The Book of Sand

If you came across the Book of Sand, what would you do with it? Could you imagine becoming obsessed, as the narrator does, or would you try to destroy it? Why or why not? How does the book derive its power?

How could the book be used or deployed in a political or social conflict? How does it disrupt the balance of power between two individuals or belief systems?

In the Afterword, Borges refers to the Book of Sand as an “unlucky” and “inconceivable” object. In what ways is the book either “unlucky” or “inconceivable?” What are the consequences of owning it, and are they avoidable? Does it leave any positive effects on its readers?

The narrator opens this story with the same kind of musings that the salesman offers while discussing the book. Why did the narrator choose to start his story this way yet become annoyed by similar musings from the salesman? What changed for the narrator during that time?

Keeping in mind the ideas of postcolonialism and Orientalism, do you think the book would carry as much power over the characters if it were originally from Scotland or Argentina? How does the foreign nature of the book add to its mystique?

The salesman muses, “If space is infinite, we are anywhere, at any point in space” (483). This irritates the narrator, but why? Does Borges imply that infinity is a horrible or dangerous thing to think about? Does infinity provide a release from certain boundaries or ideas, or is it confining because it cannot be grasped? Provide evidence from the story to support your ideas.

The Epigraph to the story comes from George Herbert’s “The Collar.” Compare the collar of Herbert’s poem to the book of Borges’s story, and explore the role of religion in the short story.

The narrator of Borges’s story seems to be unreliable, and he shares a few traits in common with the author. Neither Borges nor the narrator can see well, and they are both Argentinians who worked at the National Library. Is the narrator meant to be Borges or his double, and what significance does that have for the story? Is the narrator unreliable?