2 weeks ago
19
I have never finished a novel by Henry James, because I found him boring, but I have read some Borges. I find his attribution of 'strangeness' to James surprising, since I thought James was a very realistic writer who focused on manners and baroque social situations.
Here's the full quote: "“I have visited some literatures of the East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic anthology of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James.”
Found here: https://www.loa.org/writers/223-henry-james/
My source does not itself provide a source for the Borges quote.
Now, I'm familiar with the strangeness of Kafka - we have the word 'kafkaesque' for a reason. Melville's strangeness is a bit less obvious, but I get it. I found Moby Dick very concrete and detailed, but sometimes a mystical hum is audible. Bloy I can't speak to. Borges himself is clearly very fantastical and inventive, so he ought to be an authority on strangeness.
How come Borges consider Henry James to be the strangest of all?
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