Woahhh...

...holy come together story!! I'm not finished with the book yet, more on this later. How are you two coming along?

I don't know

Here I am in my pajamas with a lingering hangover, pissed off because Netflix is down, but yes, this seems like as good a time as any to try to answer your question about the Mexican drug war. Needless to say I feel a little ridiculous presuming to have an opinion at all (see above). But one thing this blog has been making me consider again, maybe for the first time since college, is that it's okay to form opinions and ask big questions about situations we're removed from, because those questions can bring us closer to understanding. It's like what you're saying, Megan, about stepping back to see connections. On the one hand, I'm trying to not feel guilty about a night like this, for example -- when I'm sitting on my lazy ass just enjoying myself while people are killed in Mexico. I want, like anyone else anywhere, to just be happy and delight in the small things. But on the other hand, I know how important it is to remember that we are all connected. I think it was the Boston Globe article you linked to that said calling it "Mexico's drug war" is misleading, because so much money/drugs flow between our two countries. It's not so far away from us. So my biggest question is, how do I balance those two -- trying to be happy and also remaining connected to the people in this world who aren't so lucky?

To answer your question, it seems that it is important to crack down on the gangs and bring an end to the violence. But that's only my perspective from this comfortable, safe spot in my bed. Could there be a better way than how the president is going about it? Sounds like it. I wouldn't want to say that someone shouldn't stand up to evil/injustice just because it might cause more trouble before it's over. But honestly, I'm uncomfortable with the consequences of that choice. Megan, what do you think? Has your opinion changed since being there?

As for Bolano, I don't think he meant to tie things up at all. I base this opinion solely on the other novel of his that I read, The Savage Detectives, which he did finish and which still had a lot of loose ends/unanswered questions at the end. I think that was his style and also shows something about his worldview -- maybe he was okay with not having the answers, as long as he could ask the questions. But I agree that maybe he was trying to show us those previously-mentioned connections, which many of his own characters in 2666 don't see.

Other things going on in your life that are exhausting your attention?? I love that we started this book club again but in addition to reading I think we definitely need to carve some time out to chat and bitch and moan about all our worldly woes. Like for example I have three desperately itchy mosquito bites on my right ankle that are driving me crazy and distracting my from enjoying the E! channel.

I just started up on section five I think it is, sowe're back to Germany. Part four was rather gruesome but probably to me the most interesting part of the book so far.. what's that mean? Anyway at the moment I'm in Berlin and I was thinking about how this all ties back together - or beyond that, because we know the initial characters went to Mexico in search of Archimboldi and there they met Amalfitano and on and on until we get to the "real" story, but we don't know the point for all that seemingly irrelevant backstory. And while we're on the topic of superfluous crap can we please all take note of the fact that I can't seem to write a coherent, concise sentence that isn't a cognitive pants-pee. The question I'm trying to arrive at is, why do you think Bolaño has all this otherstuff? Do you think he intended to tidy it all up but wasn't at that point in the book when he died?

I thought it was interesting that in one section, I think when the scholars came to Mexico, one of the characters pointed out that he felt like time stopped in the place he came from, when he traveled somewhere far away. I am not 100% that it was actually in this book that I read that so ignore if it sounds unfamiliar. what I was thinking, though (and remember I have to cut and paste every so forgive me if I don't bother to hunt down the capitals), was maybe the story issupposed to be sort of jarringly disjointed to draw attention to the fact that we live our livesseemingly disjointed from these goings on/going ons, but they are in fact happening just assimultaneously as each of these unrelated stories. Maybe we need to take a step back and seewhat else is out there even though they don't immediately appear to connect - or maybe they don't connect at all, but that we have to start realizing that's not an excuse.

This afternoon (after I got back from the pool and from seeing the president on his morning jogsurrounded by a crew of orbiting men, roughly 8 suburbans filled with men with large guns, and probably around forty or fifty Air Force guys. This incidentally was rather frightening because I'd spot the ones in the army tanks pretty early on but then all of a sudden I'd glancesideways and see a disembodied head floating in the bushes, the rest of him hidden by his camouflage and massive war gun). Holla Felipe. Anyway when I came home I spent the nextseveral hours doing my research on the prezzy since I knew next to nothing. Then also the night before Mono had told me that he was no longer going home for Christmas because it would put his family at too great a risk for him to come back. All this stuff I was reading about got me really sad and I continue to be amazed at how bad things are here. In the place where he's

from when it was at its worse 15 people were being killed a day. Not in the whole country, just in this little state. And it continues to be really really dangerous particularly since Calderón has made it his mission to take down the drug trade. I was curious what your thoughts were on this, though. Do you think he should back off and let the drug cartels just go about their business, if doing so means that they won't be killing so many in response to threats from government? Maybe they should just treat the drug trade as any other legal export and take advantage of the fact that there is a huge demand in gringo-landia and the country could bring a lot of money because of it?

I know this is not strictly related to Juarez or the book, but I wanted to hear your thoughts.

Besos, amores.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/04/mexicos_drug_war_1.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2011/0407/Mexico-mass-graves-add-fuel-to-public-s-anger-over-drug-war/(page)/2