Roberto Bolaño published 10 novels, 4 novellas, 6 short story collections, 1 non-fiction book and 3 poetry collections, beginning with Distant Star (1996). The best-known is The Savage Detectives (1998).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Roberto Bolaño
Start here
The Savage Detectives
Roberto Bolaño's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
The Skating Rink (1993)
Nazi Literature in the Americas (1996)
The Savage Detectives (1998)
Amulet (1999)
By Night in Chile (2000)
2666 (2004)
Last Evenings on Earth (2006)
The Third Reich (Feb 2010)
Woes of the True Policeman (2011)
The Spirit of Science Fiction (2016)
Novellas in order
Monsieur Pain (1982)
Distant Star (1996)
A Little Lumpen Novelita (2002)
Antwerp (2002)
Short story collections in order
Llamadas Telefónicas (1997)
Murdering Whores (2001)
The Insufferable Gaucho (2003)
The Secret of Evil (2007)
The Return (2010)
Cowboy Graves (2017)
Non-fiction in order
Between Parentheses (2004)
Poetry in order
The Romantic Dogs (1994)
Tres (2000)
The Unknown University (2007)
About Roberto Bolaño
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist. In 1999, Bolaño won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel The Savage Detectives, and in 2008 he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his novel 2666, which was described by board member Marcela Valdes as a "work so rich and dazzling that it will surely draw readers and scholars for ages".
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Roberto Bolaño FAQ
- How many books has Roberto Bolaño written?
- Roberto Bolaño published 10 novels, 4 novellas, 6 short story collections, 1 non-fiction book and 3 poetry collections that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Roberto Bolaño's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Savage Detectives.
- What is Roberto Bolaño's last book?
- Between Parentheses (2004).
- What is Roberto Bolaño's most famous book?
- The Savage Detectives (1998) is Roberto Bolaño's most widely read book.
Authors like Roberto Bolaño
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.