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Summary: DID FOUCAULT READ BORGES?
Review: "It is comforting, however, and a source of profound relief to think that man is only a recent invention, a figure not yet two centuries old, a new wrinkle in our knowledge, and that he will disappear again as soon as that knowledge has been discovered." Foucault, in The Order of ThingsAside from the obvious, it is clear that Foucault did read Borges somewhat completely as he begins "The Order of Things" with: "This book first arose out of a passages in Borges, out of the laughter that shattered, as I read the passage, all the familiar landmarks of my thought - out thought, the thought that bears the stamp of our age and our geography - breaking up all the ordered surfaces and all the planes with which we are accustomed to tame the wild profusion of existing things, and continuing long afterwards to disturb and threaten with collapse our age-old distinction between the Same and the Other." Foucault was referring to "The Analytical Language of John Wilkins" by Jorge Luis Borges but he might as well have been reading out of the pages of Ficciones. Borges warns us not to read too much into things but to just enjoy ourselves. Borges, in this timeless classic of seventeen pieces shows Borges at his best. In this selection and especially in "The Library of Babel", Borges plays with the real and unreal world and shows us the precarious nature of that distinction. He aims his work at an epistemological decentering by showing us the tentative nature of the real world. There is no classification of the universe, which is not arbitrary or conjectural. This is where the tie in with Foucault begins...... Akin to Kafka in some places, he calls attention to these imaginary zones, we see that all knowledge and signs and symbols as well as consciousness is a fabrication - based on verbal constructions whether it be fiction or not. The labyrinth that is the Library of Babel with its repetitive forms and topography and the interxtuality that is the crimson hexagon: "I have squandered and consumed my years in adventures of this type. To me, it does not seem unlikely that on some shelf of the universe lies a total book." Borges, "The Library of Babel" I think we have found it here, in Ficciones. Everything from "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" to "The South", we are treated to a pastiche of world surrealism and the seeds of French deconstruction. If Foucault has read Borges, he has acknowledged Borges contribution to his study of power and the constructed nature of "The Order of Things". Ficciones is not an easy read but it is a rewarding one. I was really impressed by the range of topics and I needed to do lots of research to enter what I felt was, to me, a somewhat impenetrable work. Nevertheless, despite the labyrinthine nature of his work, like Kafka, with a little work we can see the humor and realize that both are not infinitely incomprensible. Miguel Llora
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Summary: Quite Nice
Review: From cover to cover, Borges explores the advantages and and drawbacks to relativism and structuralism through a wonderful series of short stories.
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Summary: Borges is very good.
Review: Borges influence Gene Wolfe the best writer to appear in the last 30 years. His fantasies are some of the best I've read. His prose translates well into English. Here you find a few psuedo-literary criticism articles, a mystery involving the Kabbala, a tale of imaginary countries that are becoming real, a tale of chance set in ancient Babylon, and a library that maybe the entire universe.
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Summary: Beauty is common. Now it is.
Review: Be warned. After reading Borges you'll have the feeling there aren't much ideas left to think - or to write about. Borges is a miracle in more than a sense. His shortstories are unlike anything you may have ever seen. It would be wise not to classify any of them in a single genre (science fiction? thriller? fantasy? intelectual speculation?). Well, he goes beyond all that every time, and he keeps readable and enjoyable all the way. Borges had the curious belief that writing long stories are a waste of time. "Why to spend one's time writing long, laborious volumes," he used to say, "if one's argument may be presented in a few pages?" Lovers of long stories, like myself, tend to disagree, until they know Borges. In fact, before reading Borges one may have all the reasons in the world not to trust the potential of the shortstory. To create a true impact in a few pages? Exploring and presenting a whole new world in a brief shortstory? Where in the world? Here. Some science fiction writers (creators of worlds) need 700 pages to present us their visions (see Frank Herbert's Dune). Borges does that using less than twenty pages every time. And we are talking real worlds here, in the physical and the intelectual sense. Take The Library of Babel, an endless library where every story has already been written (including mine and yours). Take The Lottery Of Babylonia, where a secret society controls Fortune, and "where everyone was a king and a slave." Take Tlön, Uqbar, Orbius Tertius, where a new, invented worlds quietly overlaps our own. Borges was extraordinary in his simplicity and humbleness. His favorite prayer was that of a sixteen century monk: "O Lord, may there be not so much beauty!" Once Borges said: "I hope you may find some beauty in my books. In this world beauty is common." Well, now it is.
