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The Library of Babel
Little Clothbound irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-SmithMagical books, infinite libraries, parallel worlds, mazes, labyrinths and philosophical paradoxes haunt these spellbinding tales by one of the most uniquely inventive short story writers of the twentieth century. This collection brings together many of Borges's greatest and most beloved stories, including 'The Garden of Forking Paths', 'The Book of Sand' and 'Shakespeare's Memory'.
Contents:
• The Garden of the Forking Paths
• Funes, His Memory
• The Library of Babel
• Death and the Compass
• Tiön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius
• The Book of Sand
• The Lottery in Babylon
• Pierre Menard, author of the Quixote
• The Circular Ruins
• Shakespeare's Memory
Contents:
• The Garden of the Forking Paths
• Funes, His Memory
• The Library of Babel
• Death and the Compass
• Tiön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius
• The Book of Sand
• The Lottery in Babylon
• Pierre Menard, author of the Quixote
• The Circular Ruins
• Shakespeare's Memory
176 pages, Hardcover
First published May 25, 2023
About the author
Jorge Luis Borges
1,637 books15.2k followersJorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known works, Ficciones (transl. Fictions) and El Aleph (transl. The Aleph), published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories exploring motifs such as dreams, labyrinths, chance, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers and mythology. Borges's works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre, and have had a major influence on the magic realist movement in 20th century Latin American literature.
Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, where he studied at the Collège de Genève. The family travelled widely in Europe, including Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals. He also worked as a librarian and public lecturer. In 1955, he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He became completely blind by the age of 55. Scholars have suggested that his progressive blindness helped him to create innovative literary symbols through imagination. By the 1960s, his work was translated and published widely in the United States and Europe. Borges himself was fluent in several languages.
In 1961, he came to international attention when he received the first Formentor Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize. His international reputation was consolidated in the 1960s, aided by the growing number of English translations, the Latin American Boom, and by the success of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. He dedicated his final work, The Conspirators, to the city of Geneva, Switzerland. Writer and essayist J.M. Coetzee said of him: "He, more than anyone, renovated the language of fiction and thus opened the way to a remarkable generation of Spanish-American novelists."
Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, where he studied at the Collège de Genève. The family travelled widely in Europe, including Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals. He also worked as a librarian and public lecturer. In 1955, he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He became completely blind by the age of 55. Scholars have suggested that his progressive blindness helped him to create innovative literary symbols through imagination. By the 1960s, his work was translated and published widely in the United States and Europe. Borges himself was fluent in several languages.
In 1961, he came to international attention when he received the first Formentor Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize. His international reputation was consolidated in the 1960s, aided by the growing number of English translations, the Latin American Boom, and by the success of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. He dedicated his final work, The Conspirators, to the city of Geneva, Switzerland. Writer and essayist J.M. Coetzee said of him: "He, more than anyone, renovated the language of fiction and thus opened the way to a remarkable generation of Spanish-American novelists."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
July 25, 2025
I'm new to Jorge Luis Borges. The Library of Babel was my first time reading him, and so, my mind was a blank canvas. I still don't comprehend the picture he painted there. It'll take time to understand and appreciate its various brush strokes. For now, I only see certain shapes and colour combinations, and I make my own interpretation. My reading of this short story may not be in line with Borges's vision, yet it's the kind of story that could be looked at through different lenses. So, for me, The Library of Babel is an allegory for the universe, its creation, the meaning of life, as well as the human condition.
This is how Borges viewed the creation. Borges's views of the universe are complex. He saw the universe as one fixed entity. Whatever change the nature wrought in any other, the universe lived forever. The universe is vast and formidable. No human action can pose a threat to it. It is unique and consists of many mysteries that the limited human mind cannot fathom.
The nature of the universe is such that "if an eternal traveler should journey in any direction, he would find after untold centuries that the same volumes are repeated in the same order."
For ages, Man has searched for the truth of life without success, and Borges describes the struggle wonderfully.
Borges compares human frailty with the eternity of the universe and shows the permanent nature of the existence of the universe.
And finally, he shows how death ends all for humans.
Having said all, for the question Borges asks, "You who read me - are you certain you understand my language?" my answer is NO. :)
A word must be said about this Penguin edition. It consists of ten short stories by Jorge Luis Borges, including The Library of Babel. Some of them appear in his Ficciones. This review is only of The Library of Babel. The rest will be reviewed as part of Ficciones when I read that.
