Journeys and Exile in Roberto Bolaño’s Novel The Savage Detectives

Abstract

The Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño (1953-2003) is one of the most important representatives of Latin American literature of the last century. His novel The Savage Detectives (1998) represents a profound meditation on the meanings of journey, exile, initiation and quest, the author following some great writers of the past (from Homer and Virgil to James Joyce) and finding new and original ways to express his ideas. His characters, mainly intellectuals, are restless travelers or wanderers; they lose and subsequently find themselves in order to discover a deeper meaning of the world around. In this context, literature saves them from failure and offers them all the possibility of spiritual salvation. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2023 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]