On Benno von Archimboldi

If Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 is a circular novel, then the figure of Benno von Archimboldi, along with the city of Santa Teresa, resides at its elusive center. He is the Nobel novelist par excellence, the prototypical long-obscure, sure-to-be-lately-recognized writer. For most of the novel, his existence remains peripheral and mysterious, and his entrance, in the book’s final section, does little to elucidate his enigmas. So how does one proceed into Archimboldi as a character in 2666? What is the best way to determine his metaphorical place in the novel? One way would be the way any writer would want to be investigated: through the work.

So let’s itemize Archimboldi’s novels as described in various sections of 2666 and see if there any metaphorical connections to 2666’s themes. Here are the titles, estimated publication dates, and (if available) brief descriptions of the contents of Archimboldi’s entire catalogue, listed in chronological order (until The Return, after which the order is unclear).

Lüdicke, c. 1949: Archimboldi’s first novel. The plot is never described, but the process of publishing Lüdicke is narrated in detail. The first publisher who rejects the novel acknowledges that it has “undeniable merits,” while Mr. Bubis, who agrees to take it on, says that it is, “in a certain sense, rather original,” and that he’d like to “take a gamble on” it—both of which suggest the book was unique, maybe even experimental. The first edition sold 300 copies.

The Endless Rose, c. 1950: Finished before Lüdicke is even published, The Endless Rose took Archimboldi only three months to write. Mr. Bubis describes it as “better than good” and says reading it left him “deeply shaken.” The first run sold 205 copies. It was later translated into Spanish by Amalfitano in 1974. Interesting side note: The Endless Rose is mentioned in The Savage Detectives where it is attributed to “a frenchman named J. M. G. Arcimboldi.”

The Leather Mask, c. 1951: Described as “Polish-themed” and part of a trilogy with “the English-themed” The Garden and “the clearly French-themed” D’Arsonval, although the other two novels weren’t completed until much later. First edition sold 96 copies. A few years after its initial publication, following the belated success of his next novel Rivers of Europe, The Leather Mask would go into a second edition.

Rivers of Europe, c. 1952: Despite its title, Rivers of Europe is “really only about one river, the Dnieper.” The fourth longest river in Europe, it runs from Russia through Belarus and Ukraine before spilling out...