More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/
The Library has existed ab æternitate. Man, the imperfect librarian, may be the work of chance or of malevolent demiurges; the universe, with its elegant appointments, can only be the handiwork of a god.
This is how Borges viewed the creation. Borges's views of the universe are complex. He saw the universe as one fixed entity. Whatever change the nature wrought in any other, the universe lived forever. The universe is vast and formidable. No human action can pose a threat to it. It is unique and consists of many mysteries that the limited human mind cannot fathom.
The Library is so huge that any reduction by human hands must be infinitesimal. Each book is unique and irreplaceable...
The nature of the universe is such that "if an eternal traveler should journey in any direction, he would find after untold centuries that the same volumes are repeated in the same order."
When it was announced that the Library contained all books, the first reaction was unbounded joy. All men felt themselves possessors of an intact and secret treasure. There was no personal problem, no world problem, whose eloquent solution did not exist...there was much talk of The Vindications (books of apology and prophecies) that would vindicate for all time the actions of every person in the universe. Thousands of greedy individuals rushed downstairs, upstairs, spurred by the vain desire to find their Vindication. These pilgrims squabbled in the narrow corridors, muttered dark imprecations, strangled one another on the divine staircases, threw deceiving volumes, were themselves hurled to their deaths. Others went insane.
For ages, Man has searched for the truth of life without success, and Borges describes the struggle wonderfully.
It was argued, there must exist a book that is the cipher and perfect compendium of all the books, and some librarian must have examined that book; this librarian is analogous to a god. Many have gone in search of Him. For a hundred years, men beat every possible path, and every path in vain.
Borges compares human frailty with the eternity of the universe and shows the permanent nature of the existence of the universe.
Epidemics, heretical discords, and pilgrimages that inevitably degenerate into brigandage have decimated the population. I mentioned the suicides, which are more and more frequent every year. I suspect that the human species teeters at the verge of extinction, yet that the Library - enlightened, solitary, infinite, perfectly unmoving, armed with precious volumes, pointless, incorruptible, and secret - will endure.
And finally, he shows how death ends all for humans.
When I am dead, compassionate hands will throw me over the railing; my tomb will be the unfathomable air, my body will sink for ages, and will decay and dissolve in the wind engendered by my fall.
Having said all, for the question Borges asks, "You who read me - are you certain you understand my language?" my answer is NO. :)
A word must be said about this Penguin edition. It consists of ten short stories by Jorge Luis Borges, including The Library of Babel. Some of them appear in his Ficciones. This review is only of The Library of Babel. The rest will be reviewed as part of Ficciones when I read that.
More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/
January 25, 2025
I don't know if I love his writing or if I love the fact that I can love writing this much.
April 20, 2026
Superbly convoluted stories by JL Borges that are learned, sage, and wise. The pieces are about esoteric subjects that I find truly fascinating. Unfortunately, they're all fiction and not fact.
February 2, 2026
If I could travel in time, kill someone and impersonate them, it would be Borges. But I can't, so I'm just going to use his stories as examples of what you can do if you arrange words in just the right order with the aim of blowing the reader's mind time and time again. Also there's a story about a guy wanting to rewrite Quixote and one more or less about Shakespeare for those who've just seen Hamnet.
June 24, 2026
Infinity, infinities, permutation, recursion. Borges was probably a huge fan of Cantor.
February 12, 2024
3.9 stars
the garden of forking paths: five stars
funes, his memory: three stars
the library of babel: five stars
death and the compass: five stars
tlön, uqbar, orbis tertius: two stars
the book of sand: three stars
the lottery in babylon: four stars
pierre menard, author of the quixote: five stars
the circular ruins: three stars
shakespeare’s memory: four stars
these stories are unique and thought provoking, even nearly a century after they were written. jorge luis borges’ writing is impeccable and the premise of each of these stories is truly fascinating. some are, as is standard, stronger than others in my opinion, and some are just more intriguing. glad i read this, and interesting to see the influence that he has had on magical realism.
the garden of forking paths: five stars
funes, his memory: three stars
the library of babel: five stars
death and the compass: five stars
tlön, uqbar, orbis tertius: two stars
the book of sand: three stars
the lottery in babylon: four stars
pierre menard, author of the quixote: five stars
the circular ruins: three stars
shakespeare’s memory: four stars
these stories are unique and thought provoking, even nearly a century after they were written. jorge luis borges’ writing is impeccable and the premise of each of these stories is truly fascinating. some are, as is standard, stronger than others in my opinion, and some are just more intriguing. glad i read this, and interesting to see the influence that he has had on magical realism.
