A Drifting Narrative: Digression in Roberto Bolaño’s Los detectives salvajes

Abstract

This article analyzes the use of digression as a narrative strategy in Roberto Bolaño’s novel Los detectives salvajes. Considering how digression introduces multiple breaks, the use of this technique not only disrupts the subordination between one story and another, but also problematizes the identification of a main story, which tends to become an inaccessible centre. The expansive role of digression draws an unfinished map of fiction by enabling temporary detours throughout the narrative, besides the creation of new stories. This leads us to propose that digression is a feature of the novel’s creative process by which Bolaño introduces an aesthetic focused on fragmented and peripheral stories.