The labyrinth that consists of a single straight line
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Jorge Luis Borges was one of those rare writers who can take even a bizarre, utterly unbelievable idea, and spin it into an exquisite little gem of prose.
And this classic writer was at the peak of his powers when he collected together "Ficciones," whose plain name belies the subtle power and exquisite beauty of Jorges' short stories. Even among Borges' many short stories, few of them can rival this little labyrinth of strange ancient cities, fictional histories, and the eerie depths of the human mind.
"I owe the discovery of Uqbar to the conjunction of a mirror and an encyclopedia." An odd old saying from the Middle-East leads the narrator to seek out the long-lost heretical histories of a fictional world known as Tlon. Its beliefs, language, and metaphysical eccentricities increasingly fascinate the narrator, until it's almost a surprise to realize that Borges invented all of this.
The stories that follow are no less engrossing -- the recounting of a strange, haunting novel, a man who attempts to LIVE as Don Quixote, a man who tries to dream a new being into existence, a lottery that determines the way the people of Babylon are to live, an examination of a brilliant and underrated author, an exploration of the eternal Library of the universe, and a labyrinthine spy story.
The second round of short stories is a bit less enthralling, merely because it focuses more on "typical" Borges short stories. But they are still pretty enthralling pieces of work -- the remembrance of the brilliantly eccentric Ireneo Funes, the story of a scar, a series of murders linked to "the secret Name," a condemned man's begs God for a year to perfect his art, a forgotten heretic, a conversation leading to revenge, the Cult of the Phoenix, and a man entranced by the "Arabian Nights."
Mirrors and labyrinths fill Borges' work -- real and imagined, in word, metaphor and reality. You see them in an endless library, a guitar melody, a contradiction in religious faith, a complex plot, and in the mind of a man who loses himself to an obsession. The mirrors show you the sides of people that they would never see themselves, and the labyrinth twists the mind into new places where it would never normally go.
"Ficciones" explores places where normal fiction would never go -- such as a Babylonian lottery for different places in society, corrupted by greed -- even as it imbues its eulogies, metaphysical ponderings and explanations with the tinge of reality. The cults, deaths, and art that Borges describes seem so plausible, and are given such depth and detail, that it comes as a mild shock when you realize, "Hey, he made all of this up."
Part of that is due to his unique style, full of elegant wordcraft and gently luminous imagery ("a round yellow moon defined two leaf-clogged fountains in the dreary garden"). Even a stabbing is made brutally beautiful, and often dialogue is unnecessary -- the most beautiful and striking stories in here are the ones where Borges (aka the narrator) eagerly explores some invented facet of the world.
And woven through these stories are many of the things that fascinated Borges through his career -- a tragic hero, ancient heresies, an elusive God, and people whose lives he could somehow explore through his own imagination.
If you could criticize anything at all, it's that few of the characters -- aside from the Borges "narrator" -- are much more than walking symbols of a murky little message. But hey, you could simply see this entire book as an exploration of Borges' own imagination by himself. He happily recounts countries that are nonexistant, books that were never written, geniuses who never were.
"Ficciones" is about the dullest name you can possibly give to a work of genius -- an intricate little web that is all mirrors and mazes. Absolutely stunning.
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i cant believe it has taken me 46 years to discover borges.
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i recently read a book called 'the tango singer' about an american who moves to buenos aires to do research about borges for his phd. i really enjoyed that book..but the best thing about it was that it made me want to read borges..someone i had heard of, but never really knew anything about. and ay caramba, im just entranced by borges. he is not your average writer..he expects a lot of his readers, doesnt pander, but is not smug in a post-modern way either as he was to early for that. at first i cant deny, i was bewildered by the idea of writing reviews of books that didnt exist, but now im just surprised that no one has ever thought of writing those 500 page novels he couldnt be bothered to write.
the circular ruins, and death and the compass are just two of the most memorable short stories ive ever read..and boy have i read a lot of them. i think it is the ultimate literary form. i know this, or any of these reviews, are not very helpful if you are thinking of buying this book..but its really hard to say what borges is about..mirrors, labyrinths, dreamlike stories, laced with wit, so many literary references you will be reeling, and the ending you just didnt expect. so much of the reference is fantasy, but then again so much is real..you have to work out which is which. totally amazing writing is what it comes down to..i cant recommend this enough. dont be scared...you know you want it or you wouldnt be here...
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Simply the best.
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It's a bit depressing reading Borges sometimes, because if you like to write, you know that even if you write for a thousand years, you'll never be as much of a genius as Borges was!
The stories in this collection defy genre - he turns the detective story into metaphysics, the myth into modern, the fable into a horror, and many more such inversions and twists. The power of his mind was exceptional and how he missed the Noble Laureate is perhaps the greatest mystery in literary history.
Not speaking Spanish, I can't comment on the translations, but I don't feel as if I need to. Every story of Borges is a journey into the frills, fantasies and horrors of the human condition - stories that provoke thought, imagination and emotion. My only criticism is that he does tend to be a bit academic in his musings, and the language is sometimes a bit intellectual for my tastes!
Notwithstanding that, everybody should read Borges at least once in their lives. A life without Borges is a life unfulfilled! Buy it, read it, love it, read it again, and cherish it.
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This is wonderful
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I really read this book and appreciated it first when I was 14 and I loved it. I sat reading it on the grass in front of the oxfor natural history museum and I have been re reading it ever since ( admittedly only a year and a half ago) He is a God of literature. Few writers are capable of weaving the complicated plots that we bear witness to in the library of Babel a and tlon uqbar and orbis tertius. And who can so ably present the argument for taking a second look at the world around us in Pierre Menard auther of don quixote. If the garden of the forking paths was made compulsary reading for all mystery and crime writers, actually just compulsary reading for everyone, the world would be a better place! This book should be taught in schools! Hurrah for Borges
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Not happy with Hurley
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As Andrew Hurley's translations of Borges are becoming ubiquitious some criticism of their style is called for. I see I have been (ably) beaten to it, so this can serve as a footnote to the earlier reader review. I can't compare the translations with the original Spanish, so can only observe that for the English reader of English they are spoiled by jarring Americanisms. Perhaps one might argue that American English is appropriate for translating a New World writer, but it is the product of a society very different to Borges's own, and its democratic, colloquial tone often works against his urbanity, fastidiousness, ironic pedantry and self-mocking snobbishness. Like the previous reviewer I have only docked one crown, because Borges is indispensable, whatever the shortcomings of his translators.
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