Discovering the works of Argentinean writer Julio Cortazar is like walking into someone else's dream and living there for awhile. Vivid and surreal with just enough touches of reality to keep you grounded, Cortazar is undoubtedly a master of the short story not only for his depth, but for the simple fact that he has such breadth of literary styles. Blow-up and Other Stories is tight and fantastic collection that showcases all of Cortazar's skills.

I'd forgotten how potent he was until one day I was rummaging around a used book sale and found a first edition of this collection of short stories which was originally published as End of the Game and Other Stories. What strikes me most about his work the pure imaginative quality. Postmodern with strong threads of magical realism that run throughout the stories left me with feelings of terror, unease, anxiety and of course, elation. A strange mix of feelings to be sure, but it's like when I read The Metamorphosis - excited that I found something horrifying but that served as an impetus to want to learn more. Learn more about writing, the world and myself.

Cortazar is just as intellectually stimulating. I could give various quotes from his stories to entice, but his work is best not parsed in order to get the total effect of his genius. And why not check the movie out? Blow-Up directed by Michelangelo Antonioni is just as good, friends!

Blow-Up and Other Stories 
By Julio Cortazar
Random House
Paperback
288 pages
ISBN: 978-0-394-72881-0
$14.00