I have not read his other books, but from what I’m hearing here Savage Detectives may be just the place go start!

To be honest it could be the translation. I’ve read a lot about how that can effect readings (Kundera writes a lot about this) and often in 2023 us english speakers are pretty blessed with quality translations. But Bolaño does sort of come off as unbearably dry and I wonder if that’s not got something to do with his style being washed out in translation.

Oh! Speaking of multimedia I don’t ever see people mention this but his sister who performs under the name Poe is a musician and has an entire album inspired by House of Leaves. Apparently Danielewski even wrote many of the lyrics

Oh man Danielewski is another tough one for sure. I have house of leaves but I’ve never taken the plunge, I hear so many conflicting things

That may also have something to do with my chafing against his language. There’s a through line of apathy in the book from beginning to end that I think wore on me, especially with the dense text and often meandering asides. I found a good stopping point between novellas so maybe once I pick it back up I’ll get to see that style used to greater effect

Edit: not sure why this warranted downvotes!

People do seem to enjoy savage detectives maybe I’ll start there!

I’ve yet to read infinite jest but I definitely think I also gravitate towards Wallace’s writing style more than Bolaños. After reading Something To Do With Paying Attention I felt like I had read something human and plainspoken while I feel that Bolaños cynicism may turn me off a bit. He’s clearly a brilliant writer but maybe I need to under what style works for me best

Ah that’s a tough one too. I’d love to but man I struggle finding people to read with (or who read at all) in my day to day life. I agree though that sounds much more rewarding!