Reviews

Alef by Jorge Luis Borges

anaphabetic's review against another edition

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3.0

Estoy segura de que hubiera disfrutado mucho más este libro si tuviera más cultura o un Vior de bolsillo que me fuera explicando contextos, figuras literarias y dobleces varias de cada cuento. Aún así no puedo decir que no me haya gustado, aunque sí que es cierto que no lo he disfrutado realmente debido al sentimiento de que no le estaba sacando todo el jugo que se le podría sacar.

Me gustó especialmente "Los inmortales" de la que saqué grandes frases como: "Ser inmortal es baladí; menos el hombre todos las criaturas lo son, pues ignoran la muerte" o "La muerte (o su alusión) hace patéticos a los hombres". "Los teólogos" me dejó muy confundida y requirió una segunda lectura y después de una profunda reflexión, una tercera. "Emma Zunz" es un poco perturbadora. "La casa de Asterión" me sorprendió (quizá como consecuencia de mi penosa mitología griega). "Abenjacán el Bojarí, muerto en su laberinto" es divertida y un poco delirante, pero de los relatos más sencillos de leer junto con " La espera". "El Aleph" por su parte es un poco misterioso, con un aire de ensoñación que destaca sobre el resto de la narración tan real y mundana en apariencia, algo similar me ocurrió con "El Zahir".

En resumen: Ojalá un Vior de bolsillo a la venta en Amazon.

drewsbookandteareviews's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

3.75

rokoprog's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

andrewb21's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

A couple stories in this collection were excellent, but most were slow and meandering musings on ideas. More a vibe than a story, etc. The audiobook narrator also gave one of the worst, most over the top performances I’ve ever heard, which certainly didn’t help.

annesofielovesliterature's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

katethegreat700's review against another edition

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"What will die with me the day I die?" (p. 161)

sillyboysbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

tarskipriest's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

3.75

olichoreno's review against another edition

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5.0

En definitiva un libro que leería dos veces, hay algunas novelas o cuentos que avanzas sin temor a que lleguen al final como podría ser con Dan Brown, pero con Borges los cuentos son mundos completos de análisis, cada cuento tiene su propia fábula, narrativa y cariño especial, Borges no escribe para llenar páginas, escribe para dejar ir sus pensamientos

theciz's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

It’s difficult to go wrong with Borges. Although this collection doesn’t have my favourite stories, it’s still high quality story telling. I’m always impressed with how Borges can incapsulate so much with sometimes so few words. Labyrinths is still my favourite, but this is such a breath of fresh air compared to my other recent reading.