Roberto Bolaño Books in Order
23 books are credited to Roberto Bolaño, published between 1989 and 2017; 8 of them appeared after Roberto Bolaño's death in 2003. The first book is The Third Reich (1989) and the newest is Cowboy Graves: Three Novellas (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 23
- Published
- 1989–2017
- Confirmed
- 1 of 23 titles
- Pages on record
- 5,505 in 20 of 23 books
- Reading time
- 92–138 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,505 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 20 of 23 titles with a page count on record.
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos (28 April 1953 - 15 July 2003) was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist. The Rómulo Gallegos Prize went to Bolaño in 1999 for the novel The Savage Detectives, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction followed posthumously in 2008 for 2666. This catalogue holds 23 titles in English translation, from The Third Reich (1989) to Cowboy Graves: Three Novellas (2017), among them Distant Star (1996), Nazi Literature in the Americas (1996), Last Evenings on Earth (1997) and Amulet (1999). Recorded subjects include Chilean literature and poetry, poets, authors, missing persons, and politics and government.
How many Roberto Bolaño books are there?
Roberto Bolaño has 23 books, released between 1989 and 2017. 8 of them were published after Roberto Bolaño's death in 2003.
Roberto Bolaño Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 23 Roberto Bolaño books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Third Reich1989 · 277 pages · confirmed 1/419892771/4
- 2The Romantic Dogs1993 · 143 pages · confirmed 1/419931431/4
- 3The Skating Rink1993 · confirmed 1/41993–1/4
- 4The Unknown University1993 · 835 pages · confirmed 1/419938351/4
- 5Distant Star1996 · 149 pages · confirmed 1/419961491/4
- 6Nazi Literature in the Americas1996 · 227 pages · confirmed 1/419962271/4
- 7Last Evenings on Earth1997 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/419972241/4
- 8The Savage Detectives1998 · 577 pages · confirmed 1/419985771/4
- 9Amulet1999 · 184 pages · confirmed 1/419991841/4
- 10Monsieur Pain1999 · 134 pages · confirmed 1/419991341/4
- 11Tres2000 · 173 pages · confirmed 1/420001731/4
- 12By Night in Chile2000 · 130 pages · confirmed 1/420001301/4
- 13Antwerp2002 · 78 pages · confirmed 1/42002781/4
- 14A Little Lumpen Novelita2002 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/420021281/4
- 15The Insufferable Gaucho2003 · 164 pages · confirmed 1/420031641/4
- 16Between Parentheses2004 · 390 pages · confirmed 1/420043901/4
- 1726662004 · 898 pages · confirmed 1/420048981/4
- 18The Secret of Evil2007 · confirmed 1/42007–1/4
- 1920091283/4
- 20The Return2010 · confirmed 1/42010–1/4
- 21Woes of the True Policeman2011 · 250 pages · confirmed 1/420112501/4
- 22The Spirit of Science Fiction2016 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/420162081/4
- 23Cowboy Graves: Three Novellas2017 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/420172081/4
Roberto Bolaño books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Last Interview in order
1 bookStandalone books
22 books22 Roberto Bolaño titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Roberto Bolaño books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 23 Roberto Bolaño books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with Roberto Bolaño
Start with The Third Reich (1989), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Roberto Bolaño book?
Cowboy Graves: Three Novellas (2017) is the newest Roberto Bolaño book released so far.
Is there a new Roberto Bolaño book coming?
No next Roberto Bolaño book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Roberto Bolaño has won
Wikidata records 3 awards for Roberto Bolaño. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction2008Wonfor 2666
- Rómulo Gallegos Prize1999Won
- Premio Herralde1998Won
Roberto Bolaño at a glance
- Died
- Roberto Bolaño died in 2003, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Roberto Bolaño are still being published after Roberto Bolaño's death in 2003; the newest appeared in 2017.
- Release pace
- Roberto Bolaño books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,505 pages across the 20 of 23 books with a recorded length, a median of 196 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Roberto Bolaño books, 9 of 23, were published in the 2000s.
What the Roberto Bolaño books are about
All 23 Roberto Bolaño books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: chilean literature is tagged on 6 of 23. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Chilean literature 6 of 23 books
- Chilean poetry 4 of 23 books
- Romance literature 4 of 23 books
- Authors 3 of 23 books
- Ficcion 3 of 23 books
- Ficción 3 of 23 books
- Poetry 3 of 23 books
- Authors, biography 2 of 23 books
- Chilean Short stories 2 of 23 books
- Crimes against 2 of 23 books
- History and criticism 2 of 23 books
- Interview 2 of 23 books