tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post8566857120938123774..comments2023-08-10T04:03:44.387-04:00Comments on This Book and I Could Be Friends: 2666: The Part About ArchimboldiEileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-85553585633368453592009-10-04T22:52:29.866-04:002009-10-04T22:52:29.866-04:00While I'm with you that Santa Teresa is a hear...While I'm with you that Santa Teresa is a heart of darkness, E.L. Fay, part of what made this chapter so devastating for me was the discovery that Archimboldi experienced another heart of darkness long before traveling to Mexico. In fact, I sometimes wondered whether he himself brought the darkness with him! I found this section to be lyrical and traumatic in more or less equal measure, and that carpet-bombing passage you highlight definitely attests to the powerful presentation of the latter. Anyway, will be back for part 2 in a little while!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-71066686573198509192009-10-01T15:21:23.192-04:002009-10-01T15:21:23.192-04:00I'm still parsing the relationship between vio...I'm still parsing the relationship between violence and creativity in <em>2666</em> as well - and then, the relationship between <em>making</em> art - which seems much more tied to the experience of violence for Bolaño, what with Archimboldi's soldiering days, the British visual artist of Part 1 who cuts off his own hand, and the mad poet of Part 2 - versus <em>consuming</em> art, which seems much more unambiguously nourishing (Barry Seaman's speech, etc.). I thought that dichotomy was so interesting. Because of course, in order for people to be able to read, somebody must be writing. And if writing is allied with violence, the reading life is tied to that as well. Which isn't so bad if it's Archimboldi, who seems just to process his experiences of violence into art, but if it's somebody cutting off their own hand, that's more problematic. <br /><br />I look forward to your following posts!Emilyhttp://www.eveningallafternoon.comnoreply@blogger.com