Living, reading, and dying in the didactic void: Roberto bolaño’s 2666 and organized literature

Abstract

The graphic description of the feminicide of Mexican women in Bolaño’s 2666 is juxtaposed with a critique of the formal, academic study of literature. This chapter explores some of the effects of this juxtaposition drawing on Deleuze’s antirepresentationalist philosophy of literature. The language and narrative structure in Bolaño’s novel both draw attention to the fact that the university is not organized for women, especially subaltern and marginalized women. However, what that organization might actually look like requires a decolonial vision of the university. The chapter concludes with some reflections on how subaltern women, inside and outside Bolaño’s text, can be imagined as part of the university.