What do you think?
Rate this book
Чекање
Priče obuhvaćene u ovoj zbirci potvrđuju ono što pisac navodi u Epilogu: „Čovek reši da nacrta svet. Tokom godina ispunjava prostor ucrtavajući pokrajine, kraljevstva, planine, zalive, brodove, ostrva, ribe, kuće, instrumente, zvezde, konje i ljude. Pred smrt on otkriva da taj strpljivi lavirint linija ocrtava njegov sopstveni lik.”
69 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
About the author
Jorge Luis Borges
1,619 books15k 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."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Read
August 15, 2026
The Waiting (La Espera) - one of my absolute favorite Borges tales, a stunning tale frequently overlooked even by the author's avid fans.
We're in the northwest part of Buenos Aires where a man calling himself Villari waits in his hotel room, fearing someone from his past will arrive on the scene to murder him. Borges never provides more than a flash of backstory (Villari's prior contact with the underworld) as to why this is so -much from beginning to end remains enveloped in mystery and shadows. Villari thinks the days and hours of waiting will be endless, unless, that is, he reads about the death of Alejando Villari in the morning newspaper. "It was also possible that Villari had already died and in that case this life was a dream." More drama in this four-page tale and then we reach the conclusion where Villari is in his bed sleeping. What happens next and next blurs the line between...for Jorge Luis Borges to tell.
The Waiting is part of Borges' Labyrinths and can also be read online under The Aleph with the title The Wait: https://posthegemony.files.wordpress....
May 23, 2020
Este es el epilogo que escribió Borges:
«De “La espera” diré que la sugirió una crónica policial que Alfredo Doblas me leyó, hará diez años, mientras clasificábamos libros según el manual del Instituto Bibliográfico de Bruselas, código del que todo he olvidado, salvo que a Dios le corresponde la cifra 231. El sujeto de la crónica era turco; lo hice italiano para intuirlo con más facilidad.»
De lo único que puedo quejarme sobre este relato es que, la vida de Alejandro Villari es un final abierto. No soy amante de los finales abiertos, se que a muchos les gusta soñar con el destino del personaje y este final te da pie a varias bifurcaciones; te deja jugar con eso. Igual no le pondré 4 estrellas, seria muy chiquilin de por mi parte.
Con un personaje armo una historia muy entretenida, no es difícil de seguir (no les miento), nada mas que te deja con muchas interrogantes desde un inicio, pero es un relato entretenido.
«De “La espera” diré que la sugirió una crónica policial que Alfredo Doblas me leyó, hará diez años, mientras clasificábamos libros según el manual del Instituto Bibliográfico de Bruselas, código del que todo he olvidado, salvo que a Dios le corresponde la cifra 231. El sujeto de la crónica era turco; lo hice italiano para intuirlo con más facilidad.»
De lo único que puedo quejarme sobre este relato es que, la vida de Alejandro Villari es un final abierto. No soy amante de los finales abiertos, se que a muchos les gusta soñar con el destino del personaje y este final te da pie a varias bifurcaciones; te deja jugar con eso. Igual no le pondré 4 estrellas, seria muy chiquilin de por mi parte.
Con un personaje armo una historia muy entretenida, no es difícil de seguir (no les miento), nada mas que te deja con muchas interrogantes desde un inicio, pero es un relato entretenido.
December 14, 2020
just La Espera - ☆☆☆☆☆
September 20, 2025
Known in English as "The Wait" or "Waiting."
May 22, 2024
me encantó pero es muy difusa la línea entre la realidad y los sueños, el final fue real??? fue un sueño???
December 25, 2023
Decimoquinto cuento de El Aleph
Nuestro personaje es un extranjero que se esconde en un pueblo apartado de Buenos Aires ya que un mafioso lo busca para darle muerte.
El relato mezcla partes reales de su vida con sueños oníricos en los que lo encuentran y este se defiende disparando contra sus enemigos.
Ya era incluso a adoptar el apodo de su buscador en el pueblo en el que reside al hacer vida normal.
Una noche como tantas otras, despierta en mitad de la noche y encuentra cuatro sombras al borde de su cama. Pensando que está soñando de nuevo se vuelve a tapar con las sábanas para despertar del sueño.
No se llega a aclarar del todo si realmente estaba soñando o en realidad lo habían encontrado y le había llegado su final, dejándose un final abierto muy interesante.
Nuestro personaje es un extranjero que se esconde en un pueblo apartado de Buenos Aires ya que un mafioso lo busca para darle muerte.
El relato mezcla partes reales de su vida con sueños oníricos en los que lo encuentran y este se defiende disparando contra sus enemigos.
Ya era incluso a adoptar el apodo de su buscador en el pueblo en el que reside al hacer vida normal.
Una noche como tantas otras, despierta en mitad de la noche y encuentra cuatro sombras al borde de su cama. Pensando que está soñando de nuevo se vuelve a tapar con las sábanas para despertar del sueño.
No se llega a aclarar del todo si realmente estaba soñando o en realidad lo habían encontrado y le había llegado su final, dejándose un final abierto muy interesante.
January 3, 2022
„Čovek reši da nacrta svet. Tokom godina ispunjava prostor ucrtavajući pokrajine, kraljevstva, planine, zalive, brodove, ostrva, ribe, kuće, instrumente, zvezde, konje i ljude. Pred smrt on otkriva da taj strpljivi lavirint linija ocrtava njegov sopstveni lik.”
October 14, 2025
Vivir tan ensimismado en la espera, que esta se convierte en tu propia vida. La fantasía no es el escape de la realidad, sino la repetición de lo que fue y podría pasar, abarcando tu presente de forma que lo sea todo.
February 17, 2018
Amazing!
Read
June 4, 2021Otro mas que lei para la facultad
March 4, 2025
Do jaja, prava stvar, prava misterija, cliff-hanger
November 13, 2025
interesantno i zanimljivo, sviđa mi se duh u kom je napisano delo. Sviđa mi se sto se spominje Argentina i generalno mi se sviđa koncept knjige. Jako zanimljivo za citanje
May 16, 2024
Esta obra se recibe con sensibilidad y profundidad, recordándonos la fragilidad de las relaciones familiares y la persistencia del amor a pesar de las circunstancias más adversas.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews