Julio Cortázar

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Cortázar, Julio (1914–84), Argentinian novelist and, like his compatriot Jorge Luis Borges, one of the best authors of short stories in the Spanish language. His sometimes complex writing techniques and expansive use of intertextuality do not result in depoliticized stories. On the contrary, Cortázar's tales tend to carry a political message that may be more or less overt but is always present, conditioned both by his implacable rejection of bourgeois society and his wish to question anything that has been socially sanctioned. Many of Cortázar's stories are fantastic tales, presenting numerous disturbing continuities between one human being and his or her Doppelgänger, between humans and animals, dream and wakefulness, art and reality. ‘La bruja’ (‘The Witch’, 1944), published in the periodical Correo Literario (Literary Post), was Cortázar's first fantastic tale, and Bestiario (Bestiary, 1951) was the first of his many collections of short stories which include Final del juego (End of the Game, 1956), Todos los fuegos el fuego (All Fires the Fire, 1966), Alguien que anda por ahí (A Change of Light, 1977), and Deshoras (Out of Phase, 1983).

Bibliography

• Blanco, Mercedes, and Flotow‐Evans, Luise von, ‘Topology of the Fantastic in the Work of Julio Cortázar’, Canadian Fiction Magazine, 61–2 (1987).
• Noguera, Ruben, ‘The Fantastic in the Stories of Julio Cortázar’, Revista de Estudios Hispánicos, 21 (1994).Review of Contemporary Fiction, spec. issue on Cortázar, 3 (1983).

— Carolina Fernandez

Quotes:

"Human history is the sad result of each one looking out for himself."