Deal Me in Challenge: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges

Card Drawn:

“Mirrors and copulation are abominable, since they both multiply the numbers of men...” 

Woah, what the hell did I just read? Seriously. My mind is still reeling.

Jorge Luis Borges is some kind of mad literary genius--his vast imaginative power and dazzling erudition is on another level.  Any attempt of mine to write a comprehensive review of this short-story would be an exercise in futility. "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" is easily one of the most challenging and ambitious literary works that I have ever encountered. Borges is heavily engaged in myth-making or mythopoesis as he takes on the herculean task of creating an entire imaginary planet similar to our own called Tlön but it exists in a parallel universe with a unique metaphysical hyper-reality. Or does it? Whether or not the author succeeds in his literary ambitions is debatable. 

If this premise wasn't complicated enough, Borges' discursive and self-reflexive 'mini-epic' is structured upon different narrative frameworks that all intersect or contradict one another. The best way for me to describe the story's overall architecture would be to think of it as a Chinese box or Russian nesting doll, encapsulating many different layers. Borges presents a labyrinth of philosophical ideas, paradoxes, intertextuality and detailed apocryphal histories all wrapped up in perplexing mystery surrounding this planet. 

However, reading Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" proved to be mentally exhausting and the exorbitant amount of information dumping is frustratingly tedious. I applaud Borges for writing such a wildly inventive story, but sadly, he is guilty of waxing poetic in such a obfuscating style that can be quite insufferable. Yet, I am positive there is method to his madness. Borges' stories are so complex and must be re-read in order to be fully appreciated, let alone understood. Thus, it is impossible for me at this current juncture to rate this story out of five stars without having read it multiple times so that I can at least formulate some coherent thoughts about why this is a brilliantly flawed piece of writing.