Las armas secretas
Encyclopedia
Las armas secretas is a book of 5 short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 written by Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...

. Four of the stories appear in translation in the volume Blow-up and Other Stories
Blow-up and Other Stories
Blow-Up and Other Stories is a collection of short stories, written by Argentinian author Julio Cortázar. It was originally published as End of the Game and Other Stories...

(alternatively titled The End of the Game and Other Stories); one story, "Cartas de Mamá," has never been translated into English.

Stories

  • Letters from Mom: a story about an Argentine couple living in exile in Paris
    Paris
    Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

     where they live under the yoke of a dark story that happened before leaving Buenos Aires.
  • Good services ("At Your Service" in the US translation): a mystery with a strong element of social criticism.
  • The Droolings of the Devil ("Blow-Up" in the US translation): the story that inspired the film Blowup
    Blowup
    Blowup is a 1966 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, his first English-language film.It tells of a British photographer's accidental involvement with a murder, inspired by Julio Cortázar's short story, "Las babas del diablo" or "The Devil's Drool" , translated also as Blow-Up, and by the life...

    by Michelangelo Antonioni
    Michelangelo Antonioni
    Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...

     for its digressive execution of metalinguistic narrative and lucid contemplation; (its beginning guarantees it, never will you know how it has to be told, if in the first person or in the second, using the third person plural or continually inventing forms that serve no purpose)
  • The Pursuer: a homage
    Homage
    Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....

     to jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     and the creator of bebop
    Bebop
    Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...

    , Charlie Parker
    Charlie Parker
    Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....

    , in which Cortázar unfurls countless musical choices, between allegories
    Allegory
    Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

     and metaphor
    Metaphor
    A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...

    s, that reveal to the reader the author's exquisite passion for music.
  • Daily Terror ("Secret Weapons" in the US translation): the story of the same title as the book that assembles these stories, centering on the conflict between Pierre and Michele, a young couple in Paris after World War II
    World War II
    World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

    .
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