories
- "Jim" - A short tale about a troubled Vietnam veteran living as a poet in Mexico.
- "The Insufferable Gaucho" - The title story of the collection is inspired by the Jorge Luis Borges story The South, which is mentioned in the story. The esteemed lawyer Héctor Pereda leaves Buenos Aires for a simpler life at a remote ranch on the pampas, and later returns to the city a changed man.
- "Police Rat" - the story of Pepe the rat, a relative of Kafka's Josephine the singer, who describes his life as a police rat in the sewers.
- "Alvaro Rousselot’s Journey" - The story of an Argentine writer who travels to France in search of a director who’s been filming his books without giving the author credit or royalties.
- "Two Catholic Tales" - "The Vocation" is about a young man waiting for his calling, and "Chance" deals with a lunatic who escapes from an asylum.
- "Literature + Illness = Illness" - an essay-story which discusses illness, sex, Mallarmé’s "Brise Marine" ("Sea Breeze") and Baudelaire’s “The Voyage.”
- "The Myths of Cthulhu" - a discussion of writers, writing, and the state of Latin American literature. The title is a reference to H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
References
External links
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| Non-fiction |
- Between Parentheses: Essays, Articles and Speeches, 1998–2003
- Roberto Bolano: The Last Interview & Other Conversations
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