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The Insufferable Gaucho
by
As Pankaj Mishra remarked in The Nation, one of the remarkable qualities of Bolano's short stories is that they can do the "work of a novel." The Insufferable Gaucho contains tales bent on returning to haunt you. Unpredictable, daring, and highly controlled, yet somehow haywire, a Bolano story might concern an elusive plagiarist or an elderly lawyer giving up city life for
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Hardcover, 164 pages
Published
August 31st 2010
by New Directions
(first published 2003)
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Showing 1-30
Picked up for next to nothing at a used book store. And to be honest, paying full price for this would have been madness. Not his best work. But, as a fan, still read with much interest. He might pay homage to Borges and Kafka, but his melancholic short stories featured in 'Last Evenings on Earth' were far and away superior.
Featured in this collection -
SHORT STORIES
Jim - 3/5
The Insufferable Gaucho - 4/5
Police Rat - 2/5
Alvaro Rousselot's Journey - 4/5
Two Catholic Tales - 2/5
SHORT ESSAYS
Literat ...more
Featured in this collection -
SHORT STORIES
Jim - 3/5
The Insufferable Gaucho - 4/5
Police Rat - 2/5
Alvaro Rousselot's Journey - 4/5
Two Catholic Tales - 2/5
SHORT ESSAYS
Literat ...more
The Insufferable Gaucho is a mix of fiction (five short stories) and two essays which revisit themes, implicitly and explicitly, from Bolaño’s most ambitious novels, 2666 and The Savage Detectives
The Short Stories:
Jim—on the surface, a very short story about a troubled Vietnam veteran living the life of a poet in Mexico. Its brevity speaks to the question: What can we know about other people—their demons? The story will almost necessarily remind readers of The Savage Detectives and the character ...more
The Short Stories:
Jim—on the surface, a very short story about a troubled Vietnam veteran living the life of a poet in Mexico. Its brevity speaks to the question: What can we know about other people—their demons? The story will almost necessarily remind readers of The Savage Detectives and the character ...more
I prefer watching the great masters do real combat, deploying torrential imperfect trailblazers against the eternity cemetery always opening under our feet -- and it's been a while since I've watched this great master spar (ie, since I've read one of his shorter titles) but these four stories plus one quickie plus two essays seemed at least like a worthwhile prize fight. The book itself is a perfectly weighted and formatted hardback of a ringside seat, replete with burgundy boards. Inside its re
...more
si vede che è un libro un po' messo su, con dei racconti stiracchiati, alcuni anche belli... l'ultimo dello scrittore cileno. però Roberto Bolano va sempre letto tutto, non sai mai che ti riserva. le due "conferenze" finali dove si respira un'atmosfera così bolanesca, dove lo spirito selvaggio dello scrittore è più inquieto che mai. uno spirito alla ricerca di non si sa cosa, una soluzione, qualcosa che edifichi, che confermi una proposta, che rilanci l'entusiasmo, il nuovo, come scrive lui. mi
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Me ha parecido un libro fácil de leer. Las historias no son muy impresionables. Me parecieron excelentes historias el policía de las ratas y el viaje de Álvaro Rousselot.
Lo que me gusta de Bolaño, es que sus historias se leen como si estuvieras conversando con alguien, cómo cuando alguien te cuenta una historia en el almuerzo o en las juntas de los amigos, siempre es muy cercano al lector y con un lenguaje muy cotidiano. Lo de los finales abiertos en cada una de sus historias, creo que es su es ...more
Lo que me gusta de Bolaño, es que sus historias se leen como si estuvieras conversando con alguien, cómo cuando alguien te cuenta una historia en el almuerzo o en las juntas de los amigos, siempre es muy cercano al lector y con un lenguaje muy cotidiano. Lo de los finales abiertos en cada una de sus historias, creo que es su es ...more
Jun 01, 2012
pierlapo quimby
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
latinoamericani
Si imparano sempre cose nuove dai libri, da quelli buoni o eccellenti, come da quelli pessimi.
Ad esempio dalla lettura del gaucho insostenibile, che appartiene alla prima categoria e non certo alla seconda, ho imparato un detto benaugurante, un saluto di buona fortuna che mi ha subito conquistato: che ti piova sottile.
Bello, no?
