The Library of Babel

Metadata

• Media: #shortstory
  • Author: [[!Jorge Luis Borges]]
  • From: B-Ficciones
  • Status: read
  • Date: 2020-08-21
  • Tags: #fantasy #weirdfiction
  • Rating: ★★★★★
  • Idea richness: ★★★★★

Summary

One of my favourites from B-Ficciones, The Library of Babel spins a weird fantasy of a universe that is a library. Comes complete with wandering and sometimes warring librarians exploring the interconnected hexagons full of books and philosophizing about their world.

Thoughts

This one feels like a classic (and exceptional) piece of weird fiction. It imagines a universe that is a Library and probably provides insightful commentary on all sorts of real world philosophies (like the sects which take to destroying books and their librarians) but, to be honest, I read it just as a fascinating bit of worldbuilding and loved every minute.

Scrapbook Concepts

• Anatomy of Melancholy (book)
• "The universe (which others call the Library)"
• A library where you have to go on a long quest to find a book.
• A book which details the true story of your death.
• "the books of the Crimson Hexagon"
• Sect worshiping the distant librarian they've never seen