Jorge Luis Borges' reputation is quite rightly forged on his unique, cultured and labyrinthine short stories, but any reader lucky enough to become aware of this writer's work knows that many of those same stories take the form of essays – laconic commentaries on imaginary books being one delightful staple. Consequently, opening The Total Library, a collection of Borges' actual non-fiction essays from across his whole career, is not just a task for the completist but a rewarding and harmonious counterpart to his fiction.

It is, sometimes, a heavy task. Because the book does cover Borges' whole career (from 1922 to 1986), there's a prodigious amount of material, and to be honest a fair bit of it (particularly the early stuff) is inessential, even though it's never unwelcome. And though Borges is often expanding on topics that are so intelligently exciting for the reader when adapted into his fiction, the lack here of that uniquely Borgesian fantastical twist on the topic can sometimes feel like you are missing out on a crucial x-factor.

However, if the reader is able to separate their love for Borges' fiction from Borges the essayist – even though that reputation for quality fiction may be what brought them here – they will find plenty to sate them. Borges' essays lack the moreish pugnacity of a polemicist or the entertainment of a journalistic wit – when he does express a contrary opinion, such as his analysis that Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' is not a good poem (pg. 493), it doesn't raise the reader's hackles but instead feels like when you disappoint your favourite teacher. His essay on the baseless myth that Shakespeare didn't write his own plays (pp463-73) – which in my personal view is a conspiracy theory that arose simply because some posh Brits from the 19th century onwards couldn't accept that a man of the lower classes could write so well – is simultaneously gracious and yet completely dismissive of such nonsense.

So Borges is too gentlemanly to be an attack-dog, but for those who appreciate a more cerebral approach, this is a fine book. You could hardly hope for anyone more learned, lucid and – crucially for an essayist – independent in their thought. Some of Borges' strongest essays here are those from 1937-1945 condemning support for Nazism in Argentina; criticism of Hitler might not seem particularly courageous or contrarian to us in the here and now, but there was much support for Germany in Borges' country at the time, and his eloquent essays in support of Britain and the Anglo-Saxon culture, calling out his countrymen's own fascism, are admirable. Elsewhere, there are the familiar erudite Borgesian topics, but also stray thoughts on pop culture (including brief pieces on King Kong and a sci-fi novel by Ray Bradbury) and a touchingly personal one on his experience of progressive blindness. It won't be a surprise for regular readers of this author to learn, but Borges is a charming and original companion on just about any topic. ( )

Whatever words he put his mind to he mastered. As a child he read the Encyclopedia Britannica while his father studied in the library. A curiosity and fascination with all things makes his non-fiction as interesting and wondrous as his fiction and poetry. Reading this you will learn more than a little and be entranced at the same time. Oh, and feel like you've spent time with a wise friend. ( )

I have an incredibly hard time imagining a critic more perfect than Borges.
One of the most inspiring books I've read. ( )

Borges displays how wonderful and heavenly literature can be. His expansive reading encourages Borges' readers to glimpse the wonders that the classics contain. We are challenged to read and discern more, so that we might more thoroughly understand and appreciate his wealth of comprehension and love for the word.
I was especially taken by his treatment of the mystic Swedenborg. This opened up a fabulous philosophical/religio/visionary world I had never heard of before.

How can it be anything otherwise. Great words from a great man, putting his life and work in context. ( )

Dear editors of 'selected' editions,

no, you don't need to include that. I recognize that you're fascinated by the idea that someone opposed fascism, but by and large, that's only worth a footnote. You also don't have to include this. Sure, it's interesting every now and then to see what a favorite author thinks about a book, but not *every* book. Don't you see, editor, what a disservice you're doing to these people? Just choose the very best, and leave the rest for later volumes.

On the other hand, who am I to complain? This is a lovely looking volume, despite the horrid ruffled pages (did all the book-cutting machines in the world break at the same time? Why do so many books come with this rubbish? How do you expect me to flick forward and back?), and contains wonders and wealth.

The downside to including so much is that Borges' world starts to look a little more restricted and a little less fascinating. There are only so many times you can go over the same themes, many of which are treated more effectively and more entertainingly in the fiction. There are a number of absolute must reads, particularly the Dante essays, and the writings brought together in section II.

One solution to my problem, of course, would just be to read what looks fascinating to you. But I like to finish books, so here I am: fascinated at times, but ultimately a bit disappointed that Borges wasn't treated better by Weinberger. ( )

Borges is a reader's writer and he is a writer who reads; but unlike the many other writers who read he writes about reading as both an intellectual challenge and an inspiration (some might find that redundant). The connections he makes with writers from Plato to Cervantes, from Bacon to Mallarme, are made fascinating by his ability to be comprehensible while demonstrating an erudition that is almost beyond description. That his erudition does not obscure his attempt to share his ideas is one of his many charms.
This collection displays his writing skill in the essay, the prologue, the review, the lecture and the dictation of literary miscellany, all of which have their unique appeal. He reveals the mind of an omnivorous reader who is incapable of writing uninteresting pieces about what he has read and the surprising ideas and connections to which he is led by his reading. He shares his personal library; while elsewhere you learn about the synergy between Swedenborg and the Kaballah! The "Library of Babel" is represented and his comments make you suddenly want to go back and reread that wonderful story. One aspect of all of this is to provide some little insight into the mind of the writer who created the stories of Babel and Menard and the wonderful Ficciones that entrance your reader's mind.
I return to Borges to remind myself why I read and to find out more about the process, the act of reading, the humanity of it all -- the magic he performs is spiritual food for my soul. ( )

A high point in this volume comes in the form of the Nine Dantesque Essays (pp. 265-305). Having Borges' book and Dante's masterpiece open in front of me at the same time, witnessing what could rightly be called a conversation between those two demigods, was a singular experience in my career as a reader. If someday the stylistic circumstances recur that permitted an achievement like the Commedia, I believe that the author of the new one will tap Borges for duty as Virgil. If literature can be a kind of secular religion, you'll find no better guide through it's many circles, terraces, and spheres than the one who presents himself in this volume. No work is too humble to merit a word—a kind word—from Borges. No connection is too subtle for him to note. Ever wonder what Dante Gabriel Rosetti said about Wuthering Heights, and what that has to do with the short stories of Julio Cortazar? Neither did I, but now I'm glad to know.

Read it to rediscover the classics. Read it for the book recommendations. Authors I tired of in high school—Emerson, Whitman, Poe—suddenly form parts of my wishlist. Authors I never thought about attempting—Edward Gibbon, for instance!— are now vying for my attention. To read Borges as a reasonably well-read person is to be immensely flattered by how much better-read he assumes that you are. It's funny; I have a feeling of not wanting to disappoint him. I want to be up to the task of either agreeing or disagreeing with his assessments. Mostly, I want to be a part of his conversation.

The most striking thing to emerge here is a picture of Borges the person, and particularly his moral character. If you've read his stories only, as I had, it is easy to imagine an almost disembodied intellect as the responsible party. The Notes on Germany & the War (pp. 199-213) were a revelation in this respect, as were the late lectures entitled "Blindness" (p.473) and "Immortality" (p. 483).

The early essays are individually flawed and forgettable, and many were later disowned by their author. Rightly so. They were the work of a young man who had not yet fully digested his influences. In many cases, they appear to aim for the sound of intellectualism, without the substance. The first words of the first essay in this collection are: "Intention. I want to tear down the exceptional preeminence now generally awarded to the self..." This becomes unbelievably poignant after a reading of the entire collection. The ambition of this line becomes notably absent in Borges' mature tone. Any impetus towards destruction, even of outdated orthodoxies, is likewise dissipated. Instead, I think, for the mature Borges, reading widely became a way of loving widely. I share that aspiration, and that faith.

Contains essays, book and movie reviews, lectures, prologues, and dictations concerning a wide variety of subjects, some philosophical, others historical, others pop culture. No red flags, but some of the early work is tedious.

The remarkable thing about much of Borges' non-fiction is that it is often hard to distinguish it from his fiction. Having said that, this volume is probably only partly of interest to the casual Borges fan. It contains many of his early essays and reviews, which he later found embarrassing (sometimes for good reason, sometimes not).

On the other hand, for those interested in the evolution of Borges as an artist and thinker, this is a rich resource. The reviews of mainly British and American works give a sense of the change in Borges' voice from Argentinian to internationalist. There are also some very rare speeches and prologues that are otherwise very hard to find. ( )

Forty years before Umberto Eco there was Jorge Luis Borges. Borges believed that it was not necessary to write a book the length of Don Quixote if, in the twentieth century, he could write a ten page short story that expressed the same major themes. Not just an intellectual, however, many of these stories are classic mysteries, in the mode of Chesterton and Poe. Anyone who likes sci-fi will especially like his early stories.

The essays of Borges do not have the mastery and edge of his fiction, but they are still the result of a mind searching for the doorway between the real and the unreal. In this respect he is much like Philip K. Dick, Terence McKenna and of course E. A. Poe. ( )