Unresolved Thought

We're back in 1940s Argentina, this time losing ourselves in the labyrinth of Borges' Lottery in Babylon. Whether this is a noir satire or totalitarian tyranny, pareidolic paranoid delusion, or a metaphysical backstory for the messy world we live in, we delight in exploring Borges' pendulous inquiry into humanity's need for meaning and self-authorship.

In the first installment of our Ted Chiang series, we ascend Ted's Tower of Babylon. We delve into the vivid and symbolic world of the Tower leaving no brick unturned as we seek to appreciate and understand this gorgeous retelling of the ancient Tower of Babel story from Genesis.

We discuss Julio Cortazar's eerie short story 'House Taken Over'. Is Cortazar writing an apology to a displaced upper-middle class? Is this an allegory of outstaying one's welcome in one's own life? A tale of madness? A descent into hell? Or is this just a story about a brother and sister who decide to go for a midnight walk after hearing voices?