Read Hopscotch It is not an easy thing, but it is very entertaining. The masterpiece of the Argentine Julio Cortáza r became an icon of literature in our language, among other things, because of its ungainly and at the same time cultured and sophisticated style, but mainly because of a totally unusual structure according to which one can read the novel in two ways:in order according to the printed book or following the guideline at the end of each chapter, which announces in which chapter one should continue reading. Originally published in 1963, its protagonist is the city of Paris. Cortázar , who wrote the novel in the French capital, describes places so precisely that readers are able to tour the City of Light through its pages. Currently there are tourist circuits based on the Parisian sites described in Hopscotch . A true classic of our literature that today celebrates 50 years of its first edition.
The novel can be read in three (3) different ways:it has a total of 155 chapters, which can be read in the following ways:the traditional reading, that is, starting through the first page and following the physics of the text until reaching chapter 56, and also the Address Board proposes a completely different reading, skipping and alternating chapters. That order, with various stylistic elements of the collage, it is not only particular but also includes texts by other authors and fields. To these two alternatives is added a reading in "the order that the reader wishes". In that sense, the possibilities are limitless.
The melomania of Cortázar is well known , he was particularly connoisseur of jazz - the anecdote in which he entertained his writer friends on a long plane trip, telling them the history of jazz in a fascinating way, is a classic one - and this fondness for American music is also reflected in Hopscotch . Likewise, his profound erudition is inscribed in the mysterious pages of Hopscotch through the various quotes to famous personalities of music, art, literature and philosophy. Among them:Roberto Arlt, Louis Armstrong, Antonin Artaud, Charles Baudelaire, William Faulkner, Homer, Joan Miró, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Igor Stravinsky, Dylan Thomas, Bessie Smith, etc.
The celebrations in the academic world for the 50 years of Hopscotch they include talks, special editions, among other activities of interest to the community of writers and fans of the work of Cortázar, one of the most admired writers in the Spanish language and a star protagonist of the boom in Latin American literature.
On this page see a special about the 50 years of Hopscotch…