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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
A story about a hipster before the word hipster was a thing....
Julio Cortázar is undeniable a skilled writer, with many quotable lines, this novel is a great read to brag to your friends.
Julio Cortázar is undeniable a skilled writer, with many quotable lines, this novel is a great read to brag to your friends.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is most likely a masterpiece. I'll be revisiting it down the line, hopefully with a book of annotations to help me sift through the countless references, puns, language games in French, Latin, and translated Spanish, as well as helping me figure out what actually happened, and who may or may not be figments of the writers' imagination (Cortazar or Morelli?) or the characters' imagination or my imagination. The book had an uncanny way of channeling events and books in my immediate life. It was offputting how many times it referenced things talked about in the book I finished just before this one (Gödel, Escher, Bach, a book written long after Hopscotch), and how many times it seemed to comment on thoughts and deeds I had or did the week of reading a passage. There is magic in this book, there are games played that are hilarious, cruel, clever, and profane, and there is a careless rigor only seen in the most elite writers of the past century and a half. It made me pine to know Spanish better so I could read it in the original language. But Cortazar's mind is so far passed mine in any language perhaps that wouldn't matter.
Perhaps it is that I'm not in the vibe needed to read this book. Maybe I didn't get the instructions in the beginning (highly unlikely, since the kindle version links you to the following chapter).
Whatever it was, I've decided to stop reading it. It's tedious and unlike many other books, I dread the moment where I'll get to read it, making of this activity a much less enjoyable one.
Whatever it was, I've decided to stop reading it. It's tedious and unlike many other books, I dread the moment where I'll get to read it, making of this activity a much less enjoyable one.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
O what a tale that hovers formalistically among Nabokov's gorgeous Pale Fire and (dare I mention it?) D.F.W's Infinite Jest. Endlessly, resolutely postmodern, but I think it is altogether more useful to dispense of that label, frequently applied in much the same way as fire blankets are.
I find many (many) authors a little too eager to flex their literary knowledge, the result being a text hypersaturated with author after author, with little effect aside from instilling tedium. Cortázar, I think, avoids this, much to my delight. When he does reference an author, it is not only thematically useful, but also opens up other questions about Hopscotch itself, if one has familiarity with the works referenced. The text also appears to anticipate many philosophical developments of the late 20th century, in particular, Deleuze + Guattari's work (of which I do not presume to speak with any authority).
What am I saying? I suppose I am saying read this book. I think perhaps I have laid my emphases a little poorly, and I must highlight - this novel is quite wholly beautiful.
Okay happy new year everyone check out Year's End by Borges if I don't drop it in some sort of gc
I find many (many) authors a little too eager to flex their literary knowledge, the result being a text hypersaturated with author after author, with little effect aside from instilling tedium. Cortázar, I think, avoids this, much to my delight. When he does reference an author, it is not only thematically useful, but also opens up other questions about Hopscotch itself, if one has familiarity with the works referenced. The text also appears to anticipate many philosophical developments of the late 20th century, in particular, Deleuze + Guattari's work (of which I do not presume to speak with any authority).
What am I saying? I suppose I am saying read this book. I think perhaps I have laid my emphases a little poorly, and I must highlight - this novel is quite wholly beautiful.
Okay happy new year everyone check out Year's End by Borges if I don't drop it in some sort of gc
Simplemente genial. Estupendo. Monumental. Y todo un reto.
“Rayuela” de Cortázar me dejó con una sensación de frustración duradera, como si estuviera presenciando los desvaríos de un grupo de hombres insoportables que se creían superiores intelectualmente al resto. La narrativa parecía más un laberinto de divagaciones pretenciosas que una historia coherente. A pesar de la innovación constante en la forma y la estructura, lo cual es admirable, en muchos momentos resultó en una experiencia de lectura tediosa y confusa. En conjunto, el libro se reveló como un viaje aburrido y agotador, sin lograr cumplir con la promesa de una narrativa envolvente.