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The Book of Sand
The short stories of Jorge Luis Borges, written more than twenty years ago, have become classics of contemporary literature. Here is a brand-new collection of thirteen tales which rival those that established the author's reputation. As we have come to expect from Borges, these works skilfully blend elements from many literary genres: the essay, science fiction, detective fiction, fantasy, literary criticism and autobiography.
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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About the author
Jorge Luis Borges
1,595 books14.4k 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 52 reviews
September 12, 2022
By The Book of Sand Jorge Luis Borges continues his lifelong trek through the paradoxical land of human mind.
In The Other he meets himself in person but his doppelganger is younger and they have a grand intellectual discussion. Well, I too meet myself every day in the mirror but so far we have no conversations – God forefend!
The idea of a world congress presenting the delegations and interests of all humankind turned out to be too absurd because the world congress of this kind can only be the world itself.
And The Book of Sand: the infinite book in an unknown language which never could be read to the end even if the language was known, how about it? Well, I switch on my computer; I open the browser and every time there is a different page of the infinite book and I will never read it to the end…
In The Other he meets himself in person but his doppelganger is younger and they have a grand intellectual discussion. Well, I too meet myself every day in the mirror but so far we have no conversations – God forefend!
I find my sadness over the death of that man (who most emphatically was never my friend) to be curiously stubborn. I know that I am alone; I am the world’s only custodian of the memory of that geste that was the Congress, a memory I shall never share again. I am now its only delegate. It is true that all mankind are delegates, that there is not a soul on the planet who is not a delegate, yet I am a member of the Congress in another way – I know I am; that is what makes me different from all my innumerable colleagues, present and future. It is true that on February 7, 1904, we swore by all that’s sacred – is there anything on earth that is sacred, or anything that’s not? – that we would never reveal the story of the Congress, but it is no less true that the fact that I am now a perjurer is also part of the Congress. That statement is unclear, but it may serve to pique my eventual readers’ curiosity.
The idea of a world congress presenting the delegations and interests of all humankind turned out to be too absurd because the world congress of this kind can only be the world itself.
It was a clothbound octavo volume that had clearly passed through many hands. I examined it; the unusual heft of it surprised me. On the spine was printed Holy Writ, and then Bombay… I opened it at random. The characters were unfamiliar to me. The pages, which seemed worn and badly set, were printed in double columns, like a Bible. The text was cramped, and composed into versicles.
At the upper corner of each page were Arabic numerals. I was struck by an odd fact: the even-numbered page would carry the number 40,514, let us say, while the odd-numbered page that followed it would be 999.1 turned the page; the next page bore an eight-digit number. It also bore a small illustration, like those one sees in dictionaries: an anchor drawn in pen and ink, as though by the unskilled hand of a child.
And The Book of Sand: the infinite book in an unknown language which never could be read to the end even if the language was known, how about it? Well, I switch on my computer; I open the browser and every time there is a different page of the infinite book and I will never read it to the end…
August 28, 2025
You never know where Borges is going to take you. This collection of thirteem varied short stories is no exception. Borges blends fantasy, horror, political allegory, myth, and philosophical parable in order to astonish his reader and make him/her think. Each story invites you to a different, often imaginary, world (or a dream), each captivates imagination, each one conveys a message or teaches a lesson.
And still, as far as I am concerned, the stories comprising 'The Book of Sand' do not seem to be as brilliant as the stories in 'Ficciones', 'Aleph', 'The Garden of Forking Paths' or 'Dr Brodie's Report'.
And still, as far as I am concerned, the stories comprising 'The Book of Sand' do not seem to be as brilliant as the stories in 'Ficciones', 'Aleph', 'The Garden of Forking Paths' or 'Dr Brodie's Report'.
January 31, 2024
პირველი შეხება ბორხესთან
December 12, 2025
review coming . . .
October 28, 2020
I have the Collected Fictions Penguin edition translated by Andrew Hurley, but I've had it for 10+ years and only ever read a story or two at a time. This time I opened "Undr" at random to cleanse my palette and decided I'd just go through the entire book it comes from.
I understand about 50-70% of what's going on in any given Borges story. There's often a lot of Argentinian history and cultural nuance that goes right by me, which I guess is true of most non-American writers, but the level of specificity in his work can be a bit of an impediment, or even a source of boredom. And there's the involutional setups, like this is a story about a book written by a man who was a character in a film etc etc, which is both part of the appeal and a bit wearying on repetition. What's consistently appealing to me is the sense that each piece feels like someone telling a story, as in there is almost always someone telling a tale, not an omniscient narrator, not a first-person egomaniac with impeccable recall, but just a person spinning tale. They are also, by and large, not stories about the self, with the possible exception of the one about the guy who meets his past self on a bench in Boston.
I understand about 50-70% of what's going on in any given Borges story. There's often a lot of Argentinian history and cultural nuance that goes right by me, which I guess is true of most non-American writers, but the level of specificity in his work can be a bit of an impediment, or even a source of boredom. And there's the involutional setups, like this is a story about a book written by a man who was a character in a film etc etc, which is both part of the appeal and a bit wearying on repetition. What's consistently appealing to me is the sense that each piece feels like someone telling a story, as in there is almost always someone telling a tale, not an omniscient narrator, not a first-person egomaniac with impeccable recall, but just a person spinning tale. They are also, by and large, not stories about the self, with the possible exception of the one about the guy who meets his past self on a bench in Boston.
