The original Spanish title of Julio Cortázar’s novel *Hopscotch* is *Rayuela*.
Cortázar wrote the novel in Paris, and it was first published in Spanish on June 28, 1963. Its title refers to the children’s game of hopscotch, making the English title a direct translation of *Rayuela*. The central character, Horacio Oliveira, moves between Paris and Buenos Aires while searching for meaning, love, and a way beyond ordinary patterns of thought.
*Rayuela* became famous for its unusual structure. Cortázar supplied a “Table of Instructions” that lets readers follow the chapters in a non-linear sequence, while also allowing a conventional reading from chapter 1 through chapter 56. The complete book contains 155 chapters, including “expendable” chapters that add commentary, digressions, and puzzles.
A common mix-up is treating *Rayuela* as a separate novel from *Hopscotch*. They are the same work: *Rayuela* is the Spanish original, and *Hopscotch* is the established English title. Gregory Rabassa’s English translation appeared in 1966.