DISTANT STAR

New York City, NY: New Directions, 2004. First Edition. First Printing.. Softcover. Fine/No Dust Jacket, As Issued.. New York City, NY: New Directions, 2004. Softcover. Fine/None, As Issued. First Edition/First Printing. 150 pages. The author's second novel to be translated into English. One of Roberto Bolano's finest achievements. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a softcover original only. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Roberto Bolano's "Estrella distante" in a felicitous English translation by Chris Andrews, one of his two best translators, the other being Natasha Wimmer. Quietly released by New Directions when he was still virtually unknown in the English-speaking world and shortly after he prematurely died, it is the companion volume to "By Night In Chile", two highly original and closely intertwined novels about Chile, her tragic history, and the diabolical men - Bolano's protagonists - whose evil intentions and deeds brought Chile to her knees and very nearly finished her off for good. It remains one of the beloved author's touchstones. What exactly is Roberto Bolano's achievement? "Bolano was the first to make a true break from the legacy of 'The Boom'. Many other writers of his generation, and younger writers too, have tried and are still trying to make a literature of their own, one that doesn't languish in the long shadow of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, and the other novelists who exploded on the world scene in the 1960's. Bolano made the leap seem effortless. The writers of The Boom put Latin America on the map. Bolano creates a Latin America of the mind, a post-nationalist Latin America filtered through a rootless, restless, uncompromising literary sensibility" (Natasha Wimmer). The consistently high level of Bolano's virtuosity is almost miraculous when one sees it as having been achieved during a brief and miserable personal life. It was as though he turned to literature not just to complement or complete but to change his life altogether. By the time of his untimely death in 2003 at the age of 50, Bolano was universally regarded as the greatest Spanish-language novelist of our time. "The real thing and the rarest" (Susan Sontag). An absolute "must-have" title for Roberto Bolano collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the First Edition/First Printing (American) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are in innumerable subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. One of the greatest writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ROBERTO BOLANO TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0811215865.