Keywords

literary analysis, intertextuality, Borges scholarship

Abstract

In one of his most celebrated texts, ‘Borges y yo’, Borges describes wandering the streets of Buenos Aires, pausing to take in an unanticipated architectural detail or anything else that happens to catch his attention. That spirit of flâneurie captures something of the experience of reading Cynthia Lucy Stephens’ The Borges Enigma. It is the work of a devoted reader of Borges who accompanies us on a tour of Borges’ texts, pointing out an abundance of unexpected details even as her path seems to be marked less by any strict agenda than by the simple pleasures of exploration. Whether it is a discussion of the connections between Borges’ ‘El inmortal’ and Kipling’s ‘The Finest Story in the World’ or an exploration of Borges’ debt to Sir Thomas Browne and Alexander Ross, there is much to commend in Stephens’ book.

Original Publication Citation

Stephens, Cynthia Lucy. The Borges Enigma: Mirrors, Doubles, and Intimate Puzzles. Bulletin of Spanish Studies (2022).