Reviews
This page collects the various reviews published on Shipwreck Library. Many were originally published on The Modern Word.
Film
Performance
Donald Camel and Nicolas Roeg, 1970
Review and commentary for this surreal underground classic, inspired by Borges and starring Mick Jagger.
The Spider’s Stratagem
Bertold Bertolucci, 1970
Review and commentary for this Italian adaptation of Borges’ story “Theme of the Traitor and the Hero.”
Mulholland Drive
David Lynch, 2001
An attempt to understand and explicate David Lynch’s masterpiece, this is more of an essay than a film review.
Fiction
Gilligan’s Wake
Tom Carson
A mind-blowing excursion through America seen through the eyes of a well-known crew. [TBD]
House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski
“The book and the labyrinth are one and the same.” A review of Mark Z. Danielewski’s postmodern horror novel.
A New Universal History of Infamy
Rhys Hughes. Ministry of Whimsy Press, 2003
A charming update of Borges’ first story collection by the Welsh writer Rhys Hughes.
The People In the Room
Norah Lange. Translation by Charlotte Whittle. And Other Stories, 2018
The first English translation of Norah Lange’s 1950 novel, Personas en la sala. A member of the Buenos Aires “Florida Group” that included Borges—who unsuccessfully vied for her affections—Norah Lange was an early proponent of “ultraism.”
Nonfiction
This Craft of Verse
Jorge Luis Borges. Harvard University Press, 2000
Rediscovered at the time of the Borges Centennial, these six lectures were delivered by Borges at Harvard University from 1967-1968.
Jorge Luis Borges: Conversations, Vols. 1-3
Jorge Luis Borges. Seagull Books, 2014–2017
From 1984–1985, Osvaldo Ferrari conducted over one hundred interviews with Borges for Argentine radio. These three volumes are the first time these dialogues have been translated into English.
Jorge Luis Borges: The Last Interview
Jorge Luis Borges. Melville House, 2013
This volume contains an extended excerpt from Richard Burgin’s 1968 book, Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges, a 1980 interview conducted by Artful Dodge, and of course Borges’ final interview, a fascinating exchange with Gloria López Lecube for La Isla FM Radio in Argentina.
Lineland: Mortality and Mercy on the Internet’s [email protected] Discussion List
Jules Siegel. Intangible Assets Manufacturing, 1997
A somewhat insufferable “exposé” of the online Pynchon community.
Borges In/And/On Film
Edgardo Cozarinsky. Lumen Books, 1988
A collection of Borges’ film reviews, along with Cozarinsky’s analysis of films based on Borges’ work.
The Secret Books
Sean Kernan. Leetes Island Books, 1999
A haunting homage to Borges by photographer Sean Kernan. [TBD]
The Cast of Characters: A Reading of Ulysses
Paul Schwaber. Yale University Press, 1999
A Joycean psychoanalyst examines the characters of Ulysses.
James Joyce: A Life
Edna O’Brien. Penguin, 1999
A short and idiosyncratic biography of James Joyce by the novelist Edna O’Brien.
Joyce’s Revenge
Andrew Gibson. Oxford University Press, 2002
A discussion of Joyce as a specifically Irish writer.
Joyces Mistakes
Tim Conley. University of Toronto Press, 2003
Conley’s witty book on Joyce’s “portals of discovery,” Finnegans Wake, and the Joyce industry itself.
Cy-Borges: Memories of the Posthuman in the Work of Jorge Luis Borges
Stefan Herbrechter & Ivan Callus, ed. Bucknell University Press, 2009
A collection of academic papers exploring posthuman elements in Borges’ work.
Ulysses: A Reader’s Odyssey
Daniel Mulhall. New Island Books, 2022
A celebration of Ulysses written by the Irish Ambassador to the United States.
Last Modified: 4 August 2022
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