February 14, 2024
I absolutely loved these stories and I don’t think I can write a review that will do them justice. Here are some eloquently written, mysterious, philosophical and compelling stories that blew my mind. They made me want to think long and hard about them, but not too long and not too hard, for I’m afraid some of the philosophical brain teasers and theories can make me go bananas…
This book contains the following stories:
-The Garden of the Forking Paths
-Funes, His Memory
-The Library of Babel
-Death and the Compass
-Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius
-The Book of Sand
-The Lottery of Babylon
-Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote
-The Circular Ruins
-Shakespeare’s Memory
—————————
Quotes:
I imagined a labyrinth of labyrinths, a maze of mazes, a twisting, turning, ever widening labyrinth that contained both past and future and somehow implied the stars.
~ The Garden of Forking Paths
———
There is no combination of characters one can make — dhcmrlchtdj, for example — that the divine Library has not foreseen and that in one or more of its secret tongues does not hide a terrible significance. There is no syllable one can speak that is not filled with tenderness and terror, that is not, in one of those languages, the mighty name of a god. To speak is to commit tautologies. This pointless, verbose epistle already exists in one of the thirty volumes of the five bookshelves in one of the countless hexagons — as does its refutation. (A number ‘n’ of the possible languages employ the same vocabulary; in some of them the symbol ‘library’ possesses the correct definition ‘everlasting, ubiquitous system of hexagonal galleries,’ while a library — the thing — is a loaf of bread or a pyramid or something else, and the six words that define it themselves have other definitions. You who read me — are you certain you understand my language?)
~ The Library of Babel
———
He suggested I try to find the first page.
I took the cover in my left hand and opened the book, my thumb and forefinger almost touching. It was impossible: several pages always lay between the cover and my hand. It was as though they grew from the very book.
‘Now try to find the end.’
I failed there as well.
‘This can’t be,’ I stammered, my voice hardly recognizable as my own.
‘It can’t be, yet it is,’ The Bible peddler said, his voice little more than a whisper. ‘The number of pages in this book is infinite. No page is the first page; no page is the last. I don’t know why they’re numbered in this arbitrary way, but perhaps it’s to give one to understand that the terms of an infinite series can be numbered any way whatever.’
~ The Book of Sand
———
To be not a man, but the projection of another man’s dream — what incomparable humiliation, what vertigo!
~ The Circular Ruins
This book contains the following stories:
-The Garden of the Forking Paths
-Funes, His Memory
-The Library of Babel
-Death and the Compass
-Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius
-The Book of Sand
-The Lottery of Babylon
-Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote
-The Circular Ruins
-Shakespeare’s Memory
—————————
Quotes:
I imagined a labyrinth of labyrinths, a maze of mazes, a twisting, turning, ever widening labyrinth that contained both past and future and somehow implied the stars.
~ The Garden of Forking Paths
———
There is no combination of characters one can make — dhcmrlchtdj, for example — that the divine Library has not foreseen and that in one or more of its secret tongues does not hide a terrible significance. There is no syllable one can speak that is not filled with tenderness and terror, that is not, in one of those languages, the mighty name of a god. To speak is to commit tautologies. This pointless, verbose epistle already exists in one of the thirty volumes of the five bookshelves in one of the countless hexagons — as does its refutation. (A number ‘n’ of the possible languages employ the same vocabulary; in some of them the symbol ‘library’ possesses the correct definition ‘everlasting, ubiquitous system of hexagonal galleries,’ while a library — the thing — is a loaf of bread or a pyramid or something else, and the six words that define it themselves have other definitions. You who read me — are you certain you understand my language?)
~ The Library of Babel
———
He suggested I try to find the first page.
I took the cover in my left hand and opened the book, my thumb and forefinger almost touching. It was impossible: several pages always lay between the cover and my hand. It was as though they grew from the very book.
‘Now try to find the end.’
I failed there as well.
‘This can’t be,’ I stammered, my voice hardly recognizable as my own.
