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/lit/ - Literature

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4511627 No.4511627[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Hey, if I'm a literature scrub and not really experienced with high-literature (I do read for fun, but sci-fi and fantasy) and the way people read it (I know it's all about interpertation), would it be worth reading some of Borges stuff? Somebody quoted pic related and it sounded pretty goddamn interesting.

>> No.4511649

>>4511627
Yes, Borges is both good and accessible. Even if you don't read much literature he shouldn't be too difficult. Read Ficciones.

>> No.4511671

>>4511627


Borges is a perfect place to start if you like speculative fiction. Almost all of his stuff is 10 pages or less so you can get through it VERY quickly and it is some of the best literature of the 20th century. If you're into sci-fi/fantasy, you may want to also check out writers like Gene Wolfe, Dan Simmons, and Mervyn Peake. Writers who work within the genre of speculative fiction but elevate their work to the level of high literature.

>> No.4511686

Go for it. Borges is good at dealing with difficult concepts in an accessible manner.

>> No.4511696
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4511696

>>4511671

>Gene Wolfe, Dan Simmons, and Mervyn Peake.

One of these things just does not belong.

Also,

>mfw an insecure sperg used the term "speculative fiction" because he was scared of calling something good "fantasy" near me

>> No.4511713

>>4511696

Wow. Didn't know I had offended you by using the term "speculative fiction". I'm not scared of calling anything fantasy. It's easily my favorite genre. I use the term speculative fiction to encompass a broader range of genres with fantastical elements like fantasy, sci-fi, horror, magical realism, etc.

>> No.4511741

>>4511713

Nah, I'm just joshin' with you. I sincerely don't like the term though - it's a Heinlein backronym for "sf", and he was the insecure sperg of whom I am speaking. He also used it in a much less broad application and would probably not have intended that it be applied to fantasy or horror, much less "magical realism" (itself nothing but a term invented by academic pearlclutchers who couldn't bring themselves to admit that Borges and his disciples were fantasists). To me, it's all essentially fantasy whether it's fantasy about elves or spaceships or intertextual transreal conspiracies, and I wish that the word had not been co-opted so thoroughly by the former sense.