/lit/ - Literature

Bump.

I've heard several people complaining about that sort of thing so there must be something to it
I do think them all uneducated and incompetent readers though

I'm retarded but still enjoyed Borges. Some stories are more arcane than others though. Uqbar is one that comes to mind. He creates other realities and name drops some philosophy but otherwise pretty clear to follow imo.
Which stories are difficult?

>>12980209
this

>>12979553
you're a dullard, harry

borges is easy. start with something easier. go to a second hand bookstore and pick up a norton short story reader or something.

>>12979553
>Any other people here suffered the same or I'm just below the level of a normal reader?
Never had problems reading Georgie. I read him in Spanish, though. Maybe it's due to the fact that words which are common in Spanish are seen as "elevated", "verbose" or "Latinate" when translated in a literal fashion to English.

>>12980212
I'm enjoying too, but having some difficulties in the way.
I had to re-read three paragraphs from Uqbar, one from Pierre Menard, two from Herbert Quain and one from Circular Ruins. Had to use the dictionary many times while reading Herbert Quain.

>>12980209
>>12980213
Thank you. I'll get an easier book after finishing Ficciones.

>reading Borges in anything but its original language
you gringos are wasting your time. learn español or literally go home.

>>12979553
>It looks like he uses difficult words
its called speaking with precision. it allows for sharper thought processes. there are no "difficult words", just uncultured people, read more.

>>12980393
I don't think much if anything is lost in translation with Borges

>>12979553
I remember how when we read Borges at school, people either loved him for the story or hated him for the prose. Borges is unique in the sense that the latter his works, the easier and "simpler" they are to read. Try reading Brodie's Report, it's not his most representative work by any means, but you'll certainly get the feel of what he's about.

Knowing the canon and a bit of Arabic, Jewish and Christian history will ease up a lot of things too

>>12980489
OP here.
I'm loving his stories, I already ordered The Aleph and I'm in the middle of Ficciones. And I don't hate his prose, I'm just below his level.

>>12980393
Learn the definition of translatability. This isn’t La cognizione del dolore or Paradiso we’re talking about.

"[...] But what is the value of this openness? Its main value is to
make reading active rather than passive. Literature can be
described as ‘closed’ for two basic reasons. Either because it is
too intelligible (and thus only tells you what you already
know); or else it isn’t intelligible at all (and doesn’t tell you
anything). In neither case is the reader truly engaged."

It's called active reading, OP, it consists in that you are not just passively receiving information, but you are actually actively engaged with the text and thinking to process the information. That's the beauty of good literature.
>>12979553

Borges sucks. Hes got the t.s. elliot snobishness of wanting to liquidify his own farts and make a mate-flavoured Monster. I really dislike his prose, the tone and the stories most of the time. Check his poetry though, some are salvageable.

Pd: Borges was an English translator himself, guess it wont be hard to read it in English, his stories are rather universal

>>12980489
>unique in the sense that the latter his works, the easier and "simpler" they are to read
many writers are known for mellowing

>>12980728
>Borges sucks.

What to read next after Ficciones?

>>12980759
He went blind at 55 and wasn't as demanding to himself as when he was in his 30s.

>>12981629
The Aleph and then The Book of Sand.

>>12980728

>>12981671
How is The Book of Imaginary Beings?

I didn't find his work hard or even engaging. Some stories here and there are good, but I d rather read a 800 page post modern work of pynchon, de lillo or bolano.

>>12982599

>>12982236
I haven't read nor found that one. I do have a Book of Dreams, though.

>>12979553
>>12980263

Depends on your translation. The older English editions are using the author-approved translation, which is full of intentionally outmoded/latin expressions. The newer penguins use a much more colloquial English and have attracted a fair share of rage from the old fanbase.

It's hard to make a call on, because on the one hand you want to think Orwell style about the virtues of plain Germanic English, on the other hand Borges himself had studied the English language was well aware of the issue and had his reasons for wanting his stories not to be written that way.

Despite that, I'd suggest picking up a newer edition and having a go at that.

>>12980263
No. I've read him in English and the prose is top-notch, among the best stuff I've ever read, but still simple. Sometimes I wonder whether he designed his prose not to lose anything when translated into English. He spoke it after all.

>>12982236
Thats just a bestiary
Its encyclopedic

>>12982759
>I've read him in English and the prose is top-notch, among the best stuff I've ever read.
Interesting. Did you read the Di Giovanni or the Hurley (Penguin) translation?
>Sometimes I wonder whether he designed his prose not to lose anything when translated into English.
In Spanish-language literature there's before and after Borges. The literature from back then was written with floritures and flowery language and then this man appears, sort of like a gardener, and begins to cut all that and to create his literature merely with the essential elements, with such precision, conciseness, and class. I'm sure he wrote his prose to be as clear as possible.

>>12982783
Di Giovanni mostly. By the way, we've just released his complete "Library of Babel" compilation here in Germany. I'm probably going to buy it.

>>12982913
As a gastarbeiter in your country I find the hardback fetish in German bookshops really weird and also notice in e.g. youtube book reviewers in your language how extra-prominent the bookshelf display obsession is.

In this series you see various very slim editions of out of copyright work going at around 18 EU a copy. Some nice looking copies too, but a ludicrous luxury at the price.

I guess you're retarded. Borges can be hard at times but never owing to the language he employs

>>12982236
>>12982769
It's great, most of it compiled snippets from his readings. The translation with di Giovanni adds some entries.

>>12982913

My God, it's beautiful.

>>12982722
Hurley simply is a bad translation, and it's not because of his less latinate English. Call it rage all you will, even for those who aren't old fans it's hard to escape the fact that the new translation only exists to evade the royalties of the old one

>>12982913
that's amazing, but I cannot find it for sale anywhere in English :( I suppose the works are all in public domain by now, but gosh that's a nice looking set of books.

>>12982913
That is really cool.

>>12981629
His non-fictions.

>>12984525
It isnt tho