(no subject)
What's the experiment? asked Rosa. What experiment? asked Amalfitano. With the hanging book, said Rosa. It isn't an experiment in the literal sense of the word, said Amalfitano. Why is it there? asked Rosa. It occurred to me all of a sudden, said Amalfitano, it's a Duchamp idea, leaving a geometry book hanging exposed to the elements to see if it learns something about real life. You're going to destroy it, said Rosa. Not me, said Amalfitano, nature. You're getting crazier every day, you know, said Rosa. Amalfitano smiled. I've never seen you do a thing like that to a book, said Rosa. It isn't mine, said Amalfitano. It doesn't matter, Rosa said, it's yours now. It's funny, Amalfitano said, that's how I should feel, but I really don't have the sense it belongs to me, and anyway I'm almost sure I'm not doing it any harm. Well, pretend it's mine and take it down, said Rosa, the neighbors are going to think you're crazy. The neighbors who top their walls with broken glass? They don't even know we exist, said Amalfitano, and they're a thousand times crazier than me. No, not them, said Rosa, the other ones, the ones who can see exactly what's going on in our yard. Have any of them bothered you? asked Amalfitano. No, said Rosa. Then it's not a problem, said Amalfitano, it's silly to worry about it when much worse things are happening in this city than a book being hung from a cord. Two wrongs don't make a right, said Rosa, we're not animals. Leave the book alone, pretend it doesn't exist, forget about it, said Amalfitano, you've never been interested in geometry.
- Roberto Bolaño, 2666
- Roberto Bolaño, 2666