Julio Cortázar

The exceptional correspondence between four great writers who were also great friends and allies. An invaluable testament to an incomparable epoch and generation.

Written between 1955 and 2012, the 207 letters in this book reproduce the friendship that was built up between four of the greatest boom writers, from different countries and each with his own narrative project. Although they would drift apart over time because of political and personal differences, for decades they regaled each other with generous displays of affection and admiration, shared their doubts and valuable advice on the craft of writing, and were accomplices in their mutual success, despite the fact that success came to each of them at a different time and in a different way.

This newly published correspondence takes the reader behind the curtains into the private lives underlying that success. It constitutes an invaluable document not only for understanding a key period in Latin American literature and history, but also for discovering the most human and private side of Julio Cortázar, Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel García Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.  

Edition by Carlos Aguirre, Gerald Martin, Javier Munguía y Augusto Wong Campos.

“A luminous book, as enduring as the history it describes. Las cartas del Boom evokes the spirit of elation in which the most powerful phenomenon of 20th century literary creation in Spanish emerged.” Juan Cruz, El Periódico

“An epistolary book like few others, because it is a portrait of an epoch." Sergio Ramirez

“In an epoch where the so-called literatures of the self prevail, these letters that were not written with literary intent have now become, inadvertently, literature (of the self) and a historical document.” Laura Ventura, La Nación

“An exceptional human, intellectual and literary document (...) What makes the volume special is the lay-out of this epistolary, which succeeds in creating the sensation of a live conversation between the four writers. (...) They are like teenagers discussing what they are passionate about and fall in love with. Their voices can be heard, sometimes almost audible, sometimes fast, measured or meditative, and concerned with giving each other support. They express themselves sincerely and candidly when they comment on their works.” Winston Manrique Sabogal

“Seeing some of the greatest authors of the 20th century talking to each other in private, without imagining that anyone will find out what they are saying, turns the reader of their correspondence into someone spying on the history of literature.” Xavi Ayén, La Vanguardia