I Miss Barthelme

The first half of this week’s story, “Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius,“ was undeniably interesting. I was quite taken with the idea of a mysterious encyclopedia entry existing, falsified (yet possibly true) information being read and cross-referenced, not to mention the language used or how it created an eerie, almost uncomfortable feeling within the reader. The quote Bioy recites as an old Uqbarian proverb, “Mirrors and copulation are abominable, for they multiply the number of mankind,” is completely brilliant, and even though within the confines of the story, inaccurate, easily one of my favorite lines from a text. I was curious to find out why Uqbar couldn’t be tracked down, and the two men being left, confused and shocked in a national library, was exciting. I wanted more.

However, this is where the piece lost me. Part two and the entrance of the encyclopedia of Tlon, some other world, made little sense to me, and if anything, began to feel like I wasn’t reading a story, but rather some stuffy textbook. The part discussing how the people strung together words based on their regions was original and made me smile--I actually tried dabbling in the adjective combination myself--but the story immediately fell back in to a rhythm and tone that did everything this side of heinous save fashioning me a pair of cement shoes and tossing me over a bridge, laughing all the while.

I couldn’t figure out the importance of knowing the Tlon geometry system or any other aspect of their life. It just became a burden to read, and I blame the narrator voice and tone for that. It was difficult to read, which made it difficult to care. Maybe, in time, I’ll go back and read it, try to grasp more of its true meaning, but for now, I’m going to tap out quietly on this one.