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larowin t1_j5zdrqq wrote

The Part About The Crimes is the most intense and relentless writing I’ve ever encountered. It’s more hardcore than Blood Meridian.

But yes, if you’ve only gotten through the first two parts you’ve basically had your dinner roll and salad, the main course is incoming.

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rbeast t1_j5zn0b8 wrote

I’m nearly done with The Part About the Crimes, it’s been hellish in a way I could only compare to Blood Meridian.

So far I’ve enjoyed the book very much, with the first and third Parts really standing out to me despite the fourth being the obvious lynchpin.

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sjsmac t1_j5zoe2d wrote

Yeah, that chapter was rough. Lots and lots of broken hyoid bones. Brutal.

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IskaralPustFanClub t1_j6183qu wrote

On first read I found the part regarding the killings almost unending. Upon re-reading the novel I found that this aspect of it perfectly mirrors and fits with what Bolano was trying to communicate. The murders are unrelenting. It gave me a whole new appreciation of it.

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larowin t1_j618cne wrote

Exactly! “When will this madness end?”

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drelos t1_j610a54 wrote

I haven't read essays or discussed with someone else but I guess that part core idea is just desensitizing through repetition embedding you un the same feeling those authorities and population feel. The line that broke me was... after pages and pages describing several ways all those corpses were found one character ask another one 'you don't see nothing in common' 'no' 'they were all workers'

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thewirefan123123 t1_j6gabok wrote

I'll never forget the part in 4 where the two young sisters were raped killed and tortured in the rich mans house and the scene where the young girl went to the hospital and before she died was sad about never seeing her brother and sister again. I cried while reading those parts.

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Espa89 t1_j604exm wrote

The one about the murdered prostitutes (or something, long time since I read it)? That was the worst. It was just repeating itself 20 times.

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larowin t1_j60iukj wrote

This thread is already getting a bit spoilery for OP, but the repetition is the point. It makes you numb and desensitized to something that you should not look away from. If you didn’t know, this really happened.

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