Chapter 19 - The Novel and the Canon

Summary

Roberto Bolaño was the only Latin American novelist of the post-Boom period who attained notoriety similar to that of his famous predecessors. Exploring what makes his brief Nocturno de Chiles worthy of such canonical status, I propose five criteria of evaluation: 1) elevated themes, as put forth by Longinus; 2) a self-reflexive literary warp; 3) an unfathomable secret; 4) transformation of received tradition; and 5) a style at once profound, unique, and recognizable. The confession of a priest, Sebastián, presumably on his death bed, the novel recounts his life, including his concomitant vocations for the priesthood and literature. Longinian elevation is manifest comically. The protagonist’s immersion in both the classical and the modern provides literariness. The secret resides in the presence of an Austrian shoemaker whose monument to national heroes seems to point to the origins of fascism. Sebastián’s consideration of current Chilean writers and their knowledge of universal works, such as the Divine Comedy becomes a consideration of literary tradition. And his elegant, erudite style is evident from the very beginning. In the end he and the reader realize that the “wizened youth” who challenges him as his conscience throughout is the one writing the novel.