The journey through the collection of short stories in Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges was nothing less than a tumultuous ride. At first, Borges’ style of writing in the opening story, “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” left me feeling disoriented, as I struggled to comprehend the theme and keep pace with his whimsical flow of thoughts. The proliferation of details only added to my confusion, making it difficult for me to stay on track with the plot, if indeed there was one.
However, as I delved deeper into the story, I gradually surrendered to the realization that it was okay not to understand everything, and that I could always revisit it later; or perhaps the confusion is intentional. By the end of “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius“, I was deeply intrigued by Borges’ playful use of labyrinthine storytelling to prompt readers to reconsider the concept of time, something we have taken for granted since we first learned to tell time from a clock on a wall. In addition, the idea that the “two imaginary regions of Mlejnas and Tlön” (5) might not be as imaginary as they seem, much like the world of Upside Down in the popular Netflix series Stranger Things, was both intriguing and thought-provoking. It raised questions about the connection between time and space and their relationship with reality and fantasy, leading me to wonder how our conventional temporal and spatial perceptions help us differentiate between reality and the imaginary.
Out of all the short stories in Labyrinths, “The Circular Ruins” was my personal favorite. Revisiting the story from the beginning after reaching the end, it was clear that the magician was nothing more than a dream, conjured by another. The cyclic nature of the story, where the magician and his son both appear in similar spatial settings, only added to its appeal. The circular ruins in which both the magician and his son were born were a temple long ago consumed by fire, and I found that reading the story linearly did not immediately reveal the spatial similarities between the two characters, as I sort of wandered off the main path from all the “playfully” created distractions along the journey.
In conclusion, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to discover this new genre of literature, one that I know I would not have known existed if not for this course. Borges’ writing has definitely challenged my preconceived notions about time and space and has encouraged me to reconsider my understanding of reality and fantasy.
Question: Personally, I quite enjoyed being lost in Borges’ words, picking up clues here and there, then reconstructing them to form themes that (sort of) make sense to me. Do you enjoy the feeling of being “lost” in Borges’ works?