The Literature Book

275

See also: Don Quixote 76–81 ■ Tristram Shandy 104 – 05 ■ The Outsider 245 ■

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler 298–99

POSTWAR WRITING

form of music that was a clear

influence on Cortázar’s style, with

its staccato, syncopated rhythm.

We hear of Oliveira’s discussions

with fellow members of the vaguely

defined Serpent Club, their

reverence for mysterious author

Morelli, and Oliveira’s love of (but

troubled relationship with) La Maga.

Eventually, he heads to Argentina,

where he finds work in an asylum.

Narrative strategies

The second book takes Argentina

as its stage. In some Expendable

Chapters, Cortázar’s belief that

the reader should be aware of the

workings of a novel—as participant

and even conspirator—can be

detected, ultimately destroying the

status of the text itself as a novel.

Cortázar’s depiction of mental

deterioration, disconnected and

alienating human interaction, and

forced travel across countries is

mirrored in the effects that the

book as an object demands of the

reader. In this way the author

successfully draws attention to the

text’s fictional constructs, as well

as to the expectations that we have

of the novel form. ■

First book

Expendable Chapters

Hopscotch invites the reader to

experiment with different pathways

through its pages. There is a “normal”

first book of 56 chapters, and a second

making use of 99 “Expendable Chapters.”

Each book can be read separately, and

there also several alternative options.

Julio Cortázar

Julio Cortázar was born

to Argentinian parents in

Belgium in 1914. His family

moved to Switzerland at

the beginning of World

War I, but settled in Buenos

Aires, Argentina, in 1919.

Cortázar became qualified

as a teacher at an early age,

and began his university

studies in philosophy and

language in Buenos Aires, but

these were interrupted due to

financial difficulties.

In 1951 he emigrated to

France, where he worked as

a translator while constantly

traveling and writing short

stories. He became engaged

in political causes, supporting

the left-wing movements in

Cuba and mainland Latin

America, which he visited

several times from the 1960s

onward. Around the same

time, his novels, including

Hopscotch, started being

published. Cortázar died

in 1984 at 69, and is buried

in Paris.

Other key works

1960 The Winners

1967 Blow-Up and Other

Stories

1968 62: A Model Kit

1973 A Manual for Manuel

81

1 2 3 4 5

73 71

116 84 74

[A] chess world where you

moved about like a knight

trying to move like a rook

trying to move like a bishop.

Hopscotch

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