Reclaiming the Author: Figures and Fictions from Spanish America (review)
Even though Shaw is primarily concerned with Borges' mature stories, he does not overlook Borges' narrative before 1940. Conventional opening, unexpected anticlimax at the end, and an incipient technique of ambiguous narration are some of the technical features that, according to Shaw, characterize Borges' early stories and are discussed in the second chapter of his study. Six chapters follow, each focusing on a different narrative strategy. While Chapter Three explores foreshadowing devices, Chapter Four centers on framing devices. Foreshadowing devices are designed to announce the theme or themes of the story and are part of the story opening. Framing devices, by contrast, surround the kernel of the story and usually interact ironically with the central core. "Deutsches Requiem," "El Fin" and "Tigres Azules" are some of the stories analyzed in Chapter Three, while "El Zahir" and "El Aleph" are examined in Chapter Four. Since a major feature of Borges' short story technique is that of suggesting assumptions to the reader and then betraying them, pivotal episodes assume a particular role in Borges' stories. Not unrelated to the question of pivotal episodes is that of shifting themes. Both strategies are discussed in Chapter Five, within the framework of Individual stories. In Chapter Six, Shaw concentrates on one of the more elusive aspects of Borges' narrative technique, his use of interludes. Illuminating in regard to Borges' use of this strategy is Shaw's analysis of the story "La escritura del Dios." In the next chapter, Shaw centers on Borges' narratorial stances, and in Chapter Eight he addresses closing strategies. Particularly revealing is Shaw's treatment of the closing strategy of "El Aleph," in which a further disturbing element is added to what seemed to be the original conclusion. Donald Shaw, focusing on a formal aspect and not divorcing it from matters of meaning, has provided meticulous analysis of Borges' short stories. This book should be of interest to all readers of Jorge Luis Borges' work.