Borges' LibraryThing
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1tom1066
I was just reading a post elsewhere on Borges' short stories, and one post mentioned that, while not all Borges stories are autobiographical, they do reflect his influences. It occurs to me that it would be interesting to think about what Borges' own LibraryThing catalog would look like, had he had a chance to make one.
In other words, what books influenced him and (to make it really interesting) which books published today would he be interested in?
I can think of some influences, but I figure others of you might have some good ones as well. To throw a few, how about:
1) Collected Tales of Edgar Allen Poe
2) Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton
3) The Zohar
4) Martin Fierro by Jose Hernandez
5) Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury
As for something he might posthumously dig, how about Stephen Millhauser's Barnum Museum?
Your turn.
In other words, what books influenced him and (to make it really interesting) which books published today would he be interested in?
I can think of some influences, but I figure others of you might have some good ones as well. To throw a few, how about:
1) Collected Tales of Edgar Allen Poe
2) Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton
3) The Zohar
4) Martin Fierro by Jose Hernandez
5) Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury
As for something he might posthumously dig, how about Stephen Millhauser's Barnum Museum?
Your turn.
3Lambkins
I would think that he also had a copy of Dante's Inferno in his library. (in terms influence on him). Regarding the idea of books he'd be interested in that were published today, that's a great question. Let me ponder that a little...
4CarlosMcRey
A few more for the library:
Ulysses
The Odyssey
As for contemporary authors, one that comes to mind, though it's a bit of a gamble, would be The Nightmare Factory by Thomas Ligotti since his short fiction draws Borges, as well as Poe and Kafka. (And Lovecraft, who Borges considered a parodist of Poe.) However, I think Borges always preferred Poe's detective stories to his more gothic stuff, and Ligotti is definitely on the horror/gothic side of things.
I guess there's a question of how much Borges would be interested in authors he influenced, no matter how sophisticated. Or would he prefer to stick with the literature that preceded him. (I know in his later years he became more interested in Nordic sagas.)
On a side note, I recently read The Name of the Rose which has a character very obviously inspired by Borges. I wonder if Borges ever read or heard of the book, since it was published a few years before his death.
***Spoiler Warning***
Especially since the blind librarian Jorge of Burgos turns out to be the villain of the book.
End Spoiler Warning
Ulysses
The Odyssey
As for contemporary authors, one that comes to mind, though it's a bit of a gamble, would be The Nightmare Factory by Thomas Ligotti since his short fiction draws Borges, as well as Poe and Kafka. (And Lovecraft, who Borges considered a parodist of Poe.) However, I think Borges always preferred Poe's detective stories to his more gothic stuff, and Ligotti is definitely on the horror/gothic side of things.
I guess there's a question of how much Borges would be interested in authors he influenced, no matter how sophisticated. Or would he prefer to stick with the literature that preceded him. (I know in his later years he became more interested in Nordic sagas.)
On a side note, I recently read The Name of the Rose which has a character very obviously inspired by Borges. I wonder if Borges ever read or heard of the book, since it was published a few years before his death.
***Spoiler Warning***
Especially since the blind librarian Jorge of Burgos turns out to be the villain of the book.
End Spoiler Warning
5tom1066
I would guess that if Borges was aware of Eco's tribute (if that's the right word), he would have found it amusing. From what I've read of him, he had a self-deprecatory sense of humor and may have been tickled to be transformed into a ***SPOILER WARNING*** killer librarian ***END WARNING***.
To add a few volumes to Borges' library:
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote by Cervantes
Ovid's Metamorphoses
Curiosities of literature by Isaac Disraeli
On the Kabala and Its Symbolism by Gershom Sholem
As for something new, I wonder what he would have made of PaulAuster, who has in many ways continued the tradition of the Borgesian detective story.
To add a few volumes to Borges' library:
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote by Cervantes
Ovid's Metamorphoses
Curiosities of literature by Isaac Disraeli
On the Kabala and Its Symbolism by Gershom Sholem
As for something new, I wonder what he would have made of PaulAuster, who has in many ways continued the tradition of the Borgesian detective story.
6HouseholdOpera
I just recollected the last sentence of "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" and the narrator's project of "an uncertain Quevedian translation (which I do not intend to publish) of Browne’s Urn Burial." So I'd imagine that Borges' library would also include both Urne-Buriall and the works of Quevedo.