La pioggia sottile può essere rinfrescante se la calura si fa insopportabile, non dà fastidio come un acquazzone - tuttavia bisognerebbe non essere miopi o astigmatici, m ...more
Ad esempio dalla lettura del gaucho insostenibile, che appartiene alla prima categoria e non certo alla seconda, ho imparato un detto benaugurante, un saluto di buona fortuna che mi ha subito conquistato: che ti piova sottile.
Bello, no?
La pioggia sottile può essere rinfrescante se la calura si fa insopportabile, non dà fastidio come un acquazzone - tuttavia bisognerebbe non essere miopi o astigmatici, m ...more
Oct 18, 2015
Barry Pierce
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
21st-century,
read-in-2015
This is very much a so-so collection from Bolaño. The fiction stories didn’t do anything for me, which is strange because I’ve always enjoyed Bolaño's strange view of the world. However, the end of this collection contains two non-fiction essays which are absolute sensations. Literature + Illness = Illness is a non-fiction collection of vignettes in which Bolaño discusses his life with the cancer that will eventually kill him. A stark piece which gives a pared back view into his mind and his ins
...more
Sep 01, 2011
M. Sarki
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
people who care about living and dying
Recommended to M. by:
luck
Shelves:
5-star-wonders
Another book I thoroughly enjoyed almost top to bottom. Except I read it for the most part backwards as I prefer essays to short stories, but who can tell the difference sometimes? As much as I enjoyed Roberto Bolaño's latest book of essays Between Parentheses this book flat knocked me out. Except for Police Rat, and Two Catholic Tales, all the rest of the stories and essays were nothing short of fantastic. It is a sad day when you find somebody as gifted as Roberto Bolaño was and he seems to up
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I was never a Bolano aficionado. Yes, Last Evenings on Earth was mesmerizing and like nothing I had read before, and though eager in purchasing his mammoth works at discounted prices, I have never felt like indulging. There is a block in my head about Bolano, about his ever-ready referential slips, about the rebellious poets who populate his stories, about pages over pages of criticism of other writers (Chilean or otherwise). I have never been able to relate. Like in one of the stories in this c
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Mar 07, 2018
Vicente Ribes
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
narrativa,
latinoamericana
Tremendo. El talento de Bolaño se expande por las páginas de este librito que incluye cinco cuentos y dos discursos.
Los cuentos son perfectos y «El gaucho insufrible» y «El viaje de Álvaro Rousselot» me parecieron realmente maravillosos.
La conferencia «Literatura + enfermedad = enfermedad» resulta un bonito y triste recordatorio de los últimos dias de Bolaño, luchando con la enfermedad que se lo llevaría.
Todavía le sobran páginas para coger mis queridísmos mitos de Cthulhu y analizar la narrat ...more
Los cuentos son perfectos y «El gaucho insufrible» y «El viaje de Álvaro Rousselot» me parecieron realmente maravillosos.
La conferencia «Literatura + enfermedad = enfermedad» resulta un bonito y triste recordatorio de los últimos dias de Bolaño, luchando con la enfermedad que se lo llevaría.
Todavía le sobran páginas para coger mis queridísmos mitos de Cthulhu y analizar la narrat ...more
En "El gaucho Insufrible" vemos cosas distintas a las que aparecen en los dos libros de cuentos anteriores de Bolaño ("Llamadas telefónicas" y "Putas asesinas"). Hay un cuento tipico sobre escritores ("El viaje de Alvaro Rousselot") que recuerda mucho a esos cuentos anteriores, pero destacan por sobre todo otros dos cuentos:
1) "El Gaucho Insufrible": un homenaje a "El Sur", de Borges. Un cuento ambientado entre Buenos Aires y la Pampa, nostálgico, más lírico si se quiere de lo que es habitual en ...more
1) "El Gaucho Insufrible": un homenaje a "El Sur", de Borges. Un cuento ambientado entre Buenos Aires y la Pampa, nostálgico, más lírico si se quiere de lo que es habitual en ...more
Pese a que el relato que da título al libro 'El gaucho insufrible' es, a mi humilde entender, casi perfecto, y pese a tener otro relato muy bueno ('El policía de las ratas') y unas conferencias interesantes, el resto parece haber sido añadido para hacer bulto.
Eso sí, Bolaño escribe de lujo.
Eso sí, Bolaño escribe de lujo.
Roberto Bolano's The Insufferable Gaucho really does read like the declarations of a dying man. One declaration in particular rings especially true.
