Julio Cortazer

In a break from The Brothers Karamasov I read a book of Cortazer's short stories.

Julio Cortazer was an Argentinian writer who died in exile in Paris. He was a fabulist like his countryman Jorge Luis Borges but more humane.

In his collection All Fires the Fire there is a story called The Island at Noon. An air steward becomes obsessed with a Greek island he sees every day at noon on his scheduled flight from Italy to Beirut. His obsession affects his job - the passengers are left to their own devices as he stares rapt at the beautiful beaches of the island below.

He saves money and makes the journey to the island. He meets locals and swims on the cove he saw from above. He has found his paradise and resolves not to go back to his previous life.The next day at noon he hears the sound of his plane. He hesitates then looks up to see...

In the New York Times Book Review Cortazer is described as "the apostle of the lives we have chosen not to live".