A Cortazar Christmas

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Cortazar and cat. Cover of "Save Twilight"

Cortazar and cat. Cover of “Save Twilight”

Last year my brother and I inadvertently gave our uncle the same book for Christmas.

The exact same edition.  It was quite funny actually!

Julio Cortazar’s Nouvelles, histoires et autres contes (the closest English equivalent would be Blow-Up: And Other Stories).

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This isn’t the first time I’ve offered this book (and I’m guessing it probably won’t be the last).

I think we all have certain books we tend to give as gifts: one or two books that have marked our lives in a meaningful way.

We wait for the right person, the right occasion to bestow these gifts – hoping they will be moved by the words just as we were.  I think it is sometimes a way to give thanks for all the wonderful literary recommendations of the past.

Happy holidays to all of you and here’s looking forward to a new year of reading wonderful  books!

 

Note: For those of you who love Cortazar like I do, you must read Tom Gething’s wonderful essay on him called “Sabotage” at the following link: BarcelonaReview.

(Tom is a fellow blogger so, while you are at it, check out his great blog at http://tomgething.wordpress.com/)

49 thoughts on “A Cortazar Christmas”

  2. Thank you for sharing this post. Julio Cortázar is one of the writers I like so much! His masterpiece book is ‘Jogo da Amarelinha’ ou Rayuela. Apesar de ter vivido grande parte do tempo em Paris este livro é escrito originalmente em espanhol. Quando eu compro um livro que gosto muito, eu compro dois ou três exemplares para dar de presente…somehow words move me too. I appreciate very much your work. Happy Christmas, Sincerely, Walter

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  3. Love this! Thanks to you for all the reading gifts in the form of recommendations you have given us during 2012 – my reading list is much expanded as a result – and I even plan to actually read some of them some time! I look forward to more in 2013 :0

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    • That’s funny that you’re the only one who knows this right now 🙂 The expressions on their faces will be quite priceless when they unwrap their presents, but really this only goes to show how much they have in common. Merry Christmas!

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  8. So did your uncle keep both copies? One to use at home, one to keep in his car? Mmmmm; not a bad idea that. We often have a TV or radio in every room; so,why not the same book in every room, with a pair of glasses next to every book.

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  9. There is always room for another book! Thank you for creating this remarkable blog. I am looking forward to the journey ahead. There are so many books to read and so little time to read them…so let’s keep on reading….

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    • You are so sweet and encouraging; thank you!

      And that’s one of the aspects I love about reading : there are always more great books to read! Happy reading days ahead!

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  10. Books touch our lives in so many different ways and they do make gifts that stay with us. I only speak English and Thai, but I loved your response to Walter! Merry Christmas, Letizia!

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    • I’d love to be able to speak Thai! Other than English, I only speak Latin based languages which are similar to each other so not too hard to learn when you know one of them which is why we Europeans tend to speak a few of them. But English and Thai are so different so I applaud you!

      Merry Christmas, Dannie! I hope Santa brings you a lot of books.

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  14. Letizia, loved the story. Your uncle was delighted, I’m sure. Just think, with two copies he could spread the love. Thank you also for the note about my story. Discovering your site was one of my blogging highlights in 2012.

    Merry Christmas, and see you here in the New Year!

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  16. Awesome! I HAVE to buy this book right away! There’s a similar book in India.. The story is completely different, but the only logical connection whatsoever between these two books is the sentimental value.. As you stated, we gift books to people for various reasons (Sometimes because we don’t want them anymore, bluntly said).

    Well, the title of the book is “Immortals Of Meluha”
    I would advice everyone to go online and research upon the book..

    It has a fascinating plot, and the author (Amish) has outdone everyone in India…
    All you are left with is your heart racing as the book ends..

    There are three parts in total. The first two have been released, and the third and the final installment is due to hit stores quickly. I would request you all to check this book online..

    The review is here –> http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Immortals-Of-Meluha-The-Amish-reviews-925597768

    The book can be bought on Amazon here –> http://www.amazon.com/The-Immortals-Meluha-Amish/dp/9380658745/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356421033&sr=8-1&keywords=immortals+of+meluha

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