"These are dark times we live in, but let me begin with a buoyant declaration. Literature in Spanish is in excellent condition! Magnificent, superlative condition!"
Yes, it is, with Bolano being an important literary voice.
In the novel, Bolano remembers the final paragraphs of Borges's story The South.
"He sensed that had he been able to choose or dr ...more
"These are dark times we live in, but let me begin with a buoyant declaration. Literature in Spanish is in excellent condition! Magnificent, superlative condition!"
Yes, it is, with Bolano being an important literary voice.
In the novel, Bolano remembers the final paragraphs of Borges's story The South.
"He sensed that had he been able to choose or dr ...more
Bolaño me cae tan bien, que lo sigo a donde sea. Aunque hay un par de cuentos (como en todos sus libros de cuentos) que podría haber vivido sin ellos, siempre tiene momentos geniales. Los mitos de Cthulhu es mi favorito, porque creo que es donde se mueve mejor, dándole un poco a los autores, básicamente soltandose la trenza y hablando de literatura. Siempre es buena compañía, y con cada libro me conquista más!
Varios destellos de genialidad, pero solo eso. Muy por debajo de sus anteriores libros de cuentos.
this is the first book by bolano that i have read,even though i own both the savage detectives and 2666, and i really liked it, which is quite surprising, because i don't generally enjoy short stories. they almost always seem to go nowhere and not have a proper ending. i'm always thinking what happens next?
but i didn't find that to be the case with this book, which contains 5 short stories and 2 short essays.they all seemed complete in themselves to me, even the first one, jim, which is only 3 p ...more
but i didn't find that to be the case with this book, which contains 5 short stories and 2 short essays.they all seemed complete in themselves to me, even the first one, jim, which is only 3 p ...more
"El gaucho insufrible" da título a uno de los cinco cuentos del libro, que también incluye dos conferencias. Es el primer Bolaño que leo y ahora entiendo por qué está en el grupo de los Grandes.
Los cuentos son logradísimos, únicos, hermosos: un policial antropomórfico, y una especie de mini biografías de personajes entrañables, tan improbables como reales. El humor y la ironía, siempre presentes, me sacaron más de una sonrisa.
Todos los cuentos me gustaron. Creo que me quedo con "El viaje de Álv ...more
Los cuentos son logradísimos, únicos, hermosos: un policial antropomórfico, y una especie de mini biografías de personajes entrañables, tan improbables como reales. El humor y la ironía, siempre presentes, me sacaron más de una sonrisa.
Todos los cuentos me gustaron. Creo que me quedo con "El viaje de Álv ...more
I've read 7 or 8 of Bolano's books--though neither of the doorstops--and find myself generally disappointed. This collection of stories and essays, however, is quite good, except for the tedious story "Police Rat." I would rank it second only to Monsieur Pain, which I found quite interesting. The title story here is almost a bourgeois version of Borges, and the essay Myths of Cthulhu is a fascinating commentary on authorship and celebrity, as pertinent to the US as to Latin America.
La conclusión de este libro es que prefiero las novelas de Bolaño pero que me gustan los cuentos en los que él habla de literatura. Disfruté mucho El viaje de Alvaro Rousselot y Los mitos de Cthulhu pero todos los demás se me hicieron aburridos y hasta uno no terminé.
No recomendaría el libro a excepción de los dos cuentos que mencioné anteriormente.
No recomendaría el libro a excepción de los dos cuentos que mencioné anteriormente.
First foray into the work of Roberto Bolaño, and I'm very pleased. While I don't think this book necessarily qualifies Bolaño for inclusion among the greatest Latin American writers canon (Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Octavio Paz, Julio Cortazar, et al), their work is really present in his, and that's a good sign. Something that's always drawn me to Latin American literature is the powerful sense of past and future contained within. It's not simply paying homage
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a brief collection, the insufferable gaucho consists of five short stories and a pair of essays. both the title story and "alvaro rousselot's journey" appeared in the new yorker in 2007, shortly after the savage detectives first exposed most u.s. readers to the late chilean's literary prowess. the book's lead story, "jim," is only three pages long, yet portrays a character that would have been at home in nearly any of bolaño's longer works. "rat police" is the collection's most interesting piece
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My first Bolaño. So did I like it? Yeah, it was good. 3 stars. Are these short stories New Yorker quality, approximately a million times better than all those other short stories I've read this year? Definitely. 5 stars. Would I bring this book to a desert island? No way. 4 stars, maybe 3.5. It's all very scientific. Must read more Bolaño, though.
