''The Secret of Evil'' (''El Secreto del Mal'', 2007) is a collection of short stories and recollections or essays by the Chilean author
Roberto Bolaño
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos (; 28 April 1953 – 15 July 2003) was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist. In 1999, Bolaño won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel ''Los detectives salvajes'' ('' The Savage Detectives ...
(1953–2003). The English translation by Chris Andrews was published by
New Directions in 2012. The Spanish version was published posthumously and contains 21 pieces, 19 of which appear in the English edition. Several of the stories in the collection feature characters that have appeared in previous works by Bolaño, including his alter ego
Arturo Belano Arturo Belano is the alter ego of the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. The character's first appearance was in the novella ''Distant Star'', where it is implied he is the narrator, while his most prominent role was in ''The Savage Detectives'' where ...
and characters that first appeared in ''
Nazi Literature in the Americas
''Nazi Literature in the Americas'' ( es, La literatura nazi en América) is a work of fiction by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. It was published in 1996. Chris Andrews’ English translation was published in 2008 by New Directions and was sh ...
''.
Some pieces are autobiographical or semi-autobiographical recollections, like "I Can't Read" or "Death of Ulises". Two pieces are essays or speeches previously published in ''Between Parentheses'': "Vagrancies of the Literature of Doom", and "Sevilla Kills Me" (as well as the piece "Beach", then-considered an essay, now reprinted here as fiction).
Contents
* Colonia Lindavista (La Colonia Lindavista)
* The Secret of Evil (El Secreto del Mal)
* The Old Man of the Mountain (El Viejo de la Montaña)
* The Colonel's Son (El Hijo del Coronel)
* Scholars of Sodom (Sabios de Sodoma)
* The Room Next Door(La Habitación de al Lado)
* Labyrinth (Laberinto)
* Vagaries of the Literature of Doom (Derivas de la Pesada) - an essay
* Crimes (Crímenes)
* I Can't Read (No Sé Leer)
* Beach (Playa) - a story composed of a single long sentence, whose opening words are, "I gave up heroin and went back to my town and started on the methadone treatment administered me at the clinic..." This story was claimed to be autobiographical and led people to believe that Bolaño had a heroin habit. this was later refuted by Bolaño's widow as well as his American agent Andrew Wylie.
A Chilean Writer’s Fictions Might Include His Own Colorful Past
- Larry Rohter, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', January 27, 2009
* Muscles (Músculos)
* The Tour (La Gira)
* Daniela (Daniela)
* Suntan (Bronceado)
* Death of Ulises (Muerte de Ulises)
* The trouble-maker (El Provocador)
* Sevilla Kills Me (Sevilla me Mata) - an essay
* The Days of Chaos (Las Jornadas del Caos)
References
External links
*
The Secret of Evil
' - book's page on New Directions website.
*
Labyrinth
- a story from the collection; published in ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', 21 January 2012.
Nothing But a Movie
- an animation illustrated by Owen Freeman, inspired by Bolaño’s "The Colonel’s Son", a story from the collection; published online at ''Granta
''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...
''.com, 21 November 2011.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret of Evil, The
2007 short story collections
Spanish-language literature
Chilean short story collections
Works by Roberto Bolaño
Editorial Anagrama books