Summary

The author begins with a premise, “Literature in Spanish is in excellent condition! Magnificent, superlative condition!” (147). He considers the argument that the best writers are the most readable ones—or, in other words, “the one who sells the most books” (148). The author then offers his “Statement of Principles,” that while he has nothing in theory against “clear, enjoyable writing” (149), this can depend for him in practice.

The author asks why writers such as Figueroa and Reverte are so popular. He answers that it is because they are easily understood by “the readers, who are never wrong—I don’t mean as readers, obviously, but as consumers, of books” (149). While Bolaño understands the need for entertainment and intelligibility in a novel, he sees disastrous consequences when this demand is made of philosophy and non-fiction. He decries the theory of “weak thought...