Compared with the stories in The Aleph (1970), also translated by
Norman Thomas de Giovanni in collaboration with the author, this
collection is almost pragmatic. "I have done my best," Borges
opens, "to write straightforward stories" - in the manner of late
Kipling, whom he admires above Kafka and James - but "I do not dare
state that they are simple; there isn't anywhere on earth a single
page or a single word that is. . ." And so, through recitations
that are nothing if not fastidiously direct, he merely suggests the
occultism and the mazes of mystic and psychic possibility that
remain his real subjects. A few of these are sheer gothic - "The
Gospel According to Mark," for example - and while they may seem
heavy-handed coming from Borges, the development is exquisite; more
characteristically reserved pieces like "The End of the Duel,"
"Guayaquil," and "Juan Murana" hint at a curse-like aspect of
history, but because their ambiguities are relatively simple they
are the least effective - that is to say they can be comfortably
appreciated. The best of these, say "The Intruder" and "The
Meeting," have an utterly different impact: enormous latent
darknesses loom through their matter-of-fact exposition and the
reader is left to find order for himself. As experiences they quite
outdo the overt metaphysical shockers of the preceding volume.
(Kirkus Reviews)
The art of writing is mysterious; the opinions we hold are
ephemeral. In these eleven short stories the quality of his
inspiration is unmistakable. With their deceptively simple, almost
laconic style, they achieve a magical impression that is unrivalled
in modern writing.
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