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Posthumous Stories
“One of the more colorful gods in the pantheon of international literary myth . . . [Bolaño] follows his restless talent down every available rabbit hole.” —Sam Anderson, New York
“When I read Roberto Bolaño, I Everything is possible again.” —Nicole Krauss, author of To Be a Man
. . . because stories like this don’t have an ending . . .
Gathering the short works, in various states of completion, found on Roberto Bolaño’s computer shortly after his death, Posthumous Stories is animated by indeterminacy. Fragments of fantasies, memories, monologues, fears, and dreams proceed one into the other, seeming neither to begin nor to end. Each is haunted by its tick, its weight, its eternity. Forever open, and forever becoming, these stories make collaborators of us all, and offer, like a ghost, the great gift of infinity.
“When I read Roberto Bolaño, I Everything is possible again.” —Nicole Krauss, author of To Be a Man
. . . because stories like this don’t have an ending . . .
Gathering the short works, in various states of completion, found on Roberto Bolaño’s computer shortly after his death, Posthumous Stories is animated by indeterminacy. Fragments of fantasies, memories, monologues, fears, and dreams proceed one into the other, seeming neither to begin nor to end. Each is haunted by its tick, its weight, its eternity. Forever open, and forever becoming, these stories make collaborators of us all, and offer, like a ghost, the great gift of infinity.
- GenresFictionShort Stories
160 pages, Paperback
Published December 2, 2025
About the author
Roberto Bolaño
148 books7,221 followersFor most of his early adulthood, Bolaño was a vagabond, living at one time or another in Chile, Mexico, El Salvador, France and Spain. Bolaño moved to Europe in 1977, and finally made his way to Spain, where he married and settled on the Mediterranean coast near Barcelona, working as a dishwasher, a campground custodian, bellhop and garbage collector — working during the day and writing at night.
He continued with his poetry, before shifting to fiction in his early forties. In an interview Bolaño stated that he made this decision because he felt responsible for the future financial well-being of his family, which he knew he could never secure from the earnings of a poet. This was confirmed by Jorge Herralde, who explained that Bolaño "abandoned his parsimonious beatnik existence" because the birth of his son in 1990 made him "decide that he was responsible for his family's future and that it would be easier to earn a living by writing fiction." However, he continued to think of himself primarily as a poet, and a collection of his verse, spanning 20 years, was published in 2000 under the title The Romantic Dogs.
Regarding his native country Chile, which he visited just once after going into voluntary exile, Bolaño had conflicted feelings. He was notorious in Chile for his fierce attacks on Isabel Allende and other members of the literary establishment.
In 2003, after a long period of declining health, Bolaño passed away. Bolaño was survived by his Spanish wife and their two children, whom he once called "my only motherland."
Although deep down he always felt like a poet, his reputation ultimately rests on his novels, novellas and short story collections. Although Bolaño espoused the lifestyle of a bohemian poet and literary enfant terrible for all his adult life, he only began to produce substantial works of fiction in the 1990s. He almost immediately became a highly regarded figure in Spanish and Latin American letters.
In rapid succession, he published a series of critically acclaimed works, the most important of which are the novel Los detectives salvajes (The Savage Detectives), the novella Nocturno de Chile (By Night In Chile), and, posthumously, the novel 2666. His two collections of short stories Llamadas telefónicas and Putas asesinas were awarded literary prizes.
In 2009 a number of unpublished novels were discovered among the author's papers.
He continued with his poetry, before shifting to fiction in his early forties. In an interview Bolaño stated that he made this decision because he felt responsible for the future financial well-being of his family, which he knew he could never secure from the earnings of a poet. This was confirmed by Jorge Herralde, who explained that Bolaño "abandoned his parsimonious beatnik existence" because the birth of his son in 1990 made him "decide that he was responsible for his family's future and that it would be easier to earn a living by writing fiction." However, he continued to think of himself primarily as a poet, and a collection of his verse, spanning 20 years, was published in 2000 under the title The Romantic Dogs.
Regarding his native country Chile, which he visited just once after going into voluntary exile, Bolaño had conflicted feelings. He was notorious in Chile for his fierce attacks on Isabel Allende and other members of the literary establishment.
In 2003, after a long period of declining health, Bolaño passed away. Bolaño was survived by his Spanish wife and their two children, whom he once called "my only motherland."
Although deep down he always felt like a poet, his reputation ultimately rests on his novels, novellas and short story collections. Although Bolaño espoused the lifestyle of a bohemian poet and literary enfant terrible for all his adult life, he only began to produce substantial works of fiction in the 1990s. He almost immediately became a highly regarded figure in Spanish and Latin American letters.
In rapid succession, he published a series of critically acclaimed works, the most important of which are the novel Los detectives salvajes (The Savage Detectives), the novella Nocturno de Chile (By Night In Chile), and, posthumously, the novel 2666. His two collections of short stories Llamadas telefónicas and Putas asesinas were awarded literary prizes.
In 2009 a number of unpublished novels were discovered among the author's papers.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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April 7, 2026A beautiful, frustrating kind of voyeurism. You catch the brilliant light of a dying star, but the abrupt endings leave you completely stranded.
