The Third Reich

In The Third Reich Roberto Bolaño gives voice to diverse characters, arranging them on a kind of board where the oldest war of all is fought: that of Nazism, that of decadent Western culture, that of the human being against himself.

A "war game" is known as one that recreates and simulates an armed confrontation at any level, subject to rules for its development. The German Udo Berger is champion of this discipline in his country. War games are both his profession and his obsession; they occupy his life and invade his thoughts at all hours. Even during the trip he makes with his girlfriend Ingeborg to the Costa Brava, where he had spent his summers as a child, he has a large table installed in his hotel room to think about the strategies for his new game, The Third Reich.

One night, however, Udo and Ingeborg meet another German couple, Charly and Hanna, who introduce them to a hidden world behind the beaches and the sun. A world populated by characters of dubious reputation, dark pasts and even more enigmatic futures.