October 18, 2024
The Book of Sand and The Gold of Tigers is a great book and a good representation of Jorge Luis Borges’ writing. The first is translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni and the second by Alistair Reid.
The stories are puzzling to me. I’d like to read them in Spanish. Often they are fables or they seem to end too soon. I have to admit I enjoyed and was moved by the poetry more than the prose. Perhaps having the Spanish originals at hand was the reason.
A Tanka
Not to have fallen
like others of my lineage,
cut down in battle.
To be in the fruitless night
he who counts the syllables
And from his introduction: “Going over the proofs of this book, I notice with some distaste that blindness plays a mournful role, which it does not play in my life. Blindness is a confinement, but it is also a liberation, a solitude propitious to invention, a key and an algebra.”
The stories are puzzling to me. I’d like to read them in Spanish. Often they are fables or they seem to end too soon. I have to admit I enjoyed and was moved by the poetry more than the prose. Perhaps having the Spanish originals at hand was the reason.
A Tanka
Not to have fallen
like others of my lineage,
cut down in battle.
To be in the fruitless night
he who counts the syllables
And from his introduction: “Going over the proofs of this book, I notice with some distaste that blindness plays a mournful role, which it does not play in my life. Blindness is a confinement, but it is also a liberation, a solitude propitious to invention, a key and an algebra.”
January 8, 2020
I love the writing and mind of Jorge Luis Borges a lot! Instantly started looking out for more of his writings! Do not hesitate to give this one a read. Some of his stories got me thinking, which, in my opinion, equals good writing.
April 14, 2024
Borges'i neden bu kadar geç okudum diye kızsam da ancak bu yaşta onun hayal gücünün, dahiane hikaye anlatma tarzının ve büyülü gerçeği bu kadar nefis yazmasının hakkını verebilirmişim diye avunuyorum.
Her hikaye, kafamda bir fırtına gibi esti ve hayal gücümü sınırların ötesine taşıdı. Okurken kendimi bir maceranın içinde kaybolmuş gibi hissettim ve bu deneyim benim için unutulmazdı. Borges'i tamamen çözmek mümkün değil bence; bu yüzden başucu yazarım oldu. Defalarca okuyup her seferinde farklı sonuçlar çıkarabileceğiniz bir yazar. Çok geç tanıştım belki, ama ömür boyu okumaktan hiç sıkılmayacağımı biliyorum.
Her hikaye, kafamda bir fırtına gibi esti ve hayal gücümü sınırların ötesine taşıdı. Okurken kendimi bir maceranın içinde kaybolmuş gibi hissettim ve bu deneyim benim için unutulmazdı. Borges'i tamamen çözmek mümkün değil bence; bu yüzden başucu yazarım oldu. Defalarca okuyup her seferinde farklı sonuçlar çıkarabileceğiniz bir yazar. Çok geç tanıştım belki, ama ömür boyu okumaktan hiç sıkılmayacağımı biliyorum.
May 31, 2025
A book with infinite pages but no beginning or end. You can never open it to the same page twice....
That’s such a simple premise. but it defies logic, space, and time. It plants a paradox in your mind. Your brain tries to “solve” it, but it can’t.
So it loops back. Again and again. and that loop creates a fascinating reading experience it kind of unsettles something fundamental in you.
It feels intimate and normal, which makes it worse.
The narrator is just an ordinary man, and the story is written like a quiet diary. There’s no wild drama.
No huge sci-fi explanation. He buys a strange book. It unsettles him. He hides it. That’s it.
That understated tone is key thou! it makes the impossible feel real, even mundane. And that contrast makes the horror deeper.
It f*cks with your fear of obsession and possesion
The narrator becomes consumed by the book and somehow ..so does the reader. He spends nights flipping pages, trying to understand it, failing.
That echoes something real: the fear that your mind might fixate on something senseless and never escape and that simplicity makes is suffocating
And then, he gets rid of it. But you, the reader, still have it in your mind and hands and
You can’t put it down.
it lays something terrifying about infinity. how it's not just something large or a good conversation but focuses on how it’s unknowable, ungraspable.
The story doesn’t romanticize it. It turns it into a nightmare that feels like a frog happily boilling
Borges once said, “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”
and in The Book of Sand, he shows us that the wrong kind of book can become Hell.
January 28, 2025
3.5 ☆ The book gets half a star more as the last short story, in my opinion, was one of the best. I can say I enjoyed most of the short stories, but my favorites were "the book of sand," "There are more things," and "The congress." Most of them were very surrealistic, and that's not my cup of tea, but I really liked Borges' prose.
September 5, 2024
Such a pleasure :)
January 8, 2025
I love Borges, but this isn’t his best collection. The title story is great, but the others aren’t his finest work.
May 30, 2025
აი რამდენი საშინელებათა ჟანრის ნაწარმოები არ წამიკითხავს და არასდროს გულს ცემა ისე არ შეუწყვიტავს, როგორც ამ ერთი პატარა მოთხრობის დროს.