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December 21, 2025To my fellow Bolaño completists: As some have speculated, this book is just a re-packaging of The Secret of Evil (originally published as El secreto del mal in 2007). It's the exact same 19 stories in the exact same order — but inexplicably without the helpful "Preliminary Note" we saw in The Secret of Evil, written by Bolaño's literary executor Ignacio Echevarría. This is a cash grab by Picador. Don't be fooled.
April 9, 2026
CWs: sexual content, difficulty having a child, ableist language, mention of Nazis & death camps, mention of school run by Opus Dei, mention of psychiatric incarceration, mention of injury/injury detail & subsequent disablement, rape, zombies, vomit, death & gun violence in context of zombie movie, cannibalism in context of zombie movie, suicide attempt, self harm, gore, ableism, misogyny, racism, classism, mention of bestiality, mention of husband killing his wife, infidelity, anti-Romani slur, derogatory language re: sex workers, mention of cocaine use, description of murder, public urination, mention of heroin addiction & recovery, mention of suicide, disordered eating, death of parents, theft, mention of car jacking, 2000s Iraq war, antisemitism, body shaming, mention of masturbation, mention of pedophilia
June 3, 2026
dude's defo a great writer, and i rly enjoyed the voice and sentences, but bc these r unedited unpublished stories, they meander in a way that feel a bit pointless. i got bored. i rly only liked "The Colonel's Son", a detailed recap of a schlocky yet somehow revolutionary zombie movie.
Want to Read
July 4, 2025Oh, ho, ho! They've just got to be kidding us.
July 2, 2026
Vintage Bolaño.
"In other words: the literature of doom has to exist, but if nothing else exists, it's the end of literature" (from "The Vagaries of the Literature of Doom" 72).
These are a series of vignettes, short stories, and sketches that I call literature of what might have been. In 2013, this had been published as the unfinished collection "The Secret Evil" which was repackaged by Picador for those obsessed with Bolaño's work.
"The Secret of Evil" is about journalist John A. Kelso awakened in the middle of the night and a mysterious voice on the other end of the phone asks him to meet them by the River Siene.
"Colonia Lindavista" is about a narrator questioning the nature of sex and love. He is spending time with his friends Lupita and Peptio and is staying with an older woman named Eulala Martinez.
"The Death of Ulises" seems to have been an aborted novel about the end of an era starring two of Bolaño's most iconic literary characters: Ulises Lima and Arturo Belano.
If you have not read Bolaños's work before, they're the main protagonists of his classic, rambling ode to youth and art, "The Savage Detectives".
I do not know the background of these unfinished works- rather, I am piecing my own prior knowledge of what I know about Bolaño, and the work of his that I've finished.
Bolaño's work is always a cause of celebration for me, and he's one of my favorite authors.
"In other words: the literature of doom has to exist, but if nothing else exists, it's the end of literature" (from "The Vagaries of the Literature of Doom" 72).
These are a series of vignettes, short stories, and sketches that I call literature of what might have been. In 2013, this had been published as the unfinished collection "The Secret Evil" which was repackaged by Picador for those obsessed with Bolaño's work.
"The Secret of Evil" is about journalist John A. Kelso awakened in the middle of the night and a mysterious voice on the other end of the phone asks him to meet them by the River Siene.
"Colonia Lindavista" is about a narrator questioning the nature of sex and love. He is spending time with his friends Lupita and Peptio and is staying with an older woman named Eulala Martinez.
"The Death of Ulises" seems to have been an aborted novel about the end of an era starring two of Bolaño's most iconic literary characters: Ulises Lima and Arturo Belano.
If you have not read Bolaños's work before, they're the main protagonists of his classic, rambling ode to youth and art, "The Savage Detectives".
I do not know the background of these unfinished works- rather, I am piecing my own prior knowledge of what I know about Bolaño, and the work of his that I've finished.
Bolaño's work is always a cause of celebration for me, and he's one of my favorite authors.
July 10, 2026
I'm not much of a short stories person, and in many ways it was clear these were not meant to be complete stories. More like character sketches or vague ideas, snippets of scenes and brief moments. I often found myself frustrated by the endings or the incomplete nature of these. Of course documents found posthumously would be incomplete--I just wasn't into that. Bolaño is a fantastic author, I only wish he had more time to finish these projects.
March 23, 2026
first bolaño is done!!! i like his style largely because it feels like the way i write in my diary. extremely blunt and true and makes one feel like they are inside roberto bolaño’s brain watching his thoughts cruise by. a few stories felt very odd to me but i think we (i) must remember that posthumous stories are not offered the opportunity to be edited.
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February 3, 2026An interesting amalgamation of unfinished work left by Roberto Bolano posthumously. I have to admit, his writing is fantastic, but the unfinished excerpts leave a bit to be desired. Perhaps I should have read some of his finished published work prior to this.
March 24, 2026
Labyrinth and anything with Arturo Belano were the clear highlights. The saddest part was reading that Arturo lives longer than Bolano himself, a fitting end to the collection.
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April 20, 2026I can’t remember reading a story that left me feeling the way “Beach” did. Thank you Luke for knowing that I would love this
July 8, 2026
i’ve never simultaneously like a book so much and been so embarrassed to read it in public
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January 21, 2026"But things have happened in the meantime."
Fragmentary, uneven, fascinating, and how do I feel about publishing the short works found on Roberto's computer after his death?
Fragmentary, uneven, fascinating, and how do I feel about publishing the short works found on Roberto's computer after his death?
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews