Los detectives salvajes
The most accessible entry to Bolaño’s central themes, literary world, and recurring characters.
Author guide
Roberto Bolaño Books in Order
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos was a Chilean writer and poet who grew up in Chile and Mexico, co-founded the Infrarrealist poetry movement, and later lived in Spain. He published poetry, novels, novellas, short fiction, essays, literary criticism, and journalism. His major works include The Savage Detectives and 2666, while several manuscripts and collections appeared posthumously.
novelsnovellasshort storiespoetryessaysliterary criticismliterary journalism
Catalog record updated .
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Start with one of these
2666
A major late novel that offers the broadest view of his mature fiction.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (15)
- Monsieur Pain
novel · 1984
After he accepts a bribe not to treat chronically hiccupping Peruvian poet César Vallejo, mesmerist Monsieur Pierre Pain is racked with guilt but is barred from the hospital when he tries to do the right thing, only to discover a rival…
- La pista de hielo
novel · 1993
- La literatura nazi en América
novel · 1996
A pesar de su título no es una obra de referencias reales, sino una serie de cuentos, algunos de los cuales se refieren al tema del título. Como todo lo de Bolaño, yo lo encuentro estimulante y hasta divertido...
- Estrella distante
novel · 1996
"Relato que se desarrolla a partir del catálogo de autores nazis imaginado por el autor en su libro anterior La literatura nazi en América. La atención se concentra aquí sobre uno de ellos, Carlos Ramírez Hoffman, para denunciar la…
- Los detectives salvajes
novel · 1998
Una clave más del universo literario de Roberto Bolaño, uno de los escritores imprescindibles de la literatura contemporánea en español. Este volumen incluye tres nouvelles inéditas -"Patria", "Sepulcros de vaqueros" y "Comedia del horror…
- Amuleto
novel · 1999
La voz arrebatada de Auxilio Lacouture narra, e indaga, un crimen atroz y lejano. Auxilio, uruguaya de mediana edad, se oculta en los lavabos de mujeres durante la toma de la universidad por la policía, en México, en septiembre de 1968.…
- Nocturno de Chile
novel · 2000
A hypnotic deathbed confession revolving around Opus Dei, crazed schemes, poetry, and Pinochet, By Night in Chile pours out the self-justifying dark memories of Father Urrutia, a half-hearted Chilean priest. --New Directions Publishing
- Amberes
novel · 2002
- Una novelita lumpen
novel · 2002
En Una novelita lumpen, Roberto Bolaño abandona los territorios que han marcado su biografia e imaginario personal para trasladarse hasta la ciudad de Roma. Éste es el escenario por el que varios personajes extremos deambulan entre el…
- 2666
novel · 2004
An American sportswriter, an elusive German novelist, and a teenage student interact in an urban community on the U.S.-Mexico border where hundreds of young factory workers have disappeared.
- El Tercer Reich
novel · 2010
Udo Berger, a failed writer, travels to a small resort on Spain's Costa Brava, where he befriends another German couple. But when one of his friends disappears after a night out with two sinister local characters, Udo's serene life is…
- Los sinsabores del verdadero policía
novel · 2011
- El espíritu de la ciencia-ficción
novel · 2016
- Sepulcros de vaqueros
novella-collection · 2017
Una clave más del universo literario de Roberto Bolaño, uno de los escritores imprescindibles de la literatura contemporánea en español. Este volumen incluye tres nouvelles inéditas -"Patria", "Sepulcros de vaqueros" y "Comedia del horror…
- A la intemperie
nonfiction-collection · 2018
Todos los textos de no ficción escritos por Roberto Bolaño: pequeñas piezas maestras de uno de los escritores más originales de la literatura contemporánea en español. 'Déjenlo todo, nuevamente. Láncense a los caminos.' (Del manifiesto…
Short fiction (4)
- Llamadas telefónicas
short-story-collection · 1997
- El gaucho insufrible
short-story-collection · 2003
Contains five short stories and two essays by Chilean author Roberto Bolan o.
- El secreto del mal
short-story-collection · 2007
Essays and speeches (1)
Poetry (6)
- Reinventar el amor
poetry-collection · 1976
- Fragmentos de la Universidad Desconocida
poetry-collection · 1992
- Los perros románticos
poetry-collection · 1993
Roberto Bolaño (Santiago de Chile, 1953-Barcelona, 2003) es sin lugar a dudas uno de los escritores más importantes y personales de los últimos veinte años. Es autor, entre otros, de los libros de relatos Llamadas telefónicas (1997),…
- El último salvaje
poetry-collection · 1995
- Tres
poetry-collection · 2000
“Poetry is braver than anyone,” Roberto Bolan~o believed, and the proof is here in Tres, his most inventive and bracing poetry collection. Roberto Bolan~o’s Tres is a showcase of the author’s willingness to freely cross genres, with poems…
- La Universidad Desconocida
poetry-collection · 2007
Collaborations (1)
- Consejos de un discípulo de Morrison a un fanático de Joyce
co-authored-novel · 1984
Frequently asked questions about Roberto Bolaño
Who was Roberto Bolaño?
Roberto Bolaño (1953–2003) was a Chilean poet, novelist, and essayist born in Santiago. He later lived in Mexico and Spain and died in Barcelona.
Sources: penguinrandomhouse.com (opens in a new tab)memoriachilena.gob.cl (opens in a new tab)
How did Roberto Bolaño begin his literary career?
He began as a poet in Mexico, where he joined avant-garde literary circles and helped found the Infrarrealist movement. After moving to Spain, he published his first novel in 1984.
Sources: memoriachilena.gob.cl (opens in a new tab)memoriachilena.gob.cl (opens in a new tab)
What influenced Roberto Bolaño’s writing?
His writing was shaped by poetry, literary history, and politics, as well as by his experiences across Chile, Mexico, and Spain. His work often challenges boundaries between poetry and fiction.
Sources: cambridge.org (opens in a new tab)memoriachilena.gob.cl (opens in a new tab)
What awards did Roberto Bolaño win?
Among his best-known honors were the Premio Herralde de Novela in 1998 and the Premio Rómulo Gallegos in 1999, both awarded for The Savage Detectives.
Sources: anagrama-ed.es (opens in a new tab)memoriachilena.gob.cl (opens in a new tab)
Why is Roberto Bolaño considered important in world literature?
His fiction achieved exceptional international acclaim in translation and established him as a major figure in Latin American and global literary fiction. Scholars describe him as a generational figure whose work continues to shape literary study across the Americas and Europe.
Sources: cup.columbia.edu (opens in a new tab)cambridge.org (opens in a new tab)