Bolaño: A BIOGRAPHY IN CONVERSATIONS ...the first major biography of Bolaño, but instead of a neat and easily digestible chronicle of one man’s short, brilliant life, Maristain has assembled a loose, and for the most part, satisfying bio-picaresque. Bolaño, perhaps the most famous Latin American literary figure of the 21st century, appears in these pages as a literary savant—a poet and a novelist—and a playful friend.