110 years after his birth, five essential stories to understand Julio Cortázar

A August 26, 1914 The son of an official at the Argentine Embassy in Belgium was born. That child, who due to the outbreak of the First World War had to move with his family to Switzerland and Spain, arrived on Argentine soil in 1918. It was there that fell in love with readingmainly because he spent a lot of time sick and had nothing better to do. Also, his father had abandoned him and his sister, Ofelia, so a hobby filled the void of the father figure.

After finishing his secondary studies in Banfield, Julio graduated as a professor in Lettersso he decided to begin a degree in Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), which he quickly abandoned because he had to help his mother financially. That began his years of teaching at various institutions in the interior of the country.

However, the literary world always seduced him, so in 1938 and under the pseudonym of Julio Denis published his first book, the collection of sonnets Presence.

The year 1951 It was a turning point in Julio’s life, as he went to Paris on a scholarship and published his first book of short stories, Bestiary. For the first time, the surname Cortazar begins to be made public. And 12 years later his masterpiece would be published: Hopscotcha novel which breaks with all the rules of a writing of this type. In fact, the writer himself called it a “counter-novel.” His playful, creative and daring style laid the foundations for what would not only be the “Cortázar way,” but also It would mark the beginning of the “boom” of Latin American literature.

With a total of 28 works to his name, Julio Cortázar became one of the leading figures in Argentine literature. His unique language, as well as his surreal and fantastic plots, opened up a new horizon of possibilities for the writing of short stories and novels.

5 essential stories by Julio Cortázar

Although Cortázar has some great novels, his other strong points were his short stories. His ability to summarise a complex story in so few pages is a testament to the Argentine writer’s skill. Here are five essential works by him:

House taken over

Inspired by a house in the city of Chivilcoy, Cortázar delves into the fantasy genre and tells the story of two siblings (Irene and the narrator) who live in an old colonial house to which they dedicated their lives to caring for and maintaining it. However, the conflict begins when they hear strange sounds and decide to gradually abandon the house, which had been taken over by some “intruders.”

The night face up

Once again playing with surrealism and fantasy, this story presents a conflict of realities, where the protagonist, who suffers a motorcycle accident, does not know if he is in his real life or in a dream.

Continuity of the parks

In just two pages, Cortázar gives a lesson on how a circular story should be. Traversed by fiction, this work intertwines two stories that seem to take place in two different universes, but end up coming together in an unexpected outcome.

Instructions for winding a watch

What is introduced in an innocent title ends up being a mini-story that reflects on death and the passing of time. Cortázar makes great use of images and symbols to evoke a sad feeling in the reader in a short text.

Don’t blame anyone

Like his other stories, this work of magical realism begins with a casual, everyday scene. A man has to meet his wife at a store to buy a wedding present, so he decides to wear a blue sweater. However, in the process he realizes that he can’t find a way to put on his sleeves, which leads to an incessant struggle that culminates with the protagonist succumbing to the pressure and falling from the twelfth floor of a building.