Hopscotch

Horacio Oliveira, an Argentine intellectual living in Paris, wanders with a group of artist friends, the Serpent Club, and his lover La Maga, discussing jazz, art and metaphysics. After a tragedy, he returns to Buenos Aires, where he takes work at a circus and a mental hospital and tries to hold on to his friendship with Traveler and Talita. Cortázar offers two ways to read it: straight through, or in a shuffled order described at the start, as in the children's game that gives the book its title.

Readers who enjoy playful, experimental novels will have fun with its structure. It also rewards those who like literary talk about music, love and the search for meaning, and who want a classic of the Latin American boom.

Deep, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a demanding read.

Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?