I hate literary letters, carefully drafted, copied over and over; I sit at the typewriter and let the vast river of thoughts and affection flow,” Julio Cortázar wrote in 1942: a statement he
lived by. In these letters, which read like a personal diary, autobiography and «binnacle» for his books, we glimpse the making of an unmistakable style. Ever-inquisitive, Cortázar delves
into every aspect of his efforts as a writer, his political restlessness and personal ups-and-downs. He sums up each day, comments on what he reads, hears and sees, and recounts his
adventures as a translator, militant and human rights advocate. No aspect of his life is left untouched: Argentina, Buenos Aires, Paris, Cuba, Nicaragua, the Latin American literary boom,
friendship, love, and death. The author of Rayuela continues to dazzle readers with his wit, clarity and the rare unity found between his life and work. Organized in five volumes* that span
almost half a century (from 1937 to 1984), this revised edition of Cortezarian correspondence expounds upon the edition published in the year 2000. Included now are more than one thousand new
letters, fragments suppressed from the first edition and an index with the author’s works and quoted individuals. Cartas de Cortázar gives us the impression that a man who enjoyed every
second of his life” was writing them down, right now, right next to us.
