Savagely comic yet equally tender . . . This novel is an elegy for a generation.
Independent
The comic frenzy, the inventiveness of character and situation, and the mood-soaked depiction of 1970s Mexico is delightful.
Times Literary Supplement
A portrait of people for whom literature is bread and water, sex and death. The abiding message to be taken from Bolaño’s novel, and maybe from his fraught life, too: books matter.
GQ
It’s no exaggeration to call Bolaño a genius. <i>The Savage Detectives</i> alone should grant him immortality.
Washington Post
Bolaño makes you feel changed for having read him; he adjusts your angle of view on the world.
Guardian