December 27, 2024
I read the translation by Norman Thomas di Giovanni that contains 13 short stories. I think this book would have served me better if I read it as an old person. Too much name dropping
February 29, 2020
I like the enigma, brevity and matter of factness of Borges' writing. Certainly unique.. I alternated between furrowing of brow and giggling
Let's call my rating a "low 4", or 3.52 if we average the following:
The other: 4
Ulrike: 2.5
The congress: 4
There are more things: 3.8
The Sect of the thirty: 2
The night of the gifts: 2
The mirror and the mask: 5
Undr: 3.7
Utopia of a tired man: 2
The bribe: 3.8
Avelino Arredondo: 3
The Disk: 4
The Book of Sand: 4.5
(Afterword: 5)
As you see, I found the stories to vary rather widely in quality or appeal.
(Edit: with the passing of time, my opinion of this collection has slightly deteriorated, and I wouldn't quite recommend it. The only way that might change is if looking up some of Borges' obscure references conferred upon me a deeper appreciation for the stories. But I'm left with a slight feeling of emptiness and contrivance, which is incidentally my first impression of Calvino's stories too. On the other hand, Adolfo Bioy Casares stories possess warmth and don't hinge their success on being cerebral as did many of the stories in The Book of Sand. It turns out, wild imagination alone doesn't guarantee an appealing story.
Let's call my rating a "low 4", or 3.52 if we average the following:
The other: 4
Ulrike: 2.5
The congress: 4
There are more things: 3.8
The Sect of the thirty: 2
The night of the gifts: 2
The mirror and the mask: 5
Undr: 3.7
Utopia of a tired man: 2
The bribe: 3.8
Avelino Arredondo: 3
The Disk: 4
The Book of Sand: 4.5
(Afterword: 5)
As you see, I found the stories to vary rather widely in quality or appeal.
(Edit: with the passing of time, my opinion of this collection has slightly deteriorated, and I wouldn't quite recommend it. The only way that might change is if looking up some of Borges' obscure references conferred upon me a deeper appreciation for the stories. But I'm left with a slight feeling of emptiness and contrivance, which is incidentally my first impression of Calvino's stories too. On the other hand, Adolfo Bioy Casares stories possess warmth and don't hinge their success on being cerebral as did many of the stories in The Book of Sand. It turns out, wild imagination alone doesn't guarantee an appealing story.
February 17, 2022
(This is not a "proper" review. Many people have written about Borges and his writing and definitely are more eloquent and accurate than I could ever be so I leave that to them.)
I had been wanting to read Borges for a while now and finally managed to get a copy of my own. And he is as great as I imagined, even though there were some stories in this selection I didn't really care about that much (which is why I gave it 4/5). But so many were mesmerizing, so universal, yet so eccentric. And the poetry in this collection is great as well. His writing is just so charming and entrancing.
I now am on the search for anything and everything Borges has written.
I had been wanting to read Borges for a while now and finally managed to get a copy of my own. And he is as great as I imagined, even though there were some stories in this selection I didn't really care about that much (which is why I gave it 4/5). But so many were mesmerizing, so universal, yet so eccentric. And the poetry in this collection is great as well. His writing is just so charming and entrancing.
