"Ciao, Verona", an unpublished by Julio Cortázar, today in Babelia

babelia, the cultural supplement of El País, gives us in today's issue an unpublished account of Cortázar. One thought that almost even the shopping lists were published about him, but it seems that they were not. And perhaps there is more, although for Carmen Balcells, to whom we owe the discovery, this would be "perhaps the last finish and of undeniable importance that can be found among the author's unpublished works." 

It seems to me that the text will not disappoint regular readers of the Argentine narrator. Written in the form of a letter, "Ciao, Verona" It shows us a story of triangular heartbreak: a woman tells an old lover about her relationship with a man who expects an impossible love from her. In the story we find the great handling of prose, emotions and irony, a bit sour at times, of the last Cortázar. Not for nothing was it written in the mid-70s.

Carles Álvarez Garriga sees in this unpublished a strong autobiographical imprint and relates it to "The faces of the medal", included in Someone who is out there. It would become a kind of hidden reverse of the story that appeared there. I haven't read that story yet, so I can't compare, but "Ciao, Verona" reminds me something of the novel 62 / Buildable model, where the issue of female homosexuality also appeared in a similar way as it does here.

Those who want to draw their own conclusions should approach the printed edition of babelia, since its digital version does not include the unpublished story. Yes, the other articles on Cortázar, as well as photographs and audio files that, for obvious reasons, did not appear on paper. A must for Cortazarians and other curious people.