Labyrinths

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Labyrinths, by Jorge Luis Borges

Everyone always raves about Labyrinths, so of course I never read it, because I'm annoying like that.  But I put it on my Classics Club list, and then it came my way, so I tried it out.  And I thought it was pretty great.


The stories are not easy to read and I had to make sure that I could sit and concentrate on each one, and that I had time to read a whole story in one go.  They are not the kind of short stories that you can put down halfway through and easily come back to; you really have to focus.

These short stories are mysterious, strange, and erudite. The most famous story is the "Library of Babel," about an infinite and nightmarish library that everyone wants to visit anyway, but I also really liked "The Zahir," "The God's Script," "The Shape of the Sword," and several others.

There are also some short essays at the end (that went almost completely over my head) and some 'parables' that were like short stories, only even shorter.  Some of those were very interesting.

I will certainly be reading this book again sometime.  I liked it a lot.  Borges is an interesting guy and I will make sure to read more of his works.



And, this is my 150th book of the year, so I've finished the 150+ Challenge with 3 months to go!  Woot!  (Or maybe I read too much?...Nah.)

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 29, 2012 at 12:56 PM

    I remember reading this and loving it a long time ago, but I can't say I remember it required concentration... so maybe I'm misremembering and it's time for a reread! Thanks for sharing.
    Oh, and 150? Wow, that's a lot! Go you! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AartiSeptember 30, 2012 at 7:31 AM

    Wow, congratulations! I have Borges on my radar to read, but haven't gotten around to him yet. This sounds like a good way to to be introduced, though!

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  3. AmyOctober 15, 2012 at 8:14 PM

    Hey, how did I miss your review of this? Labyrinths is one of my favorites--I discovered Borges last year and really enjoyed these stories. The collection called, I think, Shakespeare's memory, has some really lovely poignant stories as well, but still with that bizarreness and as you say, erudition. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JeanOctober 16, 2012 at 9:03 PM

    Thanks for all the comments! I will certainly read more Borges (someday...looking at my TBR pile...)

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 20, 2012 at 2:34 PM

    This sounds very interesting, but I know I won't have the focus to read it... at least not until I'm done with school! :) Sarah

    ReplyDelete

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