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jmcook's review
- 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
4.0
tictactoney's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I did not get it. I cannot explain it. It's one of my favorite things I've ever read.
urikastov's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
laz_'s review against another edition
3.0
borges is mind-boggling and deeply intricate somehow even in his shortest prose forms. ngl i maybe understood 35% of what this guy was talking about but you just know how brilliant of these .. when i got these i GOT them and they are going to haunt me forever. this guy borges kinda knows what he’s doing
aranafyre's review
3.0
I read this. I understand why Borges is a classic and I would probably appreciate many of these stories if I read them with a class either as a student or teacher. Independently, I really enjoy a lot of the concepts Borges plays with. Labyrinths, time, multiverses, divinity, fate, literature. All fascinating. But he is often times obtuse, unnecessarily convoluted, and very obsessed with name dropping every philosopher.
Also so sexist. Women just don’t exist in any of these stories. When I got to the one story written with a woman character, I was shocked. I could not remember if there was a single other she. I don’t think any of the men even run past a lady on the street.
Also so sexist. Women just don’t exist in any of these stories. When I got to the one story written with a woman character, I was shocked. I could not remember if there was a single other she. I don’t think any of the men even run past a lady on the street.
slichto3's review
2.0
At times, I found Labyrinths very engaging, very wise, and, well, stunning. But those moments came in fits and starts. Much of the book is very thick, and it often feels pretentious or just boring. I would still probably recommend reading some of the short stories, but skipping the essays and parables. While the book had good points, it was such a slog to get through that I can't give it that positive of a grade.
ketchashum's review
challenging
reflective
slow-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
4.0
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
2.0
Um, I think I missed something.
This book's average rating is 4.47 as I write this and I'm rating it 2 stars. Where did I go wrong?
It's been a while since I finished so I won't be able to get too specific.
First of all, I didn't particularly care for the writing style. Something about his writing reminded me of H. P. Lovecraft, who I also don't fully appreciate, so that was a negative. I found it to be a little...overwrought at times. I don't think it was the translation because there were many translators throughout the collection and the style was pretty consistent. And then I think Borges is just way too smart for me.
I could see that there was all this philosophical stuff going on in the subtext of his writing, but I didn't care enough to stop and think about it and try to figure out what he was really saying. I was just trying to wrap my head around a world that was created in imagination and then starts to slowly creep into the real world. Or trying to determine which of two characters was the dreamer and which was the dreamed. Or were they the same? And why did this head injury leave this character with a Phenomenon-like memory and intelligence? And what the heck is the point of trying to see if you can perfectly re-write Don Quixote by accident? And if I lived in a never-ending library, would I seriously spend all my time searching for the one book with the answers to Life, the Universe, and Everything (Thanks, Douglas Adams) or would I just sit down with the books I had and leave others to the searching? I think my reaction to this book answers that last question.
I just didn't get it.
Maybe if I had taken everything at face value I would have been happier with the book as a whole. It was just so obvious that there were so many layers of meaning in Borges's writing that I wasn't able to do that.
I'm obviously in the minority so don't let me turn you off. If you're interested, go ahead and give it a try. I'd like someone to explain what I missed.
This book's average rating is 4.47 as I write this and I'm rating it 2 stars. Where did I go wrong?
It's been a while since I finished so I won't be able to get too specific.
First of all, I didn't particularly care for the writing style. Something about his writing reminded me of H. P. Lovecraft, who I also don't fully appreciate, so that was a negative. I found it to be a little...overwrought at times. I don't think it was the translation because there were many translators throughout the collection and the style was pretty consistent. And then I think Borges is just way too smart for me.
I could see that there was all this philosophical stuff going on in the subtext of his writing, but I didn't care enough to stop and think about it and try to figure out what he was really saying. I was just trying to wrap my head around a world that was created in imagination and then starts to slowly creep into the real world. Or trying to determine which of two characters was the dreamer and which was the dreamed. Or were they the same? And why did this head injury leave this character with a Phenomenon-like memory and intelligence? And what the heck is the point of trying to see if you can perfectly re-write Don Quixote by accident? And if I lived in a never-ending library, would I seriously spend all my time searching for the one book with the answers to Life, the Universe, and Everything (Thanks, Douglas Adams) or would I just sit down with the books I had and leave others to the searching? I think my reaction to this book answers that last question.
I just didn't get it.
Maybe if I had taken everything at face value I would have been happier with the book as a whole. It was just so obvious that there were so many layers of meaning in Borges's writing that I wasn't able to do that.
I'm obviously in the minority so don't let me turn you off. If you're interested, go ahead and give it a try. I'd like someone to explain what I missed.
antennaclasses's review against another edition
4.5
The cover of the book perfectly describes the reading experience. It’s murky, yet crystalline, an enjoyable read for those willing to get a little heady. The themes prefigure ways the world has since developed; the adage is that we live in radical times, but now I wonder if our destiny was ever strange.