I now am on the search for anything and everything Borges has written.
February 16, 2021
I'm not sure what I can say that hasn't already been said far more eloquently by other reviewers. It's startlingly beautiful and there is a wonderful range in Borges writing on display here - it feels like there's something for everyone.
April 18, 2025
রচনা: "The Book of Sand"
লেখক: Jorge Luis Borges
প্রকাশকাল: 1975
ভাষা: ইংরেজি অনুবাদিত; মূলত স্প্যানিশ
মূল গল্পের নাম: El libro de arena
আর্জেন্টিনার কিংবদন্তি লেখক হোর্হে লুই বোর্হেসের "The Book of Sand" এমন একটি গল্প যা পাঠককে কল্পনা ও যুক্তির সীমানার বাইরে নিয়ে যায়। এই গল্প একদিকে যেমন দার্শনিক, তেমনি এতে এক ধরনের গা ছমছমে অতীন্দ্রিয়তা রয়েছে। "অসীম" ও "অজ্ঞেয়তা"—এই দুটি ধারণার চারপাশেই গল্পটি আবর্তিত হয়।
গল্পের কেন্দ্রীয় চরিত্র, একজন অবসরপ্রাপ্ত বই বিক্রেতা, এক অদ্ভুত বইয়ের মালিক হয়ে ওঠেন যার নাম "The Book of Sand"। বইটির পৃষ্ঠাগুলো সংখ্যাহীন, এবং তার প্রতিটি পৃষ্ঠা একবার দেখার পর আর খুঁজে পাওয়া যায় না। পৃষ্ঠা খুলে যতই এগোনো যায়, তার কোন শুরু বা শেষ নেই। বইটি মনে হয় যেন অসীম, যেন এক জীবন্ত রহস্য।
"The Book of Sand" মূলত একটি রূপক, একটি মেটাফোর—যা সময়, জ্ঞান, অসীমতা, ও মানুষের জ্ঞানের সীমাবদ্ধতা নিয়ে প্রশ্ন তোলে। বইটি আসলে এমন একটি বস্তু যা যুক্তির বাইরে, যা "নির্বিচারে গঠনহীন অসীম" এর প্রতীক।
বইটি একদিকে যেন পবিত্র গ্রন্থের মতো আচরণ করে, অন্যদিকে সেটা যেন এক ভয়ঙ্কর অভিশাপ। এই দ্বৈততা বোর্হেসের লেখার প্রধান বৈশিষ্ট্য—তিনি বারবার ঈশ্বর, জ্ঞান, এবং জগৎকে নিয়ে পাঠককে দার্শনিক দ্বিধায় ফেলেন।
গল্পের বর্ণনাকারী নিজেই বোর্হেসের একটি ছায়া। তিনি রীতিমতো নিরপেক্ষ, নির্লিপ্ত কিন্তু তীব্র জিজ্ঞাসায় ভরা। বর্ণনার মধ্য দিয়ে উঠে আসে এক ধরনের চিত্তাকর্ষক ভীতিকর অনুভূতি। গল্পটি first-person narrative হিসেবে লেখা, যা পাঠককে চরিত্রটির মানসিক যন্ত্রণার সঙ্গে একাত্ম করে।
বোর্হেসের ভাষা সংক্ষিপ্ত, সূক্ষ্ম অথচ গাঢ় অর্থবহ। "The Book of Sand" কোনো অ্যাকশনভিত্তিক গল্প নয়, বরং চিন্তাভাবনার গহ্বরে ডুব দেওয়ার উপকরণ। পাঠকের মস্তিষ্কে এক অসহায় কৌতূহল সৃষ্টি করে লেখক। এই বইয়ের কাঠামোও একই সঙ্গে সরল ও গোলকধাঁধার মতো জটিল।
গল্পটি অসীমতার ধারণাকে প্রশ্ন করে। যদি কোনো বইয়ের পৃষ্ঠার শেষ না থাকে, তবে সেটির প্রকৃতি কীভাবে সংজ্ঞায়িত হবে? যদি আমরা একবার দেখা পৃষ্ঠা আর না খুঁজে পাই, তবে স্মৃতি ও বাস্তবতার সম্পর্ক কী দাঁড়ায়?
বোর্হেস গণিত (বিশেষত "infinity set"), ধর্মতত্ত্ব (বিশেষ করে ঈশ্বরের অবয়বহীনতা), ও মেটাফিজিক্সের তত্ত্ব অত্যন্ত নিপুণভাবে গল্পে ঢুকিয়ে দেন।
বইটির প্রতি চরিত্রের আকর্ষণ ধীরে ধীরে একধরনের মনস্তাত্ত্বিক আসক্তিতে পরিণত হয়। এটি জ্ঞানের প্রতি মানুষের সীমাহীন তৃষ্ণা এবং সেই জ্ঞানের ভয়াবহতা—এই দুইয়ের দোলাচল তুলে ধরে। একই সঙ্গে এটি দেখায় যে, প্রতিটি অসীমতা মানুষের আত্মাকে ভেঙে দিতে পারে।
উপসংহার
"The Book of Sand" এমন একটি গল্প যা শুধু পাঠ্য নয়, বরং অভিজ্ঞতার বিষয়। এটি পড়া মানে একটি অদৃশ্য গোলকধাঁধায় পা রাখা। প্রতিবার পড়লে এটি নতুন ব্যাখ্যা উপহার দেয়। বোর্হেসের এই রচনা জ্ঞানের পরিধি, ঈশ্বরীয়তা, এবং মানবিক দুর্বলতার সম্মিলন—যা একদিকে চিরন্তন, অন্যদিকে গভীরভাবে সমকালীন।
আমার মতে, এই গল্পটি আধুনিক সাহিত্যের এক অমূল্য সম্পদ। এটি আমার মধ্যে প্রশ্ন তোলে, কখনো উত্তর দেয় না—তবুও বারবার ফিরে যেতে ইচ্ছা করে। এই গল্পটি শুধু একবার পড়ার জন্য নয়; এটি বহুবার পাঠ করার দাবি রাখে।
পড়ে দেখুন।
লেখক: Jorge Luis Borges
প্রকাশকাল: 1975
ভাষা: ইংরেজি অনুবাদিত; মূলত স্প্যানিশ
