Distant Star
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''Distant Star'' () is a novella by Chilean author
Roberto Bolaño Roberto is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish variation of the male given name Robert. Notable people named Roberto include: * Roberto (footballer, born 1912) * Roberto (footballer, born 1977) * Roberto (footballer, born 1978) * Roberto (footb ...
, first published in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
in 1996. Chris Andrews’s
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
translation was published by
Harvill Press Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
/ New Directions in 2004. The story is based on "The Infamous Ramírez Hoffman", the last chapter of Bolaño's book of imaginary history of ''
Nazi Literature in the Americas ''Nazi Literature in the Americas'' () is a work of fiction by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. It was published in 1996, being later republished by Anagrama. Chris Andrews’ English translation was published in 2008 by New Directions and wa ...
'' in which the protagonist's name is Carlos Ramírez Hoffman.


Plot summary

The book is narrated from a distance by Arturo B. (probably
Arturo Belano Arturo Belano is a literary character and the alter ego of the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. The given name is due to that of Arthur Rimbaud, French poet for whom Bolaño felt great admiration. The character's first appearance was in the novella ' ...
, Bolaño's frequent stand-in) and tells the story of Alberto Ruiz-Tagle, an aviator who exploits the
1973 Chilean coup d'état The 1973 Chilean coup d'état () was a military overthrow of the democratic socialist president of Chile Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity coalition government. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist ...
to launch his own version of the New Chilean Poetry: a multi-media enterprise involving sky-writing, torture, photography, murder, and verse. The narrator first encounters Ruiz-Tagle in a college poetry workshop led by Juan Stein, where Ruiz-Tagle presents himself as a well-dressed, financially secure, self-taught writer with an unnaturally cool, distant, and calculated demeanor — in sharp contrast to the economically poor, messy, leftist, activist tendencies of the narrator (and most other poetry fans then enrolled at the University of Concepcion). Ruiz-Tagle also shows a surprising detachment from his own work, giving measured, intelligent criticism and receiving it without flinching. Ruiz-Tagle also shows a disquieting lack of interest in having more than superficial social relationships with most of his fellow aspiring poets. Ruiz-Tagle’s most stable connection is with the beautiful Garmendia twins, Veronica and Angelica. While most of the young men in the twins’ social circle pine after them to one degree or another, the sisters only have eyes for Ruiz-Tagle. As the novel progresses it becomes clear that Ruiz-Tagle is far more and far less than a mere poet, through progressively darker and ironic twists and turns. The next sighting comes as the narrator stands in a prison camp for political undesirables, gazing up at a World War II
Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in parti ...
skywriting Skywriting is the process of using one or more small aircraft, able to expel special smoke during flight, to fly in certain patterns that create writing readable from the ground. These messages can be advertisements, general messages of celebrat ...
over the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
. The aviator is none other than Ruiz-Tagle, now serving in the Chilean air force under his actual name, Carlos Wieder, and writing nationalist slogans in the sky. The narrator becomes obsessed with Ruiz-Tagle, suspecting that he is behind every evil act in Pinochet’s regime. After his release from political prison, the narrator struggles to survive and make sense of his situation. His destiny is eventually reconnected with that of Ruiz-Tagle/Wieder when a Chilean private detective seeks his help in tracking Wieder down by trying to identify the air force pilot's hand behind various articles printed in neo-fascist publications.


"The Infamous Ramírez Hoffman"

As stated in its introduction, ''Distant Star'' is an expansion of the final chapter of Bolaño's later work, ''
Nazi Literature in the Americas ''Nazi Literature in the Americas'' () is a work of fiction by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. It was published in 1996, being later republished by Anagrama. Chris Andrews’ English translation was published in 2008 by New Directions and wa ...
'', an encyclopedic novel composed of short biographies of imaginary Pan-American authors on the political right. The section, entitled "The Infamous Ramírez Hoffman", is the longest in the novel and is markedly different from the other sections of the book, taking on a less encyclopedic and more personal tone. In the expansion of the text, some of the characters' names remained unchanged (e.g. the narrator's fellow prisoner Norberto and the detective Abel Ramirez) but for most of the main characters, the names were altered: In spite of the differences between the texts, Bolaño places them within the same fictional world, claiming that the story was narrated to him by Arturo B. in ''Nazi Literature in the Americas'', but Arturo was displeased with the outcome: :
"So we took that final chapter and shut ourselves up for a month and a half in my house in Blanes, where, guided by his dreams and nightmares, we composed the present novel. My role was limited to preparing refreshments, consulting a few books, and discussing the reuse of numerous paragraphs with Arturo and the increasingly animated ghost of
Pierre Menard Pierre Menard (7 October 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a Canadian-American fur trader and politician who was elected the first lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1818. Biography Early life Menard was born at St. Antoine-sur-Richelieu, near Mo ...
."


Critical reception

Nick Caistor, for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', said, of the book's historical backdrop of "evil", namely its origination from ''
Nazi Literature in the Americas ''Nazi Literature in the Americas'' () is a work of fiction by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. It was published in 1996, being later republished by Anagrama. Chris Andrews’ English translation was published in 2008 by New Directions and wa ...
'', lends a strange feeling to the novel: "This sense of unease means that Bolaño's narrative style is fragmented and loaded. It is also full of a strange kind of gallows humour, as we are swept along by stories that are invented and presented entirely convincingly, only to be suddenly brought up short by a reminder that this has not been done innocently. Baudelaire warned us long ago that reader and author are linked together in their complicity: if anyone kicks away the stone from Bolaño, he emerges fighting into the daylight." Glen Helfand, in '' SFGate'', said that the novel's characters, who exist in a "specific literary milieu", may be hard to follow, especially with Bolaño's imagined combinations of fact and fiction: "In their brief appearances, these Chileans embody themes of disappearance, loss, murder, exile and occasionally personal triumph. As colorful as these characters may be, the book is ultimately a dour picaresque, one tempered by ubiquitous references to obscure (perhaps fictional) European and South American poets and the unknowable character at its core."


References

{{Works by Roberto Bolaño 1996 novels Works by Roberto Bolaño Novels set in Chile Aviation novels Editorial Anagrama books