Julie Morvitz

I’m not sure what to think of The Zahir. It was confusing at times but it was about a man who bcomes obsessed with a coin and then finds out other people have been obsessed with it as well. In the past it hadn’t only been a coin, it had been other things as well like a tiger, a blind man, and many others. I think that anyone can decide what The Zahir is, because what it’s been in the past are very abstract things. The narrator says that The Zahir is also a form of God because they are both unforgettable and they make people mad. I think this is an interesting comparison, but there are many other things that are unforgettable and make people go crazy, but these things aren’t compared to God.
I enjoyed The House of Asterion. It is about a man who lives in a house (which is similar to a labyrinth) where its’ doors are always open and there is no lock. Although the house would allow him to leave, he feels like a prisoner beause when he walks outside people hide from him and run away because he is “unique”. Every nine years, nine men come into his house to be freed from all evil, and they all die suddenly. There are many questions I have concerning this story. Why do people flee from Asterion when they see him? Why is the number fourteen so important? How do the nine men die and why? Will Asterion’s redeemer ever come?