মূল গল্পের নাম: El libro de arena
আর্জেন্টিনার কিংবদন্তি লেখক হোর্হে লুই বোর্হেসের "The Book of Sand" এমন একটি গল্প যা পাঠককে কল্পনা ও যুক্তির সীমানার বাইরে নিয়ে যায়। এই গল্প একদিকে যেমন দার্শনিক, তেমনি এতে এক ধরনের গা ছমছমে অতীন্দ্রিয়তা রয়েছে। "অসীম" ও "অজ্ঞেয়তা"—এই দুটি ধারণার চারপাশেই গল্পটি আবর্তিত হয়।
গল্পের কেন্দ্রীয় চরিত্র, একজন অবসরপ্রাপ্ত বই বিক্রেতা, এক অদ্ভুত বইয়ের মালিক হয়ে ওঠেন যার নাম "The Book of Sand"। বইটির পৃষ্ঠাগুলো সংখ্যাহীন, এবং তার প্রতিটি পৃষ্ঠা একবার দেখার পর আর খুঁজে পাওয়া যায় না। পৃষ্ঠা খুলে যতই এগোনো যায়, তার কোন শুরু বা শেষ নেই। বইটি মনে হয় যেন অসীম, যেন এক জীবন্ত রহস্য।
"The Book of Sand" মূলত একটি রূপক, একটি মেটাফোর—যা সময়, জ্ঞান, অসীমতা, ও মানুষের জ্ঞানের সীমাবদ্ধতা নিয়ে প্রশ্ন তোলে। বইটি আসলে এমন একটি বস্তু যা যুক্তির বাইরে, যা "নির্বিচারে গঠনহীন অসীম" এর প্রতীক।
বইটি একদিকে যেন পবিত্র গ্রন্থের মতো আচরণ করে, অন্যদিকে সেটা যেন এক ভয়ঙ্কর অভিশাপ। এই দ্বৈততা বোর্হেসের লেখার প্রধান বৈশিষ্ট্য—তিনি বারবার ঈশ্বর, জ্ঞান, এবং জগৎকে নিয়ে পাঠককে দার্শনিক দ্বিধায় ফেলেন।
গল্পের বর্ণনাকারী নিজেই বোর্হেসের একটি ছায়া। তিনি রীতিমতো নিরপেক্ষ, নির্লিপ্ত কিন্তু তীব্র জিজ্ঞাসায় ভরা। বর্ণনার মধ্য দিয়ে উঠে আসে এক ধরনের চিত্তাকর্ষক ভীতিকর অনুভূতি। গল্পটি first-person narrative হিসেবে লেখা, যা পাঠককে চরিত্রটির মানসিক যন্ত্রণার সঙ্গে একাত্ম করে।
বোর্হেসের ভাষা সংক্ষিপ্ত, সূক্ষ্ম অথচ গাঢ় অর্থবহ। "The Book of Sand" কোনো অ্যাকশনভিত্তিক গল্প নয়, বরং চিন্তাভাবনার গহ্বরে ডুব দেওয়ার উপকরণ। পাঠকের মস্তিষ্কে এক অসহায় কৌতূহল সৃষ্টি করে লেখক। এই বইয়ের কাঠামোও একই সঙ্গে সরল ও গোলকধাঁধার মতো জটিল।
গল্পটি অসীমতার ধারণাকে প্রশ্ন করে। যদি কোনো বইয়ের পৃষ্ঠার শেষ না থাকে, তবে সেটির প্রকৃতি কীভাবে সংজ্ঞায়িত হবে? যদি আমরা একবার দেখা পৃষ্ঠা আর না খুঁজে পাই, তবে স্মৃতি ও বাস্তবতার সম্পর্ক কী দাঁড়ায়?
বোর্হেস গণিত (বিশেষত "infinity set"), ধর্মতত্ত্ব (বিশেষ করে ঈশ্বরের অবয়বহীনতা), ও মেটাফিজিক্সের তত্ত্ব অত্যন্ত নিপুণভাবে গল্পে ঢুকিয়ে দেন।
বইটির প্রতি চরিত্রের আকর্ষণ ধীরে ধীরে একধরনের মনস্তাত্ত্বিক আসক্তিতে পরিণত হয়। এটি জ্ঞানের প্রতি মানুষের সীমাহীন তৃষ্ণা এবং সেই জ্ঞানের ভয়াবহতা—এই দুইয়ের দোলাচল তুলে ধরে। একই সঙ্গে এটি দেখায় যে, প্রতিটি অসীমতা মানুষের আত্মাকে ভেঙে দিতে পারে।
উপসংহার
"The Book of Sand" এমন একটি গল্প যা শুধু পাঠ্য নয়, বরং অভিজ্ঞতার বিষয়। এটি পড়া মানে একটি অদৃশ্য গোলকধাঁধায় পা রাখা। প্রতিবার পড়লে এটি নতুন ব্যাখ্যা উপহার দেয়। বোর্হেসের এই রচনা জ্ঞানের পরিধি, ঈশ্বরীয়তা, এবং মানবিক দুর্বলতার সম্মিলন—যা একদিকে চিরন্তন, অন্যদিকে গভীরভাবে সমকালীন।
আমার মতে, এই গল্পটি আধুনিক সাহিত্যের এক অমূল্য সম্পদ। এটি আমার মধ্যে প্রশ্ন তোলে, কখনো উত্তর দেয় না—তবুও বারবার ফিরে যেতে ইচ্ছা করে। এই গল্পটি শুধু একবার পড়ার জন্য নয়; এটি বহুবার পাঠ করার দাবি রাখে।
পড়ে দেখুন।
September 7, 2021
“No one can read two thousand books. In the four centuries that I have lived, I will not have exceeded a half dozen. In addition, it does not matter to read but to reread. The printing press, now abolished, has been one of the worst evils of man, since he tended to multiply unnecessary texts to vertigo ".
Mixing reality with fiction, metaphysical explanations, first-person narratives, and presenting himself as one more character in his stories are some of the most outstanding characteristics of Borges's work. His realistic stories are those that provide historical dates, memorable events, or relevant data that attest to the context in which the author is writing.
