The Spirit of Science Fiction

　　故事將時光推回到八零年代，兩個年輕人，璜(Jan)與雷莫(Remo)，一同從智利移居墨西哥城，各自追尋小說家夢想。他們同住在一間小公寓的頂樓，彼此互相激盪生命的火花，兩者對於詩歌與科幻小說的熱情，強烈地渲染，影響對方。他們看似相同，卻尋著迥異的路經達到夢想的彼端。

　　璜(Jan)是個內向孤僻的人，總是花很多時間寫信給出版界中著名的科幻作家。而雷莫(Remo)則是渴求波西米亞式的生活風格，不羈而冒險的玩世體驗。正當兩人沉迷於整座城市帶來的豐沛文化底蘊，一切一發不可收拾。

　　故事分成三部分，彼此交織成錯綜複雜的故事線：
　　剛剛獲得文學獎項肯定的新銳作家，媒體新寵；
　　璜(Jan)寄出無數給科幻小說作家的信件；
　　雷莫(Remo)的視角探索城市的一切，性生活與比賽與詩的靈感。

　　透過作者博拉紐的靈光一閃，通篇渲染力極強文字與小說人物性格的刻畫，盡顯作者創作生涯獨特的文學觀與文化論述，亦可作為作者的類自傳型小說，看時光與歲月如何塑造小說家的私語告白。

About the Author

Roberto Bolaño

　　Roberto Bolaño (1953-2003) was born in Santiago, Chile, and later lived in Mexico, Paris, and Spain. A poet and novelist, he has been acclaimed as "by far the most exciting writer to come from south of the Rio Grande in a long time" (The Los Angeles Times), and as "the real thing and the rarest" (Susan Sontag). Among his many prizes are the prestigious Herralde de Novela Award and the Premio Rómulo Gallegos. He is widely considered to be the greatest Latin American writer of his generation. His books include The Savage Detectives, 2666, By Night in Chile, Distant Star, Last Evenings on Earth, and The Romantic Dogs.

Natasha Wimmer

　　Natasha Wimmer is the translator of eight books by Roberto Bolaño, including The Savage Detectives and 2666. Her most recent translations are The Dinner Guest, by Gabriela Ybarra, and Sudden Death, by Álvaro Enrigue. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.