‘It can’t be, yet it is,’ The Bible peddler said, his voice little more than a whisper. ‘The number of pages in this book is infinite. No page is the first page; no page is the last. I don’t know why they’re numbered in this arbitrary way, but perhaps it’s to give one to understand that the terms of an infinite series can be numbered any way whatever.’
~ The Book of Sand
———
To be not a man, but the projection of another man’s dream — what incomparable humiliation, what vertigo!
~ The Circular Ruins
December 27, 2023
This collection was a wonderful introduction to the world of Jorge Luis Borges. The stories weave together magical realism, metaphysics, comparative literature, satire, and philology, culminating in stories that feel sprawling despite their 10-20 page lengths.
Borges is in every sense of the word a genius. In nearly every story of this collection, he infuses mathematical quandaries with existential terror, toying with the ideas of infinities and infinitesimals and the immense discomfort these ideas induce in the human mind. In zooming out to discuss the concepts of the universe and multiverse, he thus places focus on the reader's psyche and the practical limits of cognition.
A couple of the stories lacked the depth of others and the scathing piece of satire "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" was a moment of tonal whiplash, but I certainly look forward to peeling back more layers lurking within the pieces on a re-read.
I read the Penguin Clothbound Classics collection titled The Library of Babel, not the singular short story.
Borges is in every sense of the word a genius. In nearly every story of this collection, he infuses mathematical quandaries with existential terror, toying with the ideas of infinities and infinitesimals and the immense discomfort these ideas induce in the human mind. In zooming out to discuss the concepts of the universe and multiverse, he thus places focus on the reader's psyche and the practical limits of cognition.
A couple of the stories lacked the depth of others and the scathing piece of satire "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" was a moment of tonal whiplash, but I certainly look forward to peeling back more layers lurking within the pieces on a re-read.
I read the Penguin Clothbound Classics collection titled The Library of Babel, not the singular short story.
July 20, 2026
Давам едни солидни 3.8
Не бях чел Борджес преди тази историьосбирка, но съм доста впечатлен. Изненадващо е, но отнемат само една две страници за да успееш да влезеш във всичките тези магически, фантастични светове и после цялата история ти се струва абсолютно реалистична.
Наскоро си говорих с един приятел за безкрайността и покрай този ни разговор почнах да обръщам повече внимание на моите представи за нея (които приемам за абсолютна даденост в математиката). Та и сега до голяма част тези истории ми създадоха още по голяма концептуална каша в главата. Силно препоръчвам.
Не бях чел Борджес преди тази историьосбирка, но съм доста впечатлен. Изненадващо е, но отнемат само една две страници за да успееш да влезеш във всичките тези магически, фантастични светове и после цялата история ти се струва абсолютно реалистична.
Наскоро си говорих с един приятел за безкрайността и покрай този ни разговор почнах да обръщам повече внимание на моите представи за нея (които приемам за абсолютна даденост в математиката). Та и сега до голяма част тези истории ми създадоха още по голяма концептуална каша в главата. Силно препоръчвам.
August 2, 2025
Lasot Borhesu, šķiet, viņš ir vizionārs un skiču autors. Turklāt sajūtu līmenī drīzāk tehnisko shēmu autors. Šie stāsti atgādina savdabīgu anotāciju daudz lielākam darbam, par kuru alksti uzzināt vairāk. Ciparu kombināciju, ko gandrīz uzlauzt, bet tomēr seifa saturs neatklājas. Vienlaikus tas ir gan labi, gan kaitinoši, bet tā kā man patīk domāt par valodām, labirintiem un simboliem, vērtēju šo kā vērtīgu un intriģējošu pieredzi. Ne visus stāstus izlasīju, ne visi bija domāti man. Noteikti arī nav grāmata, ko izlasīt vienā rāvienā, katru konceptu ir vērts pārdomāt un attīstīt patstāvīgi.
June 3, 2025
Trippy, philosophical and Borges at his finest!
The universe as an infinite library containing all that has been written, will be written and could be written.
Some bits regarding hexagonal rooms remind me of Piranesi by Susanna Clark. It’s a very short story but interesting nonetheless.
This edition is a collection of other short stories, some of them funny and interesting, others a little dull to me, but still written in way that blends fact and fiction which I love in Borges his writings.
The universe as an infinite library containing all that has been written, will be written and could be written.
Some bits regarding hexagonal rooms remind me of Piranesi by Susanna Clark. It’s a very short story but interesting nonetheless.
