Janie Cherestal

“Death and the Compass” talked about a man named Lonnrot who becomes fascinated with the written works of a recently murdered rabbi and uses his works to find the final name of God. In order to do so, he follows a trail of murders, where the killer continuously leaves clues for the investigator. At the end, Lonnrot discovers that this was all a trick, and that the killer, Scharlach, was using the clues to get revenge and lure Lonnrot to his death. I actually like this short story, because I enjoyed the mystery/crime plot. I also enjoyed the fact that, unlike most of Borges’ pieces, this piece had a clear storyline with different characters and dialogue.