I really enjoyed the themes which united these short stories, such as variations, divergences, secret societies, esoteric knowledge, self-reference, the blending of the real and the fictional and mathematics. I had read some Borges stories in the past so I knew what to expect and there is definitely a need to reflect on each story in all its philosophical, literary and psychological depth. There were lots of ideas which enhance existence with imagination and I think the genius of Borges is how he added some magic and original perspectives to ordinary life.

Labrynthine

It seems that everything around me these days is confirming that there is no God. I'm okay with that.

(As I keep thinking about this book, I'll probably change my rating to 4 stars soon.)

I’ve had a copy since about 1993 and read it 20 times or more. Unlike “Funes, the Memorous”, the titular character from one of the short stories, I suffer from extremely bad retention when I read. Each time I’ve read this, it’s like the first time. It would be the only book I require on a desert island. HP Lovecraft’s writings preceded my discovery of Borges, and prepared the way. Borges’ efficient yet expansive writing style was far more preferable to Umberto Eco, who I was also discovering at the time. After all these years and reading most of his fiction and poetry, I’m not sure how best to characterize these stories or his work. Perhaps to say that each tale can take on speculative fiction and metaphysics, literary criticism and detective novels all in one go. It’s heady. It’s provokes wonder.

I very much enjoyed this. It has taken me a relatively long time… in fact I read and finished the Anatomy of Melancholy along side this slim little book.. the Anatomy of Melancholy has over a thousand pages but was much easier to understand.

In Fictions, each story needs a lot of reading and rereading and time to ferment in the brain. In fact I don’t consider I am anywhere near the end of the process but I am adding the book now to Good Reads because having read all the stories a few times I feel I need to put it aside and come back to it in a few months.


Borges makes my mind bend in a way it doesn’t naturally go. I think that is the point. He writes sentences that twist and turn, you get no gentle entrance into each story and no real help, maybe just hidden clues. And there is always far more than what leaps out first.. I think Borges was a Polymath, with a huge imagination.

The stories (is that what you call them? Or are they dreams) are short. Just a few pages. I read them once, understand nothing, read them again, understand even less. I throw the book across the room but later I refuse to admit defeat and pick it up again.

And I end up loving it.

My favourites …if I was forced to pick five are….The Circular Ruins (weird dreams), The Lottery of Babylon (a lottery ticket you don’t really want to come up), The Secret Miracle (what if you really prayed for a bit more time, and got it), The Shape of the Sword (when you thought you knew someone but….) and of course eternity and the infinite Library of Babel.

I am still working on a few.. e.g. Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote