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It is one of those unforgettable experiences which one may come across once in a lifetime but every word of this gem is worth it. FICTIONS is perhaps the single most mysterious and extraordinary collection of short stories written this century. If you have been putting off asking the libidinous (hope springs eternal) librarian out on a date, do it.

Jorge Luis Borges, possibly one of the greatest readers of all time, lost his eyesight later in life. In 1944, a new section labeled Artificios ("Artifices"), containing six stories, was added to the eight of The Garden of Forking Paths.My symmetry-loving self is pleased to note that I've been reading and rereading these seventeen Borges' stories for exactly seventeen days. Three Versions of Judas is in effect a religious work arguing that Judas’ betrayal of Christ was superfluous. Lo que sí diré es que Borges no es para todos los momentos; uno debe ser consciente de que quizá acercarse a su obra no será para un momento en el que te apetezca leer algo rápido, o en el que, por razones externas o internas, será complicado para ti mantener la concentración al 110%. While he imparts many of his own characteristics in them, he does not idealize them, and gives them human failings as well. Prácticamente es necesario nombraros a casi todos, pero los más emblemáticos son: “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”, una exposición acerca de los libros y la realidad, “Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote”, en donde Menard y Cervantes son un hombre y todos los hombres, “Las ruinas circulares”, con su balanceada mezcla de realidad, irrealidad y saltos temporales, “La lotería de Babilonia”, donde el azar y el destino se enfrentan, “La biblioteca de babel”, un ensayo sobre Dios y el infinito, “El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan”, bellísimo cuento que incluye un relato policial, un laberinto y una metáfora sobre el tiempo, “Funes el memorioso” donde los sueños, el insomnio y la genialidad confluyen en un misma persona, “La forma de la espada” en la que una cicatriz divide dos momentos históricos en Irlanda y Buenos Aires, “La muerte y la brújula”, que es otro genial cuento policial de factura, desarrollo y cierre impecables, “El milagro secreto”, una maravillosa parábola kafkiana, “El fin” en donde Recabarren narra el enfrentamiento entre Martín Fierro y su matador y “El sur”, otro entrevero de cuchilleros tan bien narrado que no necesita mucha explicación sino disfrute.

It’s this kind of thing that the man of many places (he lived in Argentina, Switzerland and Spain) and many languages (he translated Wilde, Shakespeare, Kafka, Poe, Hesse, Gide, Whitman and Woolf among others) would have resonate for its universality and unboundedness. In 1948, the story "The Garden of Forking Paths" was translated into English by Anthony Boucher and published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. x 10 to the 1,834,097th power) than there are thought to be atoms in the observable universe (10 to the 80th power). There is something about ‘Majesty’, one of the oldest oak trees in England, and something else about Claudius’ death by mushrooms. Fill page one with nonsense that isn't all that important to the story, feels otherworldly, and serves only to offset and confuse the reader].I deeply lament having lent, irretrievably, the first book he published, to a female acquaintance” --The Work of Herbert Quain.

But then, suddenly, a sense of solace find its way to our heart and we come to discern that we are not Borges, for there had been only one, there would (may) be only one, for his style is inimitable. When it was proclaimed that the Library contained all books, the first impression was one of extravagant happiness. Standouts are "Pierre Menard, Author of Don Quixote" - a man who dedicates much of his life to the recreation of Don Quixote word for word, a stunningly insightful satire.

With one quick look, you and I perceive three wineglasses on a table; Funes perceived every grape that had been pressed into the wine and all the stalks and tendrils of its vineyard.