In this 'novelita', a young girl - Bianca - and her younger brother live together in a small flat after the death of their parents in a car crash. Bianca, is the narrator of the story. She works as a waitress. One day her brother invites to friends to join them in the alreay small space, two petty criminals, one from Bologna and one from Lybia who looked like brothers. In order to escape their dreary situation, they plan to commit a robbery, based on some insights that they heard about a rich man's hidden stash.
This novelita is an unmistakable Bolaño story. The pace is fast, the writing is economic, the characters are human and real, and escape any stereotype (the petty criminals are friendly and help around the house and kitchen). Bianca's narrative is full of uncertainty. Every choice has several options, sentences hesitate, descriptions fail, interpretations become their opposite. Because of their poor financial situation, it does not seem to matter what they do any more. Even if everything is presented in a friendly way, and concepts such as ethics and morality become really blurry. But deep down, the misery and hopelessness reign.
What he writes is so good, it is so fluent, deep and comes over like a casual conversation or narrative.
Find it, read it.
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