An author's first work - not the place to start (for a reader)

Sad to say but, in the end, Roberto Bolano's "Monsieur Pain" is in my view not much more than juvenalia, a curiosity that would probably not have been translated/reissued were it not for the posthumous success of Bolano has "enjoyed" (because how can he enjoy it?). The story of his discovery and the frenzy to publish all of his works and market them and of course read them is amazing, but the tide of success washes in some flotsam as well. As an early work, M. Pain shows a lot of promise: the labyrinthine plot, the sharp observations, and the interest in the backwaters of literary history, most of all the infused sense of prewar (set in 1938) dread and paranoia that permeates every moment of the novel. But my early fears were confirmed, the plot just meanders, incident upon incident, and never develops into anything nor does it offer answers to the many mysteries and enigmas the title character confronts along the way. Some end notes, cryptically entitled The Elephant Track (huh?) imply that all or most of the characters are based on historical figures (one or two I know to be the case), but I would think the events of the story are entirely Bolano's. All told, he's one of our most important writers, discovered far too late and perhaps right now revered a bit too much, and this novel is not the place to start for a reader - even if it may have been Bolano's place to start as a writers. At some point I'll probably give By Night in Chile a go; otherwise, I'd recommend his stories, any of them.