One more huge spine TK

So, in addition to the discovery of two more novels, Diorama and The Troubles of the Real Police Officer, found among papers Roberto Bolaño left behind in Spain when he died, The Guardian is also reporting that "what is believed to be a sixth section of Bolaño's epic five-part novel 2666" has also now come to light. A temptation to view this as chicanery by Andrew Wiley, the Scott Boras of literary agents who took over Bolaño's estate last year (opting out of the old contract for 2666, if you will, in order to gain its new representative a fresh commission), is probably in vain. The guy just wrote and wrote and wrote. "I am waiting for the last Bolano-Biggie Smalls duet to surface," comments Adam Sternbergh on the Vulture post that brought us this news. The timing does just work...

This interview with Natasha Wimmer was originally conducted for Lit Seen, a newly conceived Voice literary column. But, as befits a conversation about 2666, the whole thing ended up spilling over into a much more sprawling, detailed conversation about vast terrain of the novel. The entire transcript is below.

As a translator, you're in the somewhat unenviable position of being reviewed along with the author you're translating, often by critics who've never seen the work in its original language. Can you tell who's faking it?

I must admit that I'm usually glad to get any positive mention, justified or unjustified--but I do know what you mean. There are certain all-purpose adjectives that can seem a little rote. Then again, if the reviewer does engage at all with the translation, I usually get the sense that he understands what the book required, at least. And I think I understand why critiques tend to be vague. It's not just that reviewers can't read the book in the original. Translation is all about imperfectly achieved goals, and if reviewers were being honest, they would probably base their judgments on the degree to which they were able to appreciate a novel despite the translation.