The Switchman (original) (raw)

The Switchman (Original title: El Guardagujas) is an existentialist short story by Mexican writer Juan José Arreola. The short story was originally published as a confabulario, a word created in Spanish by Arreola, in 1952, in the collection . It was republished ten years later along with other published works by Arreola at that time in the collection El Confabulario total. The story revolves around a "stranger" who wishes to travel to the town of T. by train, but is quickly met by a "switchman" who tells him more and more fantastical stories about the train system while they are waiting.