In this medley of stories, Borges, instead of trying to capture a realistic meaning, tries to interrogate it, discover the main mysteries of it, approach it through interrogation. For the introduction of his characters, he uses the names of some of his acquaintances to recreate the thirteen interesting stories presented in The Book of Sand, which marked the end of a literary era in Borges' life.
- THE OTHER:
Narrated in the first person, where the protagonist, sitting on a bench, meets The Other, whom he does a series of interrogations and later discovers that his name is also Jorge Luis Borges.
Borges aged to clarify that if it is him, he mentions his experiences when reading Don Quixote, underlines his vast knowledge of Latin and his experience with other authors, whom he personally met at conferences. The young Borges alleges that his testimony does not prove anything, because it is something that he also knows, and that it was all a dream. Old Borges explains that perhaps what happened on the bench was a seventy-year dream and that he is reencountering the life of his youth. Again, the old Borges tells the young man information about his past: his life with his parents, his first steps towards literature, his love. The gathering spreads, they talk about his literary writings, the opinions they had of them and the future that old Borges predicts for the young man.
- ULRICA:
Javier, a Colombian student, explains that all the actions take place in one night and one morning, when in New York he meets Ulrica, a feminist woman who hated watching others smoke or drink. Besides being a bit lonely and enjoying her walks without the company of anyone. The Colombian responds that he also enjoys her solitude and proposes to her to have dinner and a walk together. It is in one of these walks, that Javier kisses Ulrica, but receives her "rejection"; although she assures him that she will be his at Thorgate's inn, meanwhile, he could not kiss or touch her. Javier, disappointed to conceive that it was all a dream, is petrified to hear that she would soon die. However, he later realizes that it was all truly a dream and that Ulrica only belonged there.
- THE CONGRESS:
Beyond being a writing that makes up the book, it is also considered a political essay. Our protagonist, Alejandro Ferri, a retired professor of English and developed in politics, tells us about his past in which he formed a secret congress to represent values and humanity. From always, he maintained contact with politicians until commemorating the Conservative Party of him. Here, Ferri explains all the antecedents that occurred in the congress, which books were important to read to be admitted, which languages had to be spoken to debate (these languages were later baptized, as artificial languages: Esperanto and Volapúk).
- THERE ARE MORE THINGS:
This story is dedicated to Lovecraft, being horror. It begins with the protagonist receiving the news that his uncle Edwin has passed away. After the uncle's death, his house is left alone, until it is bought by Max Preetorius, who immediately got rid of the original owner's old belongings and plans to do renovations. The nephew, restless and piqued by curiosity, goes to the house to see how the red house would be. He met with the architect and carpenter, and discovered that something monstrous, which scared people away, had been built. But even more monstrous was its inhabitant, based in the field of epistemology, not only because of its impossibility to be represented, but because that being is excluded from any philosophical, religious, natural, and even popular reference, according to the testimonies of the characters. That being undermines the foundations of representation and prefiguration; he builds one world within another, building a fissure in the order of the historically known. But the problem of epistemology is not limited to the figure of the monster (since his presence is not even necessary to address the monstrous); This is installed through a dynamic of concealment and unveiling, which becomes present in the text through the problematic of representation and foreshadowing.
- UTOPIA OF A MAN WHO IS TIRED:
On this occasion, it begins with Eudoro Acevedo (believed to be Borges's alter ego) arriving in a future world from 20th century society and meeting a 400-year-old man from that time, who invites him to pass to your house. In the talk they have and in the objects around them, aspects of that future world are revealed. There, men only reach maturity at 100 years old and from that moment on, they can dedicate themselves to art or philosophy. It is important to mention that in this world there is no poverty, Latin is the universal language, there are no possessions, the printing press has been abolished and the existence of politicians has been annulled.
"... The press stopped publishing their collaborations and their effigies. Politicians had to seek honest jobs; some were comedians or good healers. The reality will undoubtedly have been more complex than this summary."
In this way, Borges points out to us a society stripped of the evils of ours, but that hides a destiny of fatigue, boredom, and loss of identity.
- THE BOOK OF SAND:
Borges, in his fascination with books, tells us this story told in the first person (here there are also indications that the protagonist is Borges himself). Our narrator is visited by a strange character who tries to sell him "Bibles", but who ends up trying to sell him a book with the peculiarity of having no beginning or end, such as sand. Once this is acquired, the narrator tries to analyse it reasonably and investigates the book thoroughly, although with the detail that he can only be certain that the content seen once, will not be found again. In other words, the book is an entrance to infinity and the narrator, being an inhabitant of a world full of limits and limits his imagination, cannot accept the idea that such a book can exist. In this way, Borges tells us what the reaction of a real person would be to such a finding.
Mixing reality with fiction, metaphysical explanations, first-person narratives, and presenting himself as one more character in his stories are some of the most outstanding characteristics of Borges's work. His realistic stories are those that provide historical dates, memorable events, or relevant data that attest to the context in which the author is writing.
In this medley of stories, Borges, instead of trying to capture a realistic meaning, tries to interrogate it, discover the main mysteries of it, approach it through interrogation. For the introduction of his characters, he uses the names of some of his acquaintances to recreate the thirteen interesting stories presented in The Book of Sand, which marked the end of a literary era in Borges' life.
