"All things considered," said a bitter Juan, "there's nothing brilliant about belonging to a pampa culture just because of some damned demographic accident."

Final Exam is a wonderful convoluted knot of a novel. Often inscrutable, the author placed it in a drawer in 1950 and it was only published posthumously. It is Cortázar's first novel and bears the marks of such. A mysterious fog has descended upon Buenos Aires, steadily dimming all. It is the night before Juan and Carla's university examinations. Anxious about this parting challenge, the couple accompany another trio of bohemians on a nocturnal trek as the humidity spikes, superstitious escapades erupt at every turn and literally the ground beneath their feet gives way. There is much here which anticipates [b:Hopscotch|53413|Hopscotch|Julio Cortázar|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1367728486s/53413.jpg|1794732] including the centipede on the album sleeve gag. Booze and banter abound. There is a hilarious brawl in a restroom, a holy relic attracts pilgrims from all over the metropolis and as the air becomes heavy dust balls and cinders fill the air, fellow citizens collapse dead. Throughout all this a jilted lover stalks. Much like the man in the gray mackintosh in [b:Ulysses|338798|Ulysses|James Joyce|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1346161221s/338798.jpg|2368224], the figure reappears like "Siegfried's horn" in Wagner. There is a fascinating comparison between Schumann and Artaud. The corruption of the university and the mediocrity of popular culture threatens the will to write. This is Cortázar's sayonara to Argentina. ( )