I Just Read About That…

[LISTENED TO: November 8, 2013] Daniel Alarcón reads “Gomez Palacio”

The New Yorker has a Fiction podcast of current authors reading a story from the New Yorker archives.  I was unaware of this podcast until I recently stumbled upon this Alarcón reading.  I am trying to find out the breadth and depth of this podcast, but I find the navigation really unclear.  It seems like there are a lot of stories in this series.  (You can see the archives list here, although I wish it was a little easier to navigate).

The podcast is 30 minutes long.  What you get is a brief interview with Alarcón, in which he talks primarily about his exposure to Bolaño and his interpretation of this story.  And then he reads the story itself.

The interview was very interesting.  He talks about reading Bolaño when 2666 had come out in Chile.  What I enjoyed hearing him talk about was the Bolaño universe and him “sampling himself.”  And also how the shorter works reference each other and different characters appear and reappear–that Bolaño has created an entire world in which all of his stories are set.  These are things that I noticed, of course, but it is always comforting to hear others confirm your ideas.

I also enjoyed the way he talks about reading one story or novel and then being compelled to read more and more and ultimately his entire work (I can relate).  Alarcón talks about Bolaños’ work being seductive, especially for young writers  because in much of his work (and this story in particular) nothing really happens–there is no plot to speak of.  It’s just a story about a writer adrift.

I have to admit that I found Alarcón’s reading a little flat.  His voice is kind of sing-songy and a little soporific and I didn’t find my self terribly engrossed by his reading.  Although I appreciated his using proper accents in the story, which I never do.  And, yes I feel like I got a little more out of it this time around.

After the story, there’s some more interview.  Alarcón’s take on the story is really eye-opening.  Since the story seems to be about nothing, it is easy to dismiss the story, but Alarcón really brings some good opinions and insights into the story.  Both about the woman in the story and about Bolaño’s own history–looking back on his own life as a teacher.  There is the notion of autobiography in Bolaño’s work–the character often look like Bolaño and typically names similar to his own–Arturo Belano or even just B.  It’s an attempt to create his own mythology.

It was a very useful and enjoyable discussion.  I also enjoyed how Alarcón leads this story away from itself.  By talking about how the unknowns in the story (the “disasters” in the narrator’s life which are left out in the story) may be filled in by the rest of Bolaño’s works.  It shows that there is a lot more to the life of this narrator than the piece given here.

I’m going to have to check out more of these fiction podcasts from the New Yorker.

For ease of searching, I Include: Daniel Alarcon, Robert Bolano