Cortazar's "Hopscotch" and the End of the School Year

I haven't posted for a while due to the tremendous stress of final examinations week and the task of getting everything squared away in the classroom. But I did manage to finish "Hopscotch." I have to say that I found the protagonist's move to Argentina quite sudden after losing "La Maga." There was the incident with the failed pianist that was perhaps the best written part of the novel. Horacio Oliveira walks the streets of Paris aimlessly looking for "La Maga" after her son's death. He decides at the last minute to attend a piano recital given by one Berthe Trepat. The pieces being performed were a compilation of seemingly the worst the contemporary Paris music scene could offer. People begin to leave after the first few minutes of the performance and Berthe Trepat begins to notice. At the end of the concert, only Horacio is sitting in the hall and embarrassingly gives her a standing ovation all by himself. Afterwards, Horacio offers his services to walk Berthe home. The conversation is controlled by Berthe who engages in a litany of complains about how people do not enjoy or appreciate her music. I have to say that for me, this was the best part of the novel.

A little after, "La Maga's" son dies after the long illness that keeps him in bed for most of the novel. The "Club" comes apart at the seams and everyone parts in their own direction. Horacio returns to Argentina where he works as a trainer for a cat that can calculate and count accurately. There are two new characters here, Traveler and Talita. From here the novel really takes on an absurd path ending, accordingly enough, at a mental hospital. This novel didn't disappoint, but I can say I am dying to re-read it.

I am presently engaged with "Book by Book" by Michael Dirda. I somehow ended with three different books on my list this year that deal with the "madness" of reading voraciously. I think I want to convince myself that I am not the only insane mind that reads so much and with such obsession. The other is "Leave Me Alone, I am Reading" by Maureen Corrigan. The funny thing about Dirda is that I didn't really like him much while I was living in Washington, DC (he writes for "The Washington Post's Book World"). I love him now, and have read ALL of his books. He definitely is obsessed with reading and learning from his love of literature. It's easy to identify with him, but "Book by Book" is starting to sound like a collection of quotes and citations which is very different from his previous books. I will write more about this later.

Julio Cortazar's "Hopscotch"

Julio Cortazar's "Hopscotch" is a surreal variation (even at that) of Joyce's "Ulysses." Yes, there is a young male artist as a central character. Yes, he happens to be searching for someone in a big city (Paris, not Dublin). And yes, he struggles with most of the existential issues of his day. This is Paris some time in the mid-1950s. The young artist's name is Horacio Oliveira. The first part of the narrative tells the story of his relationship with a woman nicknamed "La Maga." The other string of characters belong to "The Club" a loose-knit circle of bohemians who discuss everything from books to music to philosophical theories they themselves don't really comprehend (there's a lot of mis-interpreted existentialism here). The picture above I just found online a while back and reminded me of what a meeting of "The Club" might be like so I posted it. At any rate, "La Maga" belongs to "The Club" via Horacio's interceding. She doesn't understand a lot of the talk and people have to stop in order to explain to her, something which begins to irritate most of the members. "La Maga" also has a small child, Rocamadour, who happens to be very ill and is not taken in to see a doctor. Of course, Rocamadour dies and "La Maga" disappears, hence Horacio's desperate search for her around Paris.

Horacio eventually returns to his native Argentina. There, with the help of an old friend, he secures a job as the trainer of a cat that can count. This is where I am right now. I should have posted more but I was very busy this last week. Also, I forgot, "Hopscotch" can be read like a normal book (from page 1 to 349), or it can be read using a "chapter map" which explains what order to follow reading the chapters. I believe from what I have read that the story turn out completely different that way, but I am not sure; I am reading the book as any other book, from beginning to end.

This is final examinations week here at the Academy. My last day is Thursday of this week, and after that I don't need to report to work until August 23rd or so. If you think this is great, you don't know the least of it. I get bored over the summer. I do so love the hustle and bustle of the school year, and being around young people keeps you young, really. I suspect that I'll still be enjoying the yard (as a new home owner), and doing things around the house. One thing is for sure... there'll be a whole lot more time to read and post entries.