Michael Lampasona

In this story, Jorge Luis Borges is the main character. He goes to a bar and when he recieves his change, he recieves a coin as change. This coin is apparently a Zahir, which soon becomes the object of his obsession. Borges spends some time talking about money, and he describes how money is the least material thing there is - and it is just "future time." Eventually Borges realizes that he has become obsessed with the Zahir, and gets rid of it. He goes on to describe how the Zahir can take form of many objects, and it causes the owner to become obsessed. He ends the story by speaking of how he is content with his fate, even if he is to become crazy.

I thought this story was intriguing. I think the idea of obsession can be applied to many different aspects of life. It is easy for us to get obsessed with things, even if it is not to the extent of Borges' experience. These obsessions can detract from our everyday lives, and we have to be careful.