- THE OTHER:
Narrated in the first person, where the protagonist, sitting on a bench, meets The Other, whom he does a series of interrogations and later discovers that his name is also Jorge Luis Borges.
Borges aged to clarify that if it is him, he mentions his experiences when reading Don Quixote, underlines his vast knowledge of Latin and his experience with other authors, whom he personally met at conferences. The young Borges alleges that his testimony does not prove anything, because it is something that he also knows, and that it was all a dream. Old Borges explains that perhaps what happened on the bench was a seventy-year dream and that he is reencountering the life of his youth. Again, the old Borges tells the young man information about his past: his life with his parents, his first steps towards literature, his love. The gathering spreads, they talk about his literary writings, the opinions they had of them and the future that old Borges predicts for the young man.
- ULRICA:
Javier, a Colombian student, explains that all the actions take place in one night and one morning, when in New York he meets Ulrica, a feminist woman who hated watching others smoke or drink. Besides being a bit lonely and enjoying her walks without the company of anyone. The Colombian responds that he also enjoys her solitude and proposes to her to have dinner and a walk together. It is in one of these walks, that Javier kisses Ulrica, but receives her "rejection"; although she assures him that she will be his at Thorgate's inn, meanwhile, he could not kiss or touch her. Javier, disappointed to conceive that it was all a dream, is petrified to hear that she would soon die. However, he later realizes that it was all truly a dream and that Ulrica only belonged there.
- THE CONGRESS:
Beyond being a writing that makes up the book, it is also considered a political essay. Our protagonist, Alejandro Ferri, a retired professor of English and developed in politics, tells us about his past in which he formed a secret congress to represent values and humanity. From always, he maintained contact with politicians until commemorating the Conservative Party of him. Here, Ferri explains all the antecedents that occurred in the congress, which books were important to read to be admitted, which languages had to be spoken to debate (these languages were later baptized, as artificial languages: Esperanto and Volapúk).
- THERE ARE MORE THINGS:
This story is dedicated to Lovecraft, being horror. It begins with the protagonist receiving the news that his uncle Edwin has passed away. After the uncle's death, his house is left alone, until it is bought by Max Preetorius, who immediately got rid of the original owner's old belongings and plans to do renovations. The nephew, restless and piqued by curiosity, goes to the house to see how the red house would be. He met with the architect and carpenter, and discovered that something monstrous, which scared people away, had been built. But even more monstrous was its inhabitant, based in the field of epistemology, not only because of its impossibility to be represented, but because that being is excluded from any philosophical, religious, natural, and even popular reference, according to the testimonies of the characters. That being undermines the foundations of representation and prefiguration; he builds one world within another, building a fissure in the order of the historically known. But the problem of epistemology is not limited to the figure of the monster (since his presence is not even necessary to address the monstrous); This is installed through a dynamic of concealment and unveiling, which becomes present in the text through the problematic of representation and foreshadowing.
- UTOPIA OF A MAN WHO IS TIRED:
On this occasion, it begins with Eudoro Acevedo (believed to be Borges's alter ego) arriving in a future world from 20th century society and meeting a 400-year-old man from that time, who invites him to pass to your house. In the talk they have and in the objects around them, aspects of that future world are revealed. There, men only reach maturity at 100 years old and from that moment on, they can dedicate themselves to art or philosophy. It is important to mention that in this world there is no poverty, Latin is the universal language, there are no possessions, the printing press has been abolished and the existence of politicians has been annulled.
"... The press stopped publishing their collaborations and their effigies. Politicians had to seek honest jobs; some were comedians or good healers. The reality will undoubtedly have been more complex than this summary."
In this way, Borges points out to us a society stripped of the evils of ours, but that hides a destiny of fatigue, boredom, and loss of identity.
- THE BOOK OF SAND:
Borges, in his fascination with books, tells us this story told in the first person (here there are also indications that the protagonist is Borges himself). Our narrator is visited by a strange character who tries to sell him "Bibles", but who ends up trying to sell him a book with the peculiarity of having no beginning or end, such as sand. Once this is acquired, the narrator tries to analyse it reasonably and investigates the book thoroughly, although with the detail that he can only be certain that the content seen once, will not be found again. In other words, the book is an entrance to infinity and the narrator, being an inhabitant of a world full of limits and limits his imagination, cannot accept the idea that such a book can exist. In this way, Borges tells us what the reaction of a real person would be to such a finding.
November 10, 2025
This is the first Borges story collection I have read and the last that he published. It is split between short stories comprising 'the book of sand' and a collection of poems called 'the gold of the tigers'. While I read the latter, not having the an appreciation for poetry, this review concerns the former.
Writing toward the end of his life, the stories have a reflective and often doleful theme. Sand is an apt metaphor, changing shape through both natural and willful forces yet speaking all the same to the fleeting impermanence of all things. Borges writes with a cavalier literary erudition that somehow does not read as pretentious. On the contrary, his evocations of history, poetry, and literature seem to reach for sentiment that cannot adequately be conveyed by words – least of all through a translation. Unfortunately, the power of such allusions are lost to those lacking their familiarity, which is far from an indictment of the author as it is of the lack of learnedness of the reader. Just as footnotes only get one so far, the sensibility required to appreciate the reference – through reading and reflecting on each one – is impossible and a further testament to the collection's temporal motif.
