Roberto Bolaño's By Night In Chile

When an author decides to write a novel, even a fictional one, many times as a reader we can find pieces of the author themselves in the work. For example, an author sometimes manifests their dislikes into characters in order to communicate their passion behind it. Often times, authors will also depict in their work, what life is like around them in the present moment. Roberto Bolaño is no stranger to this, his work, particularly his novel, By Night in Chile, showcases his disliking of literary critics as well as showcases life in Chile at the time through the plot and characters of his novel. Through the narrator, Sebastián Urrutia Lacroix, a man who takes on both the role of a priest and a literary critic, Bolaño demonstrates just how contradicting
According to, Roberto Bolaño: Portrait of the Writer as Noble Savage, an article written by, Will H. Corral, Roberto Bolaño, was born on April 28, 1953 in Santiago, Chile where he resided until the age of 15, when his family relocated to Mexico City, Mexico. However, once in Mexico, Bolaño quit school and began working various jobs and took up writing as a hobby. His stay in Mexico was not a long one. At the age of 20, he decided to pack up and head back to Chile where he was imprisoned for a short period of time due to political reasons involving, Pinochet, a dictator of Chile at the time. However, due to this imprisonment, Bolaño decided to return to Mexico once again. In Mexico is where he truly began his writing career. He is known as the founder of an, “…avante-garde poetic movement called Infrarrealismo, who’s aesthetics and performative sallies - aimed to shock the bourgeois – reappear in his first novel” (Corral 48). However, soon after this accomplishment, Bolaño decided to pack up once again, and head to Europe in 1977. Once in Europe he made a life for himself in the, “…outskirts of Barcelona” (Corral 48). This is when his literary career truly took off. His first major literary achievement was his novel, Consejos de un discipulo de Morrison a un fanatic de Joyce, in 1984. Although he is credited for other works, such as various poems, his first novel was a real game changer for his literary career. After this novel, he went on to publish other works such as short stories as well as full-length novels, including the novel, By Night in Chile in the year 2000. According to the article, A Noisy Soul by Valerie Sayers, Bolaño’s novels are, “…hyper-literary and provide an excellent crash course in Latin American poetry and prose, as well as brush ups on Greek tragedy,