A mi me encanta Cortazar. Lo conoci, ademas en Mexico, hace muchisimos anos. Para mi fue como conocer a un dios - Roberto Bolano

Los primeros pasos de Julio Cortazar en el ambito de la novela no fueron sencillos. Por voluntad propia, su debut novelesco, Divertimento (1949), nunca fue publicado en vida, y el manuscrito de El examen (1950), del que posteriormente se desprendio Diario de Andres Fava, fue rechazado por el sector editorial. No seria hasta 1960, con Los premios, que una novela de Cortazar veria la luz y anticiparia los temas y el estilo inherente al autor argentino, culminados en Rayuela. Asi, mucho encontramos del celeberrimo Club de la Serpiente en el grupo de amigos Vive como Puedas. Y en las largas digresiones sobre arte, literatura y politica bajo la lluvia de la triste Buenos Aires. Y en el viaje, en crucero o a pie, eterno motivo cortazariano de la ilusion de un corte con una vida que quiere dejarse atras.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

"I love Cortazar. I met him in Mexico many years ago. For me, it was like meeting God." -Roberto Bolanos

Cortazar's first steps into the realm of long narrative fiction such as novels, were not easy. As a personal wish, his first-ever written novel Divertimento, was never published while he was alive, and El examen / Final Exam, was rejected in manuscript by publishers; this later turned into, and was published as Diario de Andres Fava / Diary of Andres Fava. It wasn't until 1960 with Los premios / The Winners, that the first Cortazar novel was published, setting precedent to the author's inherent themes and writing style that climaxed in Rayuela / Hopscotch. In these works, we get insight into the famous "Serpent Club" and the "Live as You Wish" group of friends, and their long conversations about art, literature, and politics that were discussed under the sad Buenos Aires sky; as well as Cortazar's eternal leitmotif, a journey of cutting ties with a life that he would like to leave behind.