At B & N Reads Somers tagged "five examples of time manipulation in novels that will blow your mind," including:Hopscotch, by Julio CortázarRead about the other entries on the list.
We are all likely familiar with the concept of the unreliable narrator, but in this book Cortázar takes on the role of unreliable author. A novel of 155 chapters designed to be read in any order—either one of the two orders Cortázar himself offers, or randomly—it manages to both make sense and tell a story. Cortázar even suggests that the final 99 chapters aren’t even necessary and can be skipped entirely. The effect is astoundingly freeing for the reader. The story of Horacio Oliveira’s search for his lover, La Maga, and the twisting, serpentine path it takes him on is perfectly suited to this remarkable and challenging book.
Hopscotch is on a list of 61 essential postmodern reads.
--Marshal Zeringue
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