The insufferable guancho contains exceptionally personal reflections on illness, the mandatory rant on literature, a couple of stories about people pondering their place in the the world, and one about a police rat (one of my favorite shorts ever). Overall it was a lovely read and reminder that there is no place I’d rather be than in the literary world of Bolaño.
el libro de cuentos más flojo de Bolaño, por lejos.
When I think of Bolano, whose 2666 is deservedly recognized as one of the recent world classics, I think of bulk. 2666 and The Savage Detectives find their themes – generally a kind of disintegration of culture as the bulwark between modern society and the beasts we humans are always threatening to become – over vast tomes. There’s something concussive about his best-known work, something that makes its point by slowly strangling the resistance out of you.
So, it’s strange to read Bolano’s short ...more
So, it’s strange to read Bolano’s short ...more
This is kind of a hodgepodge collection, five short stories and two essays. The title piece and longest story doesn't feel like anything else Bolano ever wrote: its got a weirdly pastoral, homey quality to it as we watch an Argentine judge return to the village of his youth following an economic collapse. It's not bad, but it's not really a style that plays to Bolano's strengths. The stories here mostly feel redundant, like weaker variations of things he's done better in his other work.
BUT. The ...more
BUT. The ...more
I realize I am far from alone in my love of Roberto Bolaño. The five short stories and two essays collected in The Insufferable Gaucho, in common with everything else I’ve read from this natural born expatriate, provide so much solace, companionship and validation that they make me want to be a writer too, a good one. Again, I presume I’m far from alone in that reaction. I further presume that Bolaño has spawned far fewer insufferable writers than have been activated by some of the other authors
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The first of Bolaño's posthumous publications, that so far amount to a good chunk of his body of work, the only one that he managed to complete during his lifetime (depending on whether you consider 2666 to be completed or not). It suffers, however, from the most obvious issues of posthumous works: at times it feels like an editor putting together random writings until having a book-length manuscript. It is weirdly structured and the jump from short stories to lectures is disconnected.
Having sai ...more
Having sai ...more
The Insufferable Gaucho is a collection featuring five (longish) short stories and two essays - all of which contain some fantastic writing and all the hallmarks you'd expect from Balano. Of the short stories in the collection, two in particular stood out to me as wonderful examples of what the short story is truly capable of - dark, imaginative, narratives that truly take the reader to another time and place. Firstly, Police Rat, the story of a rat in a connecting channel of sewers investigatin
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Roberto Bolaño sin dudas me dejó con ganas de más, de conocer su punto de vista y las críticas literarias que con tanta picardía redacta...
el libro comienza con Jim un relato que lees sin pena ni gloria, no sé si es porque soy muy básica o no supe apreciar lo que el autor me quería transmitir y si es que quería! XD
luego llegó "El gaucho insufrible" AJJJ! es que me encantó, como un abogado (con toda su pomposidad) llega a cuidar a sus dos hijos tras la muerte de su esposa, tener una buena relació ...more
el libro comienza con Jim un relato que lees sin pena ni gloria, no sé si es porque soy muy básica o no supe apreciar lo que el autor me quería transmitir y si es que quería! XD
luego llegó "El gaucho insufrible" AJJJ! es que me encantó, como un abogado (con toda su pomposidad) llega a cuidar a sus dos hijos tras la muerte de su esposa, tener una buena relació ...more
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For most of his early adulthood, Bolaño was a vagabond, living at one time or another in Chile, Mexico, El Salvador, France and Spain.
Bolaño moved to Europe in 1977, and finally made his way to Spain, where he married and settled on the Mediterranean coast near Barcelona, working as a dishwasher, a campground custodian, bellhop and garbage collector — working during the day and writing at night.
H ...more
Bolaño moved to Europe in 1977, and finally made his way to Spain, where he married and settled on the Mediterranean coast near Barcelona, working as a dishwasher, a campground custodian, bellhop and garbage collector — working during the day and writing at night.
H ...more
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“If you're going to say what you want to say, you're going to hear what you don't want to hear.”
—
420 likes
“Los libros son finitos, los encuentros sexuales son finitos, pero el deseo de leer y de follar es infinito, sobrepasa nuestra propia muerte, nuestros miedos, nuestras esperanzas de paz.”
—
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