The Father by Benno von Archimboldi


The Dneiper
Title: The Father 

Author: Benno von Archimboldi 

Publisher: Mr Bubis 

Source book: 2666 by Roberto Bolaño

I read that Benno von Archimboldi is one of literature’s best writers, nominated for a Nobel prize. Could be, but I had to discover him online when I was researching this blog (maybe I have been reading all the wrong books?). I gather Archimboldi is both prolific and reclusive and was born a Prussian, named Hans Reiter by his parents. And he is obsessed with seaweed. Really?

The Father is about a son remembering the deviant behaviour of his psychotic killer father, complete with an enigmatic end.

But it seems it’s hard to pick out one of Archimboldi’s books as the best because he has written so many. Here’s a list I found, and you might be interested in this. There are at least 14 fictional books listed plus a further 8. There’s Lüdicke, The Endless Rose, The Leather Mask, Rivers of Europe about the Dneiper, Bifucaria Bifurcata, Inheritance, Saint Thomas, The Blind Woman, The Black Sea, Lethea, The Lottery Man, The Return, The King of the Forest, and of course The Father.

Other lists I have come across include The Berlin Underworld, Bitzius, D’Arsonval, The Garden, Mitzi’s Treasure and Railroad Perfection, and don’t even mention The Father

According to the reviews I have read, 2666 is a work of great importance. It’s one of the best Spanish language books in recent years, and an absolute masterpiece. It is circular novel (whatever that means). Robert Bolaño was born in Chile and died in Spain at the age of 50. 

But I have struggled to discover what 2666 is actually about. Most of the reviews I’ve found seem to have been machine translated from Spanish which leaves very little idea what the reviewers thought, and what the book is about. Perhaps it’s not about anything. Without actually reading the book, who can say? 



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