i got stuck in the labyrinth
Truth be told, this was not the book for me. I disliked this one as much as I enjoyed the previous one. I definitely see the playful aspect of the book, and I can see why other people have enjoyed it - having read some of the blogs that are already up - but I think this style of play just isn't very compatible with my reading. The title of the book definitely makes sense to me though; reading it felt like going round and round a maze, momentarily feeling like I understand what's going on before turning the corner and seeing that I was going in the wrong direction the whole time. Perhaps if I were to read some of the stories a second time I would be able to better digest the themes and the happenings, but for the most part I felt like I was trying to grasp at straws to understand what was being said.
All that aside, the two stories that were marginally easier for me to follow were Funes the Memorious and The Shape of the Sword. Perhaps it was to do with my mindset at the time of reading (these two are next to each other in the collection and I read the book in batches.) Nonetheless, I found the narrative style a bit more straightforward - and arguably less playful - and I enjoyed the story more. The dialogue just read a bit more like actual dialogue, rather than two characters "talking" just as an excuse for the author to put across ideas. I think the "Three versions of Judas" story also had something to it, though admittedly the lecture helped me out here. The idea of Jesus needing Judas in order to become Jesus is a concept that I was familiar with on a blurry level; no light without darkness, no ruler without the ruled, etc. etc. But I thought applying it to Jesus and Judas was an interesting one to think about.
Something I can say with confidence is that Borges' writing style is unlike anything I've read before. I usually like to think of similar authors or books that I was reminded of while reading. The only thing that came to mind was Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-five. And not necessarily because of the themes and ideas, but more to do with the fact that before Labyrinths, that was the book that had left me the most confused (upon first reading, at least).
Anyhow, my question for you all is this: were you able to engage in Borges' playfulness? If you liked the book, was there a trick to understanding it? If not, do you think you'll reread it and try to figure it out?
Thanks for mentioning Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-five in your post. Yes, there are some components that may justify being on the same book shelf. The question would be to identify them. The languages are different, the extension of the narrative, the literary style. Maybe to answer you should be like detectives between both narratives, maybe we should learn to find passages between them. I think you've already started doing it.
ReplyDeleteHi there, I think I was to an extent able to engage in Borges' playfulness. I say to an extent, as the style of the writing and the lack of structure or meaning at times was frustrating, however I think it was this very frustration that made me want to keep reading. I found myself wanting to see what happens next as in that sentence or paragraph I was lost. I think my trick to understanding it, or at least attempting to, was to re read over sections, as it took a few reads to start to understand or visualize what Borges meant.
ReplyDeleteHi Deeba! Your blog title caught my eye, I also felt like I was in a maze while reading the story! The title is very appropriate for the book. To answer your question, sometimes I understood Borges's games and play but I mostly was lost. Borges's playfulness with words and themes is complex and after reading a couple sentences from 'The Library of Babel' I found 5 words that I had no clue what they meant. I would try re reading the book maybe to focus more on the main big picture. I think the little details are where I went lost. Thanks for your insight!
ReplyDeleteHello Deeba! Thanks for your great post! I quite enjoyed this stories, but if I had to be honest, at points I was a little lost and confused while reading a couple of the stories, similar to how you described in your post. I think an important part for me in comprehending these stories was to read them a bit slower than I usually do as to pick up on the important details that advanced the story. I also read a couple of the stories multiple times, such as the library of babel, to gain a better understanding of the deeper themes in the story.
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