LitPundit Home of all things literary

If you are a fan of Jorge Borges and would like to find out more about the great Argentine literary genius, you have found the right book in "With Borges" by Alberto Manguel. One may be hard pressed to call it a book - at 77 pages of rather large text, it is more like a long narrative or a booklet. Yet, despite its short length, the book succeeds wonderfully in painting a rich and colorful picture of the life and literary pursuits of Borges.

Manguel manages to write a personal account, inviting the reader to a journey few would have been privileged to make. Manguel was one of the several people who had read out to Borges, after he succumbed to blindness in his adulthood. Manguel does not consider himself unique, admitting that there exists a vast group of people like himself, "minor Boswells whose identities are rarely known to one another but who collectively hold the memory of one of the world's greatest readers". And it is a generous piece of this personal memory that he shares with us, in this intense and intimate account of the great man.

The author opens the window into the reading habits of this genius, and shows us his modus operandi for relishing works of literature:

"..he had me fetch the volumes of Chesterton's stories and Stevenson's essays that we read over many nights and on which he commented with wonderful perspicacity and wit, not only sharing with me his passion for these great writers but also showing me how they worked by taking paragraphs apart with the amorous intensity of a clockmaker".

The book, while tracing Borges' literary taste, manages to give a long list of classics old and new, of books one wishes he had in his home library - a treat to anyone who loves to read about literature.

Here, too, he kept J.W.Dunnes's An Experiment with Time, several books by H.G.Wells, Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone, various novels by Eca de Queiroz in yellowing cardboard bindings, books by Lugones, Guiraldes and Groussac, Joyce's Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, Vies Imaginaires by Marcel Schwob..."

Even the group of authors that Borges rejected makes an impressive list: "Austen, Goethe, Rabelais, Flaubert (except the first chapter of Bouvard at Pecuchet), Calderon, Stendhal, Zweig, Maupassant, Boccaccio, Proust, Zola, ...."

Manguel also manages to give glimpses of Borges personal life - his photographic memory, his protective Madre (mother), his fascination with the German language, his love for narrating his dreams, his fascination with tigers and his friendship with Adolfo Bioy and Silvina Ocampo. Manguel gives a touching, yet honest portrait, admitting to the great man's occasional cruelty, intolerance of stupidity and the occasional racist remarks.

Manguel has a unique writing style, meandering through his subject's life with no apparent path or destination in mind, yet delicately steering the reader through a moving and marvelous journey. This may not be a long read, but "when the door closes" on this biography, the reader is left with a warm fuzzy feeling, a sense of satisfaction and happiness as if one has just been in the presence of one of the greatest literary minds of the last generation.

So you think you will like "With Borges"? Buy it from Amazon using our affiliate link and support us.

If you liked this book, you may also like "A Reading Diary : A Passionate Reader's Reflections on a Year of Books" by Alberto Manguel and "Borges: Collected Fictions" by Jorge Luis Borges.