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theelectricversion's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
vincebingo's review against another edition
4.0
I intermittently would pick up and put down this little edition as a bit of a reprieve from my assigned readings and more dense texts. The design of these stories is so that they are incredibly digestible and relatively narratively simple. A nice cryptic holiday when the mundanity of society in Eliot’s Middlemarch is getting a little much for me.
This is not at all to say that the stories themselves are not dense, only that they are easily read. Borges is able to give the reader in 10 pages what most authors are unable to in over three-hundred. In the forward to the Garden of Forking Paths he describes this process as like condensing a more expansive volume or story into a more condensed form. It’s completely effective; rarely too much or too little, usually just right.
For fans of detective novels, academia, and texts that are just slightly demented.
A great read!
(P.S., terrific translation by Andrew Hurley)
This is not at all to say that the stories themselves are not dense, only that they are easily read. Borges is able to give the reader in 10 pages what most authors are unable to in over three-hundred. In the forward to the Garden of Forking Paths he describes this process as like condensing a more expansive volume or story into a more condensed form. It’s completely effective; rarely too much or too little, usually just right.
For fans of detective novels, academia, and texts that are just slightly demented.
A great read!
(P.S., terrific translation by Andrew Hurley)
cicu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
mesut's review against another edition
5.0
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius benim favori hikayem olabilir. Hayalin bir dünya olan Tlön toplumu gerçekliği ile 20. yy Dünyasının gerçekliği arasında "büyülü gerçekçi" geçişlerin sıklığı neredeyse baş döndürücüdür, aslında olan şey daha çok Borges'in düşünsel hayatımıza ayna tutması olabilir.
Tlön felsefesindeki aykırılılar bize hiç de yabancı değildir, bilimlerin psikolojik temellerini arayanlar Tlönlüler bize hiç yabanıcı gelmez öyküyü okurken bilim sosyolojisi çalışan bazı isimler gelir aklımıza. Bu sebeple "aynalamak" Ficciones'i özetleyen harika bir kelime olabilir.
Aynalamak demişken, "aynalar ve babalar tiksinçtir, evreni çoğaltırlar" görüşündeki bir karaktere yer veren Borges, acaba metin üzerinden kendisiyle girdiğimiz diyaloga bir mesaj mı vermiştir? Bunun gibi pek çok örnek üzerinden meta-düşünceler düzeyine çıkılıp inilmektedir. Galiba bir Borges hayranı oldum!
Tlön benim gördüğüm okunmaya en çok değerli olan öykü. Bunun yanında düşüncelerinizde derinleşmenize yol açan diğer ficciones hikayeleri de enfes bir tat verecektir muhakkak. Kesinlikle okunması gerek bu kitabın. :)
Tlön felsefesindeki aykırılılar bize hiç de yabancı değildir, bilimlerin psikolojik temellerini arayanlar Tlönlüler bize hiç yabanıcı gelmez öyküyü okurken bilim sosyolojisi çalışan bazı isimler gelir aklımıza. Bu sebeple "aynalamak" Ficciones'i özetleyen harika bir kelime olabilir.
Aynalamak demişken, "aynalar ve babalar tiksinçtir, evreni çoğaltırlar" görüşündeki bir karaktere yer veren Borges, acaba metin üzerinden kendisiyle girdiğimiz diyaloga bir mesaj mı vermiştir? Bunun gibi pek çok örnek üzerinden meta-düşünceler düzeyine çıkılıp inilmektedir. Galiba bir Borges hayranı oldum!
Tlön benim gördüğüm okunmaya en çok değerli olan öykü. Bunun yanında düşüncelerinizde derinleşmenize yol açan diğer ficciones hikayeleri de enfes bir tat verecektir muhakkak. Kesinlikle okunması gerek bu kitabın. :)
emperadorapb's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
shirabaharin's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
eggburp's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best advice to come out of a creative writing class I had in high school was to write with confidence in your imagination. If you ever got stuck with this weird idea, just write as if this already exists in the real world and that it is common fact to everyone.
I finally have evidence of this after reading Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges. At times it is difficult to understand his stories as he throws you in the deep end almost immediately with his writing but once you wade long enough it is quite fulfilling.
Borges writes with an economy of words where some of his best stories can be completed in one sitting, but you can be wrestling with his ideas months later.
I hope to be able to write like this one day.
I finally have evidence of this after reading Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges. At times it is difficult to understand his stories as he throws you in the deep end almost immediately with his writing but once you wade long enough it is quite fulfilling.
Borges writes with an economy of words where some of his best stories can be completed in one sitting, but you can be wrestling with his ideas months later.
I hope to be able to write like this one day.
tamy4815's review against another edition
5.0
nunca fui fã de contos mas talvez eu seja fã do borges
heloise_lifeinbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A book that made me slow down to properly absorb each story.
An imagination beyond anyone I’ve read.
Wildly stunning both in complexity and in simplicity - the barest of ideas or premises grown into all-encapsulating myths.
The slowest parts for me were a couple of the stories that dealt heavily with religious symbolism, but even those shorts were magical.
I will def reread this book in Spanish at some point.
An imagination beyond anyone I’ve read.
Wildly stunning both in complexity and in simplicity - the barest of ideas or premises grown into all-encapsulating myths.
The slowest parts for me were a couple of the stories that dealt heavily with religious symbolism, but even those shorts were magical.
I will def reread this book in Spanish at some point.