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Summary: Borges, esencial
Review: En tiempos de producción en serie a la cual ni la literatura ha escapado, en maravilloso descubrir esa lectura apasionante, fina e inteligente de Borges. El nos invita a soñar, a pensar, a maravillarse, en fin a la experiencia profunda de vivir. Profundidad no es aburrimiento y la mejor demostración es Borges. A pesar de no ser amigo de las relecturas, he leido al menos tres veces ficciones y cada vez quedo más maravillado. Simplemente excelente
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Summary: a favourite book/ un libro favorecido
Review: las "ficciones" forman un libro muy elaborado y revelan una sabiduría existencialista muy rara. Las historietas, de manera misteriosa una alegada a la otra,reflejan la situación del hombre en el mundo. La descripción de Tlön, un pais ficcional a lo que contribuyen los sabios del mundo, sirve como ejemplo para entender el misterio del mundo tal y como se presenta a la percepción humana. Los supuestos habitantes de Tlön, por ejemplo piensan que el idealismo va tán de suyo como para nosotros el materialismo. Los filósofos, por tanto, han establecido algunas aporías las que entrene el idealismo y las que los filósofos de Tlön discuten con tanto ardor como los modernos las aporías del eleatismo. Estas circumstancias complejísimas vienen descrito con inmensa virtuosidad, de una manera que es fácil imaginarse los habitantes de Tlön. Pero hay que leerlas todas. Un libro favorecido.Debo hacer un fín.
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Summary: Magical, captivating; Borges is a master of the short story
Review: These whimsical, fantastic tales explore the Borgesian themes of mirrors, cults, plots, and history. Borges is a modern master, with one foot planted firmly in the traditions of Miguel de los Cervantes's age, the other foot planted in solidarity with (post)modern writers such as Umberto Eco or even Thomas Pynchon. It's a shame that Borges never achieved the fame of the latter two, at least not in the United States. Perhaps this comparison is off-base, but this collection makes me think of JS Bach's "inventions": brilliantly written, innovative little morsels that you must take sensitively and savor long after you are done with them. The only criticism I sometimes hear about these short stories is that there are no genuinely human, fleshed out characters (besides perhaps the narrator), and the plots tend to be about abstract ideas and individual conflictedness, rather than the more conventional plots about human interactions. What can I say? That's just how Borges is. I think he's a great (and underrated/underappreciated!) storyteller and literary craftsman, but maybe if you like a lot of character realism and musings about interpersonal relationships in your stories, Borges isn't for you. This is a thoroughly enjoyable collection, especially if you like "magical realism" and short stories that read like clever inventions.
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Summary: As Read by a Native English Speaker
Review: Although I frequented the dictionary, I nonetheless found Borges fabulous. His grasp of human emotions astounds me. As I wondered though the labyrinths of his stories, I unwound the spanish language and gathered, like the prize at the end of a maze, a breathtaking insight into humanity and true authorial brilliance.
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Summary: perderse en Borges
Review: es facinante perderse en el laberinto de palabras, oraciones e ideas de Borges.toda la filosofia de su obra, la creacion de un universo nuevo, con nuevas reglas , hecho por hombres y para hombres, los espejos, las loterias, los laberintos.... su obra esta repleta de esa fantasia embriagante y de esa magia que hace que no nos demos cuenta de que se nos agotan las paginas y aun deseamos mas... mientras mas lo leo mas me apasiona ese escritor.
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Summary: my favourite writer
Review: Borges is my favourite writer, and this is his best collection. I'm not going to go into great detail why I love Borges, just go out and read him. If their was one thing that I could tell to a reader unfamiliar to Borges, it would be that, like Poe or Kafka, the narrator of the stories is often the most interesting character in the stories (the narrator is fictional, not Jorge Borges). People often take Borges too seriously. There is a lot of metaphysics in his work, but he's just playing games. Have fun.
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