The tubular structure of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666,

a game of mirrors

Abstract

The present article aims to interpret the tubular structure conceived by Roberto Bolaño for the writing of 2666. To better understand this structure, we will draw from the book Story and Discourse (1990) by theorist Seymour Chatman. This approach will allow us to observe that the novel presents itself as a play of mirrors, with the central figure being the writer-character Benno von Archimboldi, who is reflected in his characters throughout the five parts that make up the work. Similarly, the tubular structure proposed by Bolaño in his notebooks, better known as the Bolaño Archive and taken from the edition published in 2019 by Alfaguara, will allow us to uncover the author’s poetic and theoretical proposal, in which a different approach to literature persists.