Katherine Tesi

I enjoyed Borges’ “The Zahir” the most of all of his stories thus far. Initially, I found the fact that Borges made himself the narrator and main character more intriguing as compared to the other stories. In the past stories, the history piece that introduces each piece I’ve found to be boring and confusing. However, in the beginning of “The Zahir” Borges explains the history of the zahir and the idea behind it, attracting the reader further. The idea of the story, that a single item or thing can cause complete obsession, prohibiting a person to view and interpret reality, was so interesting in itself.
The second story, “The House of Asterion” I found appealing as well. Although short, Borges once again brings in the idea of the labyrinth when he refers to the infinite doors. I also noted that Borges illudes to religious themes once again when Asterion speaks of himself as having god like characteristics and when the “great redeemer” is mentioned. The story ends with mention of the Minotaur being killed, and I couldn’t help but remember House of Leaves. However, it was unclear to me whether or not Asterion was the Minotaur or not.