I didn’t like this book. We’ve read some interesting pieces for far in this course, and I have to say this one was my least favourite. I had such a hard time following along with the stories and this book started feeling like something I had to read for the sake of this class, rather then it being something I wanted to read till the end to see what happens. I can honestly and confidently say that I did not understand this book at all and I am still having a hard time making any sense of it. There were so many themes and different things going on that it frustrated me so much, that nothing connected. I have so many negative thoughts going through my mind about these short stories, but I can’t seem to put them into words. The only thing I can say clearly is that I have feelings of resentment towards the author, for creating something so confusing.
While I do have negative feelings towards the book, I will say that its title “Labyrinths” truly encompasses the book. I felt like I was trying to navigate the different stories throughout the book, in search of a deeper meaning that would tell me exactly what Borges was trying to convey to the audience. What was his main goal? What kind of answers to a deeper question did these stories answer? While I was reading I got the feeling like I was trapped in a maze, looking for the exit, that would never be found. Another thing with the stories was that some of them seemed to be somewhat connected to each other and others did not, kind of like an actual maze where some paths are connected and others lead to dead-ends.
I will however say, the story The Shape of the Sword stood out to me and was essentially the only story that made sense to me. There was a sort of raw and realness to it and it was one of the few stories that brought out some kind of emotion from me. The style of storytelling between the narrator and Englishman was interesting to read because it felt like a real dialogue between two people who just met. Which was a nice change from Borges usual writing style (in my opinion). Furthermore, the conversation between the two characters was honest and raw, that I could see myself having a conversation like that with a friend. The line “Then a sob went through his body” (99), was something I could picture clearly in my mind and understand the emotion being conveyed in that moment. Overall, even though I didn’t enjoy the reading and found myself constantly frustrated, I will say that this particular story was intriguing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Question to think about: Do you think there was an underlying message behind these short stories? And if so what was it?
“I didn’t like this book.”
Uh-oh. I fear I have an upward battle this week! Well, there’s a challenge…
“I will however say, the story The Shape of the Sword stood out to me and was essentially the only story that made sense to me. There was a sort of raw and realness to it and it was one of the few stories that brought out some kind of emotion from me.”
Well, I’m glad you liked one of the stories, at least! I will say that I think that Borges is interested in what makes something “raw” or “real” (and what makes something not either of those things). He suggests that what may appear raw can turn out to be “cooked” (as it were), and perhaps also vice versa.
But we’ll talk about all this on Tuesday and Thursday!
Hi Alizey,
I agree that this book was not my favourite either. I think the format of the individual stories contributed to that because it was hard to get into the metaphorical aspects of it because the messages kept switching. It was also hard to take a deeper meaning from each story as you mentioned because the connections between each story wasn’t super clear. I honestly still don’t know if any of them connected or if they did, how. Regardless, I think it will provide some interesting class discussion. 🙂
HI Alizey!
So glad I am not the only one who struggled greatly with this book. I will admit, I also feel great resentment towards Borges and his book for angering me and making me question my ability to understand words. I can’t say I found any deeper meanings behind any stories, because they all felt like jumbled plots and ideas that had no real rhyme or reason. I took a lot of the stories to be trying to tell me something, but coming off in a pretentious “you either get it or you don’t” kind of manner that infuriated me even more.
Hey Alizey! I also resent Borges for creating this harrowing reading experience. I didn’t grasp any of the stories and am honestly too busy being angry to find any underlying messages. Felt like a promenade into someone’s immense ego.
Hi Alizey!
I’m surprised so many people didn’t like the book! It was my favorite so far! I feel like books that are so unconventional and challenging like this are the most rewarding to read, and also just the most refreshing.
I think there were a few messages, though, I can’t really describe them well nor do I fully understand them. To me, I would say it was less about the messages and more about the ‘games’ of the stories, if that makes any sense. I feel like he was able to capture these little nuances and experiences in a way that made the reader have to read between the lines and filter out details to get to the core of his messages.
Hi Alizey! I have to agree that I didn’t like this book as well. I was also confused and overwhelmed the majority of the time as well. I’m not sure if it was the style of writing or just the content that had me saying “what is he talking about” the entire time, but I definitely share your frustration. I do think that after doing some research in Borges and his other works, I was able to make sense of it a little but more. I read that a common theme in his work is the relationship between dreams and reality and how they relate and play with one another. I found that these ideas were present in some of the stories, where he would take something that we know in reality and try to question our understanding of it. Not sure if this will help at all, but it helped me to understand some of the stories a little bit better.
Hey Alizey,
Thanks for your more broad question. I’ve just finished reading the book and am gathering my thoughts to write a post. I’ve not yet had the time to reflect on how each of the individual pieces might be strung together in terms of an over-arching message. Perhaps I could argue that he set out certainly to challenge his readers to really “earn” the meaning he gives to each entry. I say this as I understand each story to stand alone by itself – oftentimes representing its own theme (like time, fate, chance, omnipotence, and of course, maze). These ideas may be strung together as what he felt was poorly understood by the people around him at the time, or what he saw as uneducated assumptions of “the way things are is the way they are…”. Although I’m not super sure about his personal views on many of these more philosophical topics – and hope to hear more about this on Tuesday!
Hi Alizey!
I can also say that this is my least favourite novel, but I still appreciate his imagination and work!
I believe that Borges’ references to labyrinths was intended to convey how complex and impenetrable the world is and how nearly impossible it is to know with absolute certainty. If we look at the period in which Borges was alive, from 1899 to 1986, we immediately notice its significance. He lived through both World Wars and the Cold War. In this sense, Borges is the quintessential 20th-century writer. More than anyone else, he shows in his writing how the events of his time defined his ideology and its modern and postmodern aspects.