The stories themselves are enigmatic and often fantastical, giving them a dream-like quality. Some I liked more than others, but none can I claim to fully grasp. That might be said of any writing, but often good writing leaves the reader with a sense of understanding, which is abetted by straightforward yet sentimental phrases such as "that embrace and that kiss made me remember others." A sense, at least, I can claim. Perhaps with more time and rereading I could claim a deeper sense even if understanding evades me. While my review of this collection is middle of the line, I look forward to reading his more celebrated work in due course.
Writing toward the end of his life, the stories have a reflective and often doleful theme. Sand is an apt metaphor, changing shape through both natural and willful forces yet speaking all the same to the fleeting impermanence of all things. Borges writes with a cavalier literary erudition that somehow does not read as pretentious. On the contrary, his evocations of history, poetry, and literature seem to reach for sentiment that cannot adequately be conveyed by words – least of all through a translation. Unfortunately, the power of such allusions are lost to those lacking their familiarity, which is far from an indictment of the author as it is of the lack of learnedness of the reader. Just as footnotes only get one so far, the sensibility required to appreciate the reference – through reading and reflecting on each one – is impossible and a further testament to the collection's temporal motif.
The stories themselves are enigmatic and often fantastical, giving them a dream-like quality. Some I liked more than others, but none can I claim to fully grasp. That might be said of any writing, but often good writing leaves the reader with a sense of understanding, which is abetted by straightforward yet sentimental phrases such as "that embrace and that kiss made me remember others." A sense, at least, I can claim. Perhaps with more time and rereading I could claim a deeper sense even if understanding evades me. While my review of this collection is middle of the line, I look forward to reading his more celebrated work in due course.
December 26, 2025
This pulpy assembly of wisdom graced my shelf early in the year and I've been enjoying the superficies of its stunning front cover ever since. Slight though it may be, I cherish the stories and poetry deeply. It doesn't go so far as Borges' other collections regarding fantastical impossibilities of time, memory, and being. It's a modest telling of stories more personal and grounded; a living encomium of myth and how we life the past into the future like a melting icicle unveiling the winter with each drip. You would do much worse without it in your thoughts.
Recommended for those hushed by the world turning as it does.
Recommended for those hushed by the world turning as it does.
July 22, 2024
I bought this hardcover at The Strand for $2.95 years ago. I though I'd read it now and recycle it to the public library. But the stories were engaging and grew more engaging toward the end. The last story in the book is "The Book of Sand," about a book with an infinite number of pages. What struck me was that these are not just philosophical exercises, but stories, with beginnings, middles and ends. I'm keeping the book.
June 4, 2025
GENIUS
A quick re-read of an old favourite by the Master. This anthology includes poems as well as short stories. Borges is my all-time favourite writer. These stories will stretch your mind, draw you in to magic and mystery and, if your sense of humour is dry enough, they will also make you laugh.
The translator of the stories is Norman Thomas di Giovanni, and he is probably a genius too, judging by the quality of the written expressions here.
September 3, 2025
I’m discovering Borges through this collection, which seems to hold a touch of autobiography in each story.
The writing is delicate, blending touching poetry with elegant simplicity. At times it hits the mark, and at others, it remains very enigmatic. Perhaps it’s my youth, or perhaps not.
In any case, this is a collection that time may allow me to interpret and experience differently in the future.
The writing is delicate, blending touching poetry with elegant simplicity. At times it hits the mark, and at others, it remains very enigmatic. Perhaps it’s my youth, or perhaps not.
In any case, this is a collection that time may allow me to interpret and experience differently in the future.
January 16, 2024
A handful of stories by Borges that have interesting, fantastical elements. My favorites from this selection are "The Disk" and "The Book of Sand." Quick and interesting reads that I think any literary person will enjoy.
February 20, 2024
The Other, The Disk, Ulrike and The Book of Sand were my favourites. You can see a lot of philosophy in his work which was the most enjoyable part.
The Spanish to English translation was not great so I found myself reading both and felt they said different things.
The Spanish to English translation was not great so I found myself reading both and felt they said different things.
April 9, 2024
very eerie tale. I have learnt from Borges, who wears his learning handsomely in this work, that it is important to never buy from a nomadic presbyterian - even if he wears a fondness for Robbie Burns.
“I am a prisoner to the book.”
“I am a prisoner to the book.”
April 26, 2024
mixed set of short stories for me, some blurred by, little to engage, but maybe as I got more used to the style, got more from them
mixing artists in various forms with philosophy, religion, the trivial or inconsequential impact of life
most written in first person
mixing artists in various forms with philosophy, religion, the trivial or inconsequential impact of life
most written in first person
September 4, 2025
A quick read made out of a bundle of short stories, each meant to represent a glimpse of different worldviews, you'll find a story dedicated to Lovecraft, a bunch of philosophical questions and slices of life all put together, like in a hidden kaleidoscope.
January 12, 2026
Última colección de cuentos publicada antes de 1980, presenta relatos más oscuros y melancólicos, atravesados por la vejez, la memoria y el infinito. Borges revisita sus grandes temas con una mirada más íntima y crepuscular.
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