Quote by Julio Cortázar: “As if one could choose in love, as if it were not a lightning bolt that splits you.”

This quote challenges the idea of rational choice in love, portraying it instead as an overwhelming, involuntary force. It suggests that love isn't something you decide upon but rather an intense, sudden experience that profoundly impacts you, leaving you irrevocably changed by its power.

Written during the Latin American Boom, a period of cultural effervescence and political idealism, this quote from 'Rayuela' reflects an era challenging rigid societal norms. Cortázar's work explored the revolutionary and often uncontrollable aspects of human emotion, particularly love, as a force of profound transformation.

Argentine novelist and short story writer, a central figure of the Latin American Boom, celebrated for his experimental novel Hopscotch and his inventive, labyrinthine short fiction. He lived most of his adult life in Paris, where he remained an outspoken critic of Latin American dictatorships.