Cortázar, Julio

Argentinian author, born in Brussels to Argentinian parents. His father was a diplomat. After the First World War the family returned to Argentina, where the author grew up. Cortázar started writing at a very young age; for instance, it is said that he completed a novel already at the age of nine. Literature was always present in his home. Cortázar himself says that he was of very poor health when young, so as to often be confined to bed. Jules Verne's novels about great adventures and adventurers were one of his earliest encounters with literature. Jules Verne's stories often resemble pure science fiction, and this was later repeated by Cortázar in his own writing.