Nebe, peklo, ráj – Cortázar Julio (2019)

The novel by Argentine prose writer and essayist Julio Cortázar from 1963 has become a cult book and one of the most significant literary experiments of the 20th century. It captures the fates of the unstable and cynical hero Horacio Oliveira, who undergoes a gripping development in Paris and Buenos Aires – his search for authenticity and meaning of existence is mirrored in the reflections of the author's alter ego Morelli on the mission of literature and the possibilities of artistic representation of the world. These clear lines of the book are interspersed with aphorisms, newspaper clippings, excerpts from readings, essayistic reflections, as well as descriptions of romantic ecstasy or coldly rational analyses of events. In his masterpiece, Cortázar seeks the intersection of fantasy and reality; a bridge to a world where the mundane takes on fantastic outlines. Heaven, Hell, Paradise is a story of unfulfilled love, and the author also plays with the form of a conventional novel, creating a puzzle that evokes the fragmentation of the modern world, where chance plays a leading role.