A review by ahblecke
Rayuela by Julio Cortázar

5.0

I don't think I've ever read a book with a more engaging structure than "Rayuela." For context, this book is written such that you can start at chapter 1 and read straight through chapter 56, or you can hop between the first 56 chapters and those in the back of the book according to the instructions at the end of each chapter. I chose to hop around, and it's difficult to overstate how much better I think that decision made the book. Hopping back and forth after each chapter lent the reading experience a lot of energy and made it feel almost hypnotic in a way that I haven't experienced before.

In addition to the interesting format, I thought that the book had a fairly strong foundation. I liked how the story developed in both Paris and Argentina, and I thought that the two settings felt distinct enough from one another that you could really feel the shift when it changed. I also enjoyed the characters. I'd describe most of them as reasonably normal, well adjusted people, but some of them were pretty contemptible as well.

I think that the highest praise that I can offer this book is that I plan to reread it, which is something I do not do very often, once I have brushed up on my French. I would recommend it if you're interested in something a bit weird/off the beaten path.