Cortázar was not yet very well known when he published "The Pursuer" in 1959, and the story met with mixed reactions in the press. Stanley Kauffman, for example, called the story "outstandingly the worst [in End of the Game, and Other Stories]: a juvenile and crude story," in his New Republic review of the English translation, although Kauffman praised the other stories in the collection. As Cortázar developed a reputation as a masterful and influential writer, however, the story's reputation benefited, and it came to be considered one of his classic texts.

The Pursuer: Charlie Parker, seen here in 1945 at Billy Bergs Club in Hollywood, California, is the basis for the character Johnny Carter in Cortázar's "The Pursuer" [graphic graphicname="TIF00167387" orient="portrait" size="A"]

Some critical analyses of "The Pursuer" have tended to focus on its portrayal of Charlie Parker...