The Aleph

Borges does not write stories: he builds philosophical artefacts that happen to resemble stories. The Aleph — that point in space containing all points simultaneously — is the perfect metaphor for Borges's ambition. The stories are brief but several require multiple readings to reveal their depth. Not a pleasure of immediate gratification but of deferred, intellectual enjoyment. For readers who relish the play of ideas and do not need fiction to deliver plot or conventional characters.