Third Reich - Hardcover

Bolano, Roberto (Author) & Wimmer, Natasha (Translator)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0330510541 ISBN 13: 9780330510547

Publisher: Picador, London, England, 2011

Synopsis

Unpublished during Bolaño's lifetime, the complete typescript of this novel - meticulously corrected by hand - was discovered after his death in 2003. This is the first English language publication. Shortly after becoming the German war-games champion, Udo Berger and his girlfriend, Ingeborg, holiday on the Costa Brava. There they meet another vacationing German couple, Charly and Hanna, and a band of shady locals who introduce them to the darker side of life in the town. Then, late one night, Charly disappears without a trace, and Udo's well-ordered life is thrown into upheaval . . . Frightened, Udo refuses to leave, even after Ingeborg returns home, and his increasingly feverish dreams push him into delirium. As everything slips beyond his grasp, he attempts to re-assert himself by engaging the enigmatic and severely disfigured El Quemado - a foreigner who lives in a Spartan burrow on the beach - in a days-long match of his favourite war game, Third Reich. But, too late to stop the madness, he realizes that the consequences of this game are much more serious than he ever imagined. Combining the exhilaration of The Savage Detectives with the darkness of his later work, The Third Reich - Bolaño's first new novel since the epic 2666 - is a visceral book exploring memory, madness and violence. It is both the perfect way to discover the dazzling genius of Roberto Bolaño and an unmissable addition to the oeuvre for those who already have. 'Bolaño writes with such elegance, verve and style and is immensely readable' Guardian 'Readers who have snacked on a writer such as Haruki Murakami will feast on Roberto Bolaño' Sunday Times The Author Roberto Bolaño was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1953. He grew up in Chile and Mexico City. He is the author of The Savage Detectives, which received the Herralde Prize and the Rómulo Gallegos Prize, and 2666, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. He died in Blanes, Spain, at the age of fifty.

About this title

Review:

Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2011: Udo Berger is the German national champion of The Third Reich, a tactical WWII-themed board game seemingly designed to reveal the worst in self-absorbed obsessives like Udo. Even while on vacation at the lush Spanish resort of Costa Brava, Udo is unable to tear himself away from a game he's begun with a beach worker. He ignores his girlfriend as she goes off to enjoy the company of Charly and Hanna, another German couple that can be counted among the many people Udo cannot stand. When Charly goes missing, Udo shows little interest, choosing instead to plot the conquering movements of his army tokens as they march across a hexagonally divided map of Europe.

It may not be the best introduction for new readers of the late Chilean author Roberto Bolano, but fans of his biggest works, such as his international breakout The Savage Detectives or the posthumous five-volume epic 2666, will see familiar elements and themes in The Third Reich. Bolano draws a fine line between memory and reality, but blurs them in the final pages, as the novel slowly drifts from realism to a nightmarish fever dream--leaving readers with an ending that is ambiguous yet haunting. --Kevin Nguyen

About the Author:

Roberto Bolano was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1953. He grew up in Chile and Mexico City. He is the author of The Savage Detectives, which received the Herralde Prize and the Romulo Gallegos Prize, and 2666, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. He died in Blanes, Spain, at the age of fifty.

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador, London, England
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0330510541
• ISBN 13: 9780330510547
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288