Reflections on the Testimony of Trauma: Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 and Sergio González Rodríguez’s Huesos en el desierto

Abstract

Roberto Bolaño’s working friendship with Sergio González Rodríguez has been often addressed in recent scholarship, and it is well-known that the former was in correspondence with the latter about the feminicides in Ciudad Juárez in order to write “The Part About the Crimes” in 2666. This study provides a comparative analysis between “The Part About the Crimes” and González Rodríguez’s Huesos en el desierto to show the departure in form between the two authors, suggesting that the formal elements of Bolaño’s fictionalisation of the crimes are indicative of an understanding of collective trauma in Ciudad Juárez.