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abevigodless's review
3.0
A brief but illuminating reminiscence of a moment in Borges' life, which (to make the obligatory reference to the great man's work), like the great man's work, in a small space hints at the expanses of his humanity and learning. The details are fond but not fawning, and the writing is just a little flat (could this be because it's an Englishing of the original Spanish?). Borges' heavy-handed dismissal of an admiring writer and his latent, instinctive racism complicate the picture of the benign, monkish old writer, and thankfully keep this from becoming hagiography. I was somewhat shocked, also, at his apparent indifference to music, other than that of words. Of course, the winning details, well, win out -- his fondness for the color yellow (the only one he could see later in life) and for tigers, his love of The West Side Story. I am tempted to copy down the contents of the small bookshelves in his living room as a sort of syllabus. Manguel's best paragraph describes Borges as a generous, intuitive, pleasure-seeking reader "in the tradition of Montaigne, Thomas Browne and Lawrence Sterne." I think Shakespeare was this kind of reader, too, and of course it's the kind of reader I'd like to be. A lovely book, and, only two hours' traffic of the page, worth any Borges fan's time.
lauren_endnotes's review
4.0
In the early 1960s, teenage Alberto Manguel worked at an English and German-language book shop in Buenos Aires after school.
At this time, Jorge Luis Borges' eyesight was so poor he could not longer read. He hired a number of people to read to him throughout the day at his Buenos Aires apartment. Among them, Alberto Manguel, only 16 at the time. They began this special literary relationship that continued for 4 years.
WITH BORGES (2002), Alberto Manguel's long-form personal essay about this time, what they read and discussed, and other literary figures he met through Borges. Perhaps best appreciated by readers familiar with Borges and his circle - Adolfo Bioy Casares, Silvina and Victoria Ocampo, etc, this was an enjoyable essay about the personal life - the good, bad, and a bit ugly - of the writer who still casts a long shadow on Latin American literature, forever shaping the landscape.
At this time, Jorge Luis Borges' eyesight was so poor he could not longer read. He hired a number of people to read to him throughout the day at his Buenos Aires apartment. Among them, Alberto Manguel, only 16 at the time. They began this special literary relationship that continued for 4 years.
WITH BORGES (2002), Alberto Manguel's long-form personal essay about this time, what they read and discussed, and other literary figures he met through Borges. Perhaps best appreciated by readers familiar with Borges and his circle - Adolfo Bioy Casares, Silvina and Victoria Ocampo, etc, this was an enjoyable essay about the personal life - the good, bad, and a bit ugly - of the writer who still casts a long shadow on Latin American literature, forever shaping the landscape.
mariama_29's review against another edition
4.0
كتاب بديع وسلس ومفعم بصداقة وذكريات مميزة، مليء بالاقتباسات ذات التأثير والعاطفة، مع قارئين متمرسين قبل كونهما كتابًا.. أحببته جدًا
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
5.0
Nice little personal essay. It does make you want to read Borges. The description of how to know readers is also very apt.
pollo's review against another edition
4.0
Es difícil escribir un buen libro sobre una persona que es casi una literatura en sí misma: algunos que he leído antes como los de Ferrari o Alifano, son compendios de anécdotas, no todas graciosas, en las que la obsesión del fan enamorado impide una visión más interesante o de la que se pueda aprender algo nuevo. Aquí sucede lo contrario, se disfruta una arista diferente del argentino y un mejor entendimiento de su obra. Es destacable también el recuento de su relación con Bioy y Silvina, esta última me produce mucha más curiosidad.
bbowen84's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful, transporting. Like Borges' own work, worthy of reading and re-reading and re-reading...
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