By Night In Chile [Paperback]

 

 

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This novel is narrated in the first person by the ill and ageing Father Sebastian Urrutia Lacroix over the course of a single evening. Father Urrutia believes that he is dying, and in a feverish monologue, with a not entirely reliable memory, he revisits some of the crucial events of his life as a Chilean priest, member of Opus Dei, a literary critic and a mediocre poet.

`Words emerging from one dream and entering another.'

In his delirium, Father Urrutia sees various characters, both real and imaginary, as monsters. Monsters they may be, many of them, in life as well as in fiction. As Father Urrutia's monologue ranges from Opus Dei to falconry, to private lessons on Marxism for General Augusto Pinochet, the `wizened youth' reminds him of his shortcomings. And during this long night, while we hear Father Urrutia's `confession' and feel his need to find himself without blame in the events he describes, the imagery signals differently. If the `wizened youth' represents both dormant conscience and repressed consciousness, then it is not a burden for Father Urrutia to bear alone.

`One has a moral obligation to take responsibility for one's actions, and that includes one's words and silences...'

The Chilean literary establishment is also complicit: how else can a house used by those with literary aspirations double as a torture centre? This may be satire, but it is highly disturbing as well.

`.. a white shirt as immaculate as my hopes..'

I am currently reading my way through Roberto Bolaño's work. This novel was first published in 2000, and was the first of Bolaño's novels to be published in English (in 2003).

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Sebastian Urrutia Lacroix, Jesuit priest and well-known Chilean literary critic, feeling himself close to death, "rummages" through his memories in a night-long monolog about his life, his friends and achievements. "' One has a moral obligation to take responsibility for one's actions, and that includes one's words and silences'" he muses early on. But what follows in his "confession" should put the reader immediately on their guard. Is this an overlong self-eulogy, an apology, or justification? Has Urrutia been judged for his actions or non-actions? Are we to be the judges? Or is the real audience the "wizened youth" who seems to be hanging around for most of the night like his shadow? Using the priest's uninterrupted confession as the conduit, Roberto Bolaño delves into the complexities of decades of political upheaval in twentieth century Chile. The outcome is a thought provoking, often satirical, at times surreal, always hard hitting critique of Chilean society and especially of the role that the intellectual and literati elites played leading up to and throughout the Pinochet regime. In many cases, silences may have been "immaculate" whether in Chile or under any other totalitarian system. But what about "complacency", the "I wasn't there and then it was too late", and similar, explanations that Urrutia also brings forward?

Urrutia, having grown up a poor boy with ambitions to become a great poet, ends up as a less than dedicated priest, an ambitious critic and a member of the notorious Opus Dei organization that assigns him two very strange "secret" tasks, first in Europe and then back in the Chile of Pinochet. Both are actually quite ridiculous and he may have had reasons to exaggerate his fear of being detected. No doubt, his life, for the longest time, follows rather pleasant paths, bringing him in contact with the famous writers and poets of the day, Chilean Nobel Prize laureate Pablo Neruda being one of the best known among them. Urrutia introduces Neruda, well-known German author Ernst Jünger and others through several extensive side stories that may or may not keep the non-Chilean reader's attention. With his reputation as a literary critic growing, Urrutia pats himself increasingly on the back: all writers and poets are seeking him out to receive his critical praise for their writing, even the "Communist" ones. Eventually, and only towards the end, does the brutal reality of the regime raise its ugly head and in the circle that Urrutia frequents'

Reading Roberto Bolaño's flowing prose that does not allow for chapters or even paragraphs is exhausting, engaging and, yet, at times, irritating. The author's personal experiences under the Pinochet regime -imprisonment and exile - have informed his characterization of Urrutia and his mentor, Farewell. One had to admire his restraint in depicting his anti-hero. There are few sections where allusions to Chilean reality could suggest that Urrutia may have been more conscious of events around him than he lets on. But in one - watching the shadows around him and Farewell appearing and disappearing, clearly irritating Urrutia - in the end, it is a question for him to "close his eyes". Even the discovery of the brutal events hidden in the basement of the house where the literary saloons take place, are described in an understated way. For Chilean readers, however, the known identity in real life of the persons on whom the hosts as well as other key figures were based would have added a chilling aspect to such a low-key account. And what about the wizened youth at the end? Is he the final judge and conscience? Probably. Personally, I found the ending, after high expectations, disappointing but that may have been the intention of the author. [Friederike Knabe]

I think I would have appreciated this book more if I was more into Chilean literature. Some characters, like Pablo Neruda, I could recognize right away, but most were unknown to me. Still I could follow the story, but I might not have understood all the nuances. If you aren't informed about Chile and have the will to look stuff up, this book could be a good starting point about Chile without being deliberate like a travel guide.

The novel also captures other aspects of Chilean history and society, such as the time leading up to Allende's downfall and Pinochet's dictatorship, the role of the Church in the mid- to late-twentieth century, the importance of politics, and other topics.

The voice and tone of the novel is unique. It flows as one stream of consciousness without paragraphs or chapters, and with many run-on sentences. At times the reader forgets that the page is the medium through which the voice is communicating, because it almost comes as direct as someone speaking. However, the narration is lacking for passion, which perfectly reflects Fr. Urrutia's low energy and apprehensiveness towards his vocation, but the book is not for those seeking an exciting narrative.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Hallucinatory, Surreal and Satiric
BY NIGHT IN CHILE is a wonderful book and it's a shame there aren't more reviews of it here.

BY NIGHT IN CHILE is one long monologue given in a single night by Father Sebastian... Read more

Published on April 12 2004 by Totally Anonymous

5.0 out of 5 stars A wondrous reverie - rich and strange.........
Roberto Bolano, alas, died this year. BY NIGHT IN CHILE is his only work translated into English (very sensuously and beautifully by Chris Andrews) despite the fact that he wrote... Read more

Published on Dec 29 2003 by Grady Harp

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