Well, I just finished reading Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.
…I have to say, I'm glad I read it.
I feel a bit better about myself. I read a "classy" book. I read something that well-read people read, so that was good. I actually did read something. I feel like there's this seemingly endless list of things I "should" read, and I've read one thing, so that was good, but yeah, I had to read Wikipedia's article on the short story in order to really understood what I read.
I was thinking whilst reading - even if Tlon is a world where the existence of things depends upon it being perceived, where is this going?
I suppose there was something interest that happened in the story which is when a drunk man is found dead, and at the site of his corpse is a collection of coins and a strange object that had up until this point only been described in the Encyclopaedia of Tlon. It felt like something out of that Control videogame with that "Jesse Faden" woman. This mysterious object that nobody understands is now present in our realm. But I suppose it's not meant to be like that. That object is possibly in the encyclopaedia of Tlon, since it was recognised to be from Tlon.
The conformity of the world to Tlon was a bit disappointing as well, as it seemed like more and more people were just obsessed with learning about it. The mysterious aspect of Tlon-objects appearing in the world wasn't really the driving mechanism like I hoped it would have been, with more objects from Tlon spontaneously appearing. Instead, there's just more intense study on Tlon.
After reading about the short story on Wikipedia, I've come to conclude that being a Borges fan is predicated upon being a literature fan. You have to be in the know about all of the latest ideas and theories and whatnot. That's how it seems to me. The short story makes reference at one instant to an idea of "Hume". I believe that's David Hume? I've never read Hume - not a single word. I just know that he's an important philosopher, and that for me as a Catholic, a potential enemy (supposedly he argued that the soul should serve the desires of the flesh).
That's my run-through with this short story. I don't know if I'll read more Borges. I probably will, as I'll bring myself to read the books I ought to, but I think, for fun, I'll turn to Light Novels instead.
Although perhaps the other short stories might be more entertaining? I'm curious as to whether or not I'll like them.
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