Labyrinths
by Jorge Luis Borges · first published 1962
92% recommend8% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, idea-dense Borges stories on infinity, time, identity and fictional scholarship, with math and philosophy folded into fanciful plots. Suits tech-minded readers and newcomers to Borges or literary fiction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Labyrinths is a collection of short stories and essays by the writer Jorge Luis Borges. It was translated into English, published soon after Borges won the International Publishers' Prize with Samuel Beckett. It includes, among other stories, "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", "The Garden of Forking Paths", and "The Library of Babel", three of Borges' most famous stories. Stories Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius The Garden of Forking Paths The Lottery in Babylon Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote The Circular Ruins The Library of Babel Funes the M
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…have been a better book if it had been written by Frank. Nonetheless, it is satisfying to resolve the unanswered questions: Who the heck are these Honored Matres and what were they running away from? Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings, by Jorges Luis Borges - This is kind of a quirky collection of short stories that are all mindbenders of one variety or another. The best description I can give of…
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009?” ↗I'll be reading Illuminatus! since you've related it to Pendulum. I came to Pendulum after seeing it related to Labyrinths (https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinths-Directions-Paperbook-Jorge...) if by any chance you haven't read that you should check it out.
on “The dark legacy of Carlos Castaneda (2007)” ↗…fictitious scholarly research, I strongly recommend Jorge Luis Borges' short stories ("The Library of Babel", "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" and "Funes the Memorious" come to mind). The collection Labyrinths has some of the best ones.
on “The Future According to Stanisław Lem” ↗I read three books at a time, and only pick up/start/buy a new one once I finish one. Helps acquiring a large back log of unread literature around the apartment. :) * Labyrinths - Jorge Louis Borges [0] I believe HN was the reason I picked this up, if I remember correctly. It's a collection of short stories, each of which can be finished in a night, which is satisfying. I really…
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗…Time (Proust) -- the definitive portrait of life, memory and experience Phenomenology of Perception (Merleau-Ponty) -- groundbreaking analysis of "the thickness of things" implicit within perception Labyrinths (Borges) -- masterful explorations of time, thought, infinity... certain passages of this collection surface in my mind on a weekly basis Civilization and Capitalism (Braudel) -- telescopes seamlessly…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗…a particularly contemporary and enlightened professor of contemporary literature... Super recommend: Blow-Up and Other Stories by Cortázar and of course for anyone who somehow hasn't read it Borges' Labyrinths... the latter in particular is full of ideas which resonate more ever more significance...
on “The Inventor of Magical Realism” ↗I'm a big Calvino fan and can thoroughly recommend Cosmicomics as a great collection of shorts. If you enjoy Calvino you may also enjoy Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges.
on “Ask HN: What are you reading these days?” ↗Labyrinths - Jorge Borges (I've gifted this many times) Duino Elegies - Rainer Rilke, translated by Robert Hunter
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗…and so it's really easy to sit down and read one of his stories over a lunch break. The common recommendation would be to try out Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius and see if you like it. If so, it's part of Labyrinths, which is (in my opinion) his best collection of short stories. The best edition in English is probably Penguin's Collected Fictions. Regarding the content of this interview: >If you compiled an enormous…
on “When Jorge Luis Borges met one of the founders of AI” ↗"Labyrinths" by Borges.
on “If you could give a book to your younger self, what would it be?” ↗Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges probably tops the list for me.
on “Ask HN: What are the best books you've ever read?” ↗As for me —- 0: Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths Anyone interested in information theory, intelligence (artificial or otherwise), many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics, metafiction, the nature of art, or even probabilistic sequence modeling…
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗Read Labyrinths by Borges, and found it to be fantastic, the kind of stuff that leaves you a different person. So, HN, any good fiction you've read of late that I may have missed?
on “Ask HN: What is some great fiction you've read?” ↗Many of my lit-savvy friends have never heard of Borges - I had never caught wind of him until about a year or two ago. I was blown away when I read Labyrinths. His writing style strikes a really nice balance between analytical and artistic/philosophical. I found that I got the most out of his stories when I read them in their entirety and reflected upon for…
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗I sometimes recommend Borges (Labyrinths) and Kafka (The Trial, Short Stories) to tech people looking to get into literature.
on “Why read Dostoevsky? A programmer's perspective” ↗