By Night in Chile

Urrutia’s recollection of his life in the months following his first visit to Là-bas is a montage of images. Over and over, he recalls standing apart from the conga line of people in the salon at Là-bas; he recalls Farewell at his club in Santiago, speaking of literary immortality; he recalls his father slithering like an eel through his childhood home. A voice Urrutia recognizes as his superego narrates this montage, pronouncing a cryptic rule against dialogue.

Urrutia begins teaching at the Catholic university in Santiago. Following Farewell, he publishes literary criticism under a pen name, “H. Ibacache.” Under this name, Urrutia builds a reputation in literary circles and socializes with all the best Chilean writers. All the while, he constructs his poetic oeuvre in private, dreaming it will one day become canonical. Despite his poetic ambitions, Urrutia believes his criticism has a clarity and civic virtue that equals, if not surpasses, his poetry.

One night, at the house of Salvador Reyes (the historical Chilean author), Farewell prompts Reyes to tell Urrutia his story of meeting Ernst Jünger (the historical German author). Seated in a gilt-trimmed armchair, Reyes recounts meeting Jünger while serving as a diplomat in occupied Paris during the Second World War.