Divertimento
Will be published approx. on 7. May 2026
Book
Hardback
128 pages
978-1-5299-5681-8 (ISBN)
Description
Dive into the mesmerizing dreamworld of Latin America's literary great, Julio Cortazar.
As the 1949 carnival dances on in Buenos Aires, a group of young creatives gather in the sumptuous seclusion of an art studio. In this surreal, bohemian sanctuary, ruled by the dazzling Renato Lozano, elaborate meals are assembled, while strange poetry and merciless witticisms flow like wine.
Yet, as time passes, tensions and secrets begin to unravel, and so too do the boundaries of established reality. Divertimento will whisk you away on a bizarre and brilliant journey, taking you to the hidden heart of art, fantasy and the alchemy that is creative interpretation.
This is Julio Cortazar's bold, experimental debut, here translated into English for the very first time.
TRANSLATED BY HARRY MORALES
'Anyone who doesn't read Cortazar is doomed' Pablo Neruda
'Julio Cortazar is truly a sorcerer' Kevin Barry
'A first-class literary imagination' The New York Times Book Review
'Bring back Cortazar....Maybe we're only just now ready to read Cortazar, to truly read him' Alejandro Zambra
As the 1949 carnival dances on in Buenos Aires, a group of young creatives gather in the sumptuous seclusion of an art studio. In this surreal, bohemian sanctuary, ruled by the dazzling Renato Lozano, elaborate meals are assembled, while strange poetry and merciless witticisms flow like wine.
Yet, as time passes, tensions and secrets begin to unravel, and so too do the boundaries of established reality. Divertimento will whisk you away on a bizarre and brilliant journey, taking you to the hidden heart of art, fantasy and the alchemy that is creative interpretation.
This is Julio Cortazar's bold, experimental debut, here translated into English for the very first time.
TRANSLATED BY HARRY MORALES
'Anyone who doesn't read Cortazar is doomed' Pablo Neruda
'Julio Cortazar is truly a sorcerer' Kevin Barry
'A first-class literary imagination' The New York Times Book Review
'Bring back Cortazar....Maybe we're only just now ready to read Cortazar, to truly read him' Alejandro Zambra
Reviews / Votes
A first-class literary imagination * The New York Times Book Review * Anyone who doesn't read Cortazar is doomed -- Pablo Neruda Cortazar is one of the most distinctive voices in Latin American literature * Newsday * Cortazar is truly a sorcerer -- Kevin Barry Bring back Cortazar....Maybe we're only just now ready to read Cortazar, to truly read him -- Alejandro Zambra I'm permanently indebted to the work of Cortazar -- Roberto Bolano Cortazar can induce the kind of chilling unease that strikes like a sound in the night * Time *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Dimensions
Height: 204 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
500 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-5681-8 (9781529956818)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Julio Cortazar lived in Buenos Aires for the first thirty years of his life, and after that in Paris. His stories, written under the dual influence of the English masters of the uncanny and of French surrealism, are extraordinary inventions, just this side of nightmare. In later life Cortazar became a passionate advocate for human rights and a persistent critic of the military dictatorships in Latin America. He died in 1984.