If I had only read the first two short stories, "The Southern Thruway" and "The Health of the Sick", I would have given this book 5 stars. The first story is about a horrific traffic jam on a major road bringing travelers back to Paris, where motorists are essentially motionless for weeks, with no help from local residents or government officials. The second story is centered around the dying matriarch of a wealthy family whose family ingeniously hides from her the death of her son and sister—or so they think.

Unfortunately the remaining six stories do not come close to the promise of the first two, and only "Nurse Cora", a story about a teenage boy who is hospitalized with appendicitis, competently cared for by Nurse Cora, but badly mismanaged by his diffident surgeon, was of interest. However, this story was marred by rapid and unpredictable changes in the narration (boy, nurse, doctor, mother), which disrupted its flow. I would marginally recommend this collection, but only because the first two stories were fantastic. ( )

I am a big fan of short stories, but I have never enjoyed ones that rely too heavily on their cleverness (e.g. interesting concepts or unforeseeable twists). Cortazar's stories reminded me of what I don't like about Italo Calvino, and other authors whose surrealism borders on being sci-fi. There was a bit too much of this in All Fires the Fire for my tastes. That isn't to say that Cortazar isn't a good writer. He is, and is ably assisted by Susan Jill Levine's translation. His more human centred (as opposed to concept centred) stories still packed a punch, though not as much as I had hoped for, but his stories were as much intellectual as emotional episodes, and felt a little cold.

La autopista del sur.--La salud de los enfermos.--Reunión.--La señorita Cora.--La isla a mediodía.--Instrucciones para John Howell.--Todos los fuegos el fuego.--El otro cielo. ( )