Anton Chekhov. Thomas Pynchon. Raymond Carver. Jorge Luis Borges. Writers like these, all of whom Roberto Bolaño has been compared to, represent a literary class of demigods. Although he had been writing poetry and novellas before, it was the publication of The Savage Detectives (Los detectives salvajes) that lofted Bolaño into this distinguished pantheon. Patrick Guyer digs into this masterpiece.
