Los sinsabores del verdadero policía (2011) is a posthumous and unfinished novel where Chilean writer, Roberto Bolaño, reflects on evil, sickness and death. Distress and restlessness run throughout this novel; Bolaño once again makes Santa Teresa a symbolic space that represents the wickedness of the contemporary world. This article considers the fragile and permeable nature of fiction that, at the same time, is both inspired by and reflects violence at the frontier between Mexico and the United States of America. The unspoken presence of evil (sickness, violence to women, murder) in Santa Teresa prevents characters from finding joy. However, this evil presence also provides the strength to continue living. Intertextuality, characteristic of Bolaño’s work, is also analyzed in this article, particularly the references to The savage detectives (1998) and 2666 (2004).

Los sinsabores del verdadero policía (2011) is a posthumous and unfinished novel where Chilean writer, Roberto Bolaño, reflects on evil, sickness and death. Distress and restlessness run throughout this novel; Bolaño once again makes Santa Teresa a symbolic space that represents the wickedness of the contemporary world. This article considers the fragile and permeable nature of fiction that, at the same time, is both inspired by and reflects violence at the frontier between Mexico and the United States of America. The unspoken presence of evil (sickness, violence to women, murder) in Santa Teresa prevents characters from finding joy. However, this evil presence also provides the strength to continue living. Intertextuality, characteristic of Bolaño’s work, is also analyzed in this article, particularly the references to The savage detectives (1998) and 2666 (2004).