El Tercer Reich / The Third Reich

Udo Berger, escritor fracasado y campe n de juegos de estrategia, viaja de nuevo al peque o pueblo de la Costa Brava catalana donde pasaba los veranos de su infancia. Acompa ado por su novia, pasa la mayor parte del tiempo con su juego favorito: El Tercer Reich. Una noche conocen a otra pareja de alemanes, Charly y Hanna, con quien planean pasar los siguientes d as. Pero cuando Charly desaparece esa misma noche, la apacible vida de Udo cambiar bruscamente. Escrita en 1989 y encontrada entre sus archivos tras su muerte, El Tercer Reich es puro Bola o --detectives, personajes extravagantes, y un descenso a los infiernos. En su lenguaje, en sus formas y en sus temas podemos ver el germen de futuras obras maestras tales como Los detectives salvajes o 2666. Udo Berger, a failed writer and strategy wargames champion travels to the small resort in Spain's Costa Brava where he spent his childhood summers to train for an international tournament. Accompanied by his new girlfriend, they befriend another German couple with whom they spend most of their time. But when one of his friends disappears after a night out with two local sinister characters, Udo's serene life will be disrupted as he is pursued by a private detective. El Tercer Reich is pure Bola o--a detective, extravagant characters, and a descent into madness--and in it we can be seen the seed of future masterpieces such as Los detectives salvajes (The Savage Detectives) or 2666. Thought to have been written in the early 1990s, El Tercer Reich was found among Bola o's papers after his death. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice On vacation with his girlfriend, Ingeborg, the German war games champion Udo Berger returns to a small town on the Costa Brava where he spent the summers of his childhood. Soon they meet another vacationing German couple, Charly and Hanna, who introduce them to a band of locals--the Wolf, the Lamb, and El Quemado--and to the darker side of life in a resort town. Late one night, Charly disappears without a trace, and Udo's well-ordered life is thrown into upheaval; while Ingeborg and Hanna return to their lives in Germany, he refuses to leave the hotel. Soon he and El Quemado are enmeshed in a round of Third Reich, Udo's favorite World War II strategy game, and Udo discovers that the game's consequences may be all too real. Written in 1989 and found among Roberto Bola o's papers after his death, The Third Reich is a stunning exploration of memory and violence. Reading this quick, visceral novel, we see a world-class writer coming into his own--and exploring for the first time the themes that would define his masterpieces The Savage Detectives and 2666.