The Book of Sand
-Jorge Luis Borges
This
from the first few lines of this story, I am reminded of Randolph
from Clive Barker's “The Great and Secret Show.” Randolph is
brought into an entire world of mystery and awe from simply opening a
letter that wasn't destined for him to see, as the protagonist in
“The Book of Sand” his life takes on a weight that he was not
ready to comprehend. Although within “The Book of Sand”, we are
not shown the extent of the world as we are in Randolph's tale, our
imaginations go wild with the possibilities of what this book
actually is.
The opening statement at the beginning of the tale is the
protagonist, who's name is never given, speaking in what seems to be
the ramblings of a madman, who one who has just taken in some illicit
substances and is now trying to understand a map of the Americas.
However it is not until the end of the story that the audience can
understand his ramblings; in a sense, he has become mad, the mystery
and purpose of the book have consumed his thoughts. The very reason
for him getting rid of the book in the first place were to avoid such
things, but due to how he opens his tale, we can assume he was never
able to let those secrets go.
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