Alister > Recent Status Updates

The two stories after Tlon were not my favorite but I really enjoyed The Circular Ruins. Captivating writing and amazing ending as always.

Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius - I wasn’t sold at first but then it hooked me. Such a creative narrative with a really immersive and detailed writing style. Truly feels real and of course the ending brought it all together. The exploration of idealism is fascinating but deeper than that this is a story about the power of ideas and worldviews in general. Very very cool.

The Aleph - enthralling. The character writing is so good and the moment he sees the Aleph was very compelling. Can’t say it’s my favorite of the stories so far but definitely a great one, and pretty thought-provoking as always.

The Man on the Threshold - didn’t get much out of this but the writing is awesome as always. Just the Aleph next!!

The Writing of the God - one of the most powerful ones so far. Writing is so good, can’t wait to reread.

Ibn-Hakam al-Bokhari, Murdered In His Labyrinth - a fun one for sure. Definitely need to unpack this more because the message was lost on me.

The Wait - slow start but very powerful ending. Resonated with me a lot. Can’t wait to reread!

The Zahir - perhaps my favorite so far!! The details are so rich, the character so compelling, and there’s just so much philosophy to unpack. Determinism, god, obsession, time, metaphysics, the will… I wanna read this again and again. The writing is some of the best I’ve ever read.

“Perhaps behind the coin is God.”

Deutsches Requiem - one of the most powerful and bone-chilling one’s I’ve read. A nazi trying to justify his atrocities in a truly terrifying way. “Let heaven exist, though our place be in hell.” The idea that these horrible acts of history are sacrifices for some greater victory, it’s a terrible thought.

Averroës’ Search - didn’t really get this one. A bit thought provoking but just not my fav

The Other Death - not my favorite but pretty decent. Just didn’t feel like it had much depth, but I liked the narration.

Emma Zunz - great one. The character and circumstances felt so real. Uhh the writing is just so good. In such a short time I was so invested and the stories always have such a nice conclusion. Even if I might not have a cohesive theme now, it will surely be something that will stick in my head.

The House of Asterion - didnt understand this one. I liked the writing tho.

A Biography of Tadeo Isidoro Cruz - I liked this one. Some powerful lines in it. The idea that a whole life culminates in a single moment of understanding of the self, pretty powerful.

Story of the warrior and the captive maiden - pretty good. Borges, I can tell, likes to explore these themes of unity: that all people are one and the same. I like this theme a lot. It’s especially clear in the way that the characters of this story come not to be defined by their identities (region, race, allegiance) but by their shared destruction of such identities.

The Theologians - didn’t love this one. Hardly a story, just a lot of dense stuff that I wasn’t entirely following. I liked the ending but didn’t entirely gleam its meaning.

The Dead Man - very enjoyable and super short story. One I’ll definitely have to reread. Explores power and the pursuit of it in an intriguing way. But I also like how the main character is motivated more deeply by a sense of respect, or wanting to be respected. Very cool. (Could also be about masculinity?)

The Immortal - really great story. I was enthralled with the narrator and then the reveal was very cool and unexpected. I love the idea that our entire idea of reality is centered in our mortality. Our finitude defines even our perception of the world and of ourselves.