This edition is a collection of other short stories, some of them funny and interesting, others a little dull to me, but still written in way that blends fact and fiction which I love in Borges his writings.
November 22, 2023
What if a thing went on indefinitely, huh? What if that happened, sucker?
Read
May 10, 2025I need to familiarize myself with Borge's game
June 7, 2025
I am a certified Tlön patriot
December 1, 2025
In what is essentially an awfully rare case of an immediate reread for me (1. bar two stories, The Book of Sand and Shakespeare’s Memory; 2. I believe the only occurrence that I can invoke upon my feeble consciousness is the time I read John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines, having a) been a very young teen and b) having just had a brief, fleeting encounter with one, of the dating sort), Borges’ stories are just as, if not even more fun the second time around.
In recent months, I’ve felt my reading prowess fall off quite a bit. I don’t make as much time for reading anymore, having started a bit of a cinephiliac journey about a year or so ago, which has a) opened my eyes to some incredible cinema; yet also b) debilitated my capability to embark on longer stories. Which is a real shame! I’m also in-between books in a writing regard, having committed to the strenuous endeavor of a full-time job. Yet food has to go in my mouth somehow, and there is very little time for oneself.
Overwhelming concerns (of the existential kind) aside, once I brush past the distractions, drifting thoughts and the desire to watch 250 Instagram reels, once I finally grow lucid, Borges offers great solace - his ideas are so interesting, his commitment so inspiring, his prose so precise and witty. I am all aboard the train. And I hope the conductor takes that damn phone away.
In recent months, I’ve felt my reading prowess fall off quite a bit. I don’t make as much time for reading anymore, having started a bit of a cinephiliac journey about a year or so ago, which has a) opened my eyes to some incredible cinema; yet also b) debilitated my capability to embark on longer stories. Which is a real shame! I’m also in-between books in a writing regard, having committed to the strenuous endeavor of a full-time job. Yet food has to go in my mouth somehow, and there is very little time for oneself.
Overwhelming concerns (of the existential kind) aside, once I brush past the distractions, drifting thoughts and the desire to watch 250 Instagram reels, once I finally grow lucid, Borges offers great solace - his ideas are so interesting, his commitment so inspiring, his prose so precise and witty. I am all aboard the train. And I hope the conductor takes that damn phone away.
November 20, 2025
'I was struck by the thought that a man may be the enemy of other men, the enemy of other men's other moments, yet not be the enemy of a country of fireflies, words, gardens, watercourses, zephyrs.'
The garden of forking paths
'That was when Bioy remembered a saying by one of the heresiarchs of Uqbar: Mirrors and copulation are abominable, for they multiply the number of mankind.'
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertuiz
The garden of forking paths
'That was when Bioy remembered a saying by one of the heresiarchs of Uqbar: Mirrors and copulation are abominable, for they multiply the number of mankind.'
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertuiz
October 4, 2026
Eine Sammlung verschiedener Kurzgeschichten von Borges, die zu der Über-Thematik Literatur und Bücher passen.
Eine Geschichte fand ich super, zwei fand ich nicht gut und die anderen waren okay bis gut. Insgesamt auf jeden Fall interessant.
Eine Geschichte fand ich super, zwei fand ich nicht gut und die anderen waren okay bis gut. Insgesamt auf jeden Fall interessant.
July 29, 2026
Borges porusza często tematy, które mi jakoś siedzą w głowie, różne takie dziwactwa matematyczno kognitywno czasoprzestrzenne, goraco polecam każdemu, kto ma komputer zamiast mózgu
August 3, 2026
Nicht, was ich erwartet habe. Das ist tatsächlich eine Kurzgeschichtensammlung. Ich habe mit Sicherheit nicht alle verstanden, aber gerne gelesen habe ich sie trotzdem.
August 24, 2026
Not his fault, I did understand a lot of the things happening in these stories 😞
October 13, 2025
Borges is not for me. I don’t mean to be rude but this philosophy and idealism is the adult version of middle school musings.
January 19, 2026
5 stars cause my girlfriend bought it for me
September 1, 2023
Did I understand it all? No. Did I enjoy it, nonetheless? Pretty much, yes.
I think it’s fair to say that Borges’ writing is fairly philosophical and, at times, quite dense and complicated. But overall, this collection of short stories was engaging and interesting. It is easy to see how he became a leading figure that inspired the boom in Latin-American literature (and magical realism) during the 1950’s and 60’s- His writing is laced with many of those themes that were to be expanded upon later by writers such as Garcia-Marquez.
I’ll be honest, I don’t quite understand the fixation with labyrinths and endless libraries, but then again maybe you don’t need to in order to fully enjoy the immaculate writing on offer here. I loved the idea that we go through life collecting and examining the thoughts of other people and integrating them into our own conceptualisations of the past and the future though. The way this idea was presented really resonated with me. It’s all a bit of a jumbled mess, but ultimately we take whatever we decide to interpret from it all.
I think it’s fair to say that Borges’ writing is fairly philosophical and, at times, quite dense and complicated. But overall, this collection of short stories was engaging and interesting. It is easy to see how he became a leading figure that inspired the boom in Latin-American literature (and magical realism) during the 1950’s and 60’s- His writing is laced with many of those themes that were to be expanded upon later by writers such as Garcia-Marquez.
I’ll be honest, I don’t quite understand the fixation with labyrinths and endless libraries, but then again maybe you don’t need to in order to fully enjoy the immaculate writing on offer here. I loved the idea that we go through life collecting and examining the thoughts of other people and integrating them into our own conceptualisations of the past and the future though. The way this idea was presented really resonated with me. It’s all a bit of a jumbled mess, but ultimately we take whatever we decide to interpret from it all.
August 16, 2023
This was my first time reading Jorge Luis Borges and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed his writing style and shocked that I had gone so long without reading a single one of his short stories. Some stories were better than others to me (The Library of Babel, Shakespeare's Memory, the story of Uqbar stand out) but I still enjoyed all of them. I think Borges's writing is somehow both incredibly indicative of its time yet also very modern. He both loves and hates academics and their field, and I think that most of the irony in these stories about professors and doctors is really funny.
Most of all, I'm impressed by his ability to have the audience understand the entire world of a story with just the first couple of paragraphs. There are very view short story writers that can do that for me.
Most of all, I'm impressed by his ability to have the audience understand the entire world of a story with just the first couple of paragraphs. There are very view short story writers that can do that for me.
May 7, 2025
“There are five shelves for each of the hexagon’s walls; each shelf holds thirty-two books of a uniform format; each book is of four hundred and ten pages...”
So begins Borges' surreal descent into an infinite library — a universe made of books, where meaning flickers between total order and complete chaos. This short story is less narrative than philosophical puzzle, blending mathematics, metaphysics, and existential dread into a few haunting pages.
It’s a work that scrambles your brain and stretches your imagination — a quiet thunderclap of an idea. Not necessarily for everyone, but unforgettable if it hits.
4★ for structure, scope, and the sheer audacity of imagining infinity—and locking it in a book.
September 25, 2023
Borges ist anstrengend zu lesen (zumindest in dieser englischen Übersetzung von Andrew Hurley). Die gehobene Komplexität des Satzbaus und Vokabulars erschweren den Einstieg zu Beginn jeder Story. Nach ein paar Seiten konnte ich mich dann immer orientieren und das Konzept genießen, das Borges in der jeweiligen Geschichte vorstellt, allen voran natürlich die Bibliothek von Babel selbst. Mehr als diese Vorschläge bieten seine Geschichten meist nicht, wenig Handlung, kein typisches Anfang-Mitte-Ende-Schema; sie dienen mehr als Leinwand für ziemlich interessante Gedanken über Sprache, Un/endlichkeit und Wissen.
August 30, 2023
Very interesting and curious collection of short stories. All stories present an interesting idea very thoughtfully and it allows the reader to immerse themselves in the worlds shaped in so little time.
Some stories were uninteresting to me, and not very inspiring either. My favourites were: The Garden of Forked Paths, The Library Of Babel, The Book of Sand, The Circular Ruins and Shakespeare's Memory.
8/10
Some stories were uninteresting to me, and not very inspiring either. My favourites were: The Garden of Forked Paths, The Library Of Babel, The Book of Sand, The Circular Ruins and Shakespeare's Memory.
8/10
February 13, 2024
The way Borges so effortlessly extrapolates tiny seeds of ideas into full on thought provoking spectacle in such a subtle way will never cease to amaze me. Touching on themes of infinity, creation, memory and identity several times over; yet each individual short story feels wholly unique. An incredibly talented writer and a wonderful collection to showcase such
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