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Seven Nights (Revised Edition) (New Directions Paperbook)

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I am fascinated by the genius of Jorge Luis Borges. "Seven Nights" is a short collection (121 pages) of seven lectures given over seven evenings in the summer of 1977 in Buenos Aires. Borges was almost fully blind and spoke informally, without notes, as was his usual style. He exercised his great memory with skill; he shifted effortlessly across literary genre, across the centuries, across languages, occasionally making unexpected connections. I almost believed that I was present at his lectures.

Each lecture can stand alone, but references to prior topics abound.

I first encountered "Seven Nights" some years ago. Having just read Dante's Inferno for the first time, I was having difficulty articulating the powerful impact that Dante's great work had made on me. In his first lecture, "The Divine Comedy", Borges provided the words.

He says, the Middle Ages "gave us, above all, the Divine Comedy, which we continue to read, and which continues to astonish us, which will last beyond our lives, far beyond our waking lives." He describes the joy of reading Dante's work as a narrative, ignoring - at least during the first reading - the extensively documented literary and historical criticism. "The Commedia is a book everyone ought to read. Not to do so is to deprive oneself of the greatest gift that literature can give us."

"Dreams are the genus; nightmares are the species. I will speak first of dreams, and then of nightmares." So begins lecture two. Borges takes us on a journey through history, literature, and poetry in search for understanding of that so common, but so unusual event, that we call dreams.

"A major event in the history of the West was the discovery of the East." And so begins lecture three on that great work that defines the mystery that is Arabia. "These tales have had a strange history. They were first told in India, then in Persia, then in Asia Minor, and finally were written down in Arabic and compiled in Cairo. They became The Book of a Thousand and One Nights."

Borges lectures travel an elliptical orbit around his topic, sometimes approaching directly, other times looking outward, away from his stated subject. In his lecture on poetry (number five) he comments on literature in general: "A bibliography is unimportant - after all, Shakespeare knew nothing of Shakespearean criticism. Why not study the texts directly? If you like the book, fine. If you don't, don't read it. The idea of compulsory reading is absurd. Literature is rich enough to offer you some other author worthy of your attention - or one today unworthy of your attention whom you will read tomorrow."

His other lectures, "Buddhism", "The Kabbalah", and "Blindness", are equally intriguing. In once more rereading "Seven Nights" I found myself again astounded by Borges, by his seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of literature, by his capability to forge unexpected connections, and by his provocative statements. He has obviously given considerable thought to his conclusions, although Borges is anything but dogmatic. I enjoy a quote from a concluding paragraph in NIghtmares. "We may draw two conclusions, at least tonight; later we can change our minds."

Whether you are familiar with Borges or not, I highly recommend "Seven Nights". Borges is simply without peer, and I do not expect to change my mind later.

"Seven Nights" brings together seven lectures delivered by Jorge Luis Borges in Buenos Aires in 1977. They have been translated into a straightforward English by Eliot Weinberger. Despite the wealth of literary and cultural references made in the lectures, they have an informal feel to them: you can imagine the Argentine master writer sitting across from you at a coffee shop and speaking these words.

In the lectures Borges discusses, in turn, Dante's "Divine Comedy," nightmares, the "Thousand and One Nights," Buddhism, poetry, the Kabbalah, and his own blindness. The book thus has a multicultural aspect that spans time and language. Along the way, Borges references many other writers: Homer, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Nietzsche, Poe, and others.

The book, although rambling at times, is full of characteristically "Borgesian" gems. Consider, for example, the passages where he reflects on the translations of the word "nightmare" ("pesadilla" in Spanish) in various languages. I was also intrigued by his attempt to define magic. Particularly moving and thought-provoking are his thoughts on blindness. Borges suggests that, for him, blindness is no mere handicap, but rather "a way of life: one of the styles of living" that has actually brought to him "some gifts."

Borges is sometimes playful, often witty, and always learned. In the lecture on blindness, Borges notes, "I had always imagined Paradise as a kind of library." I, too, imagine my personal Paradise to contain a library--and among that library's contents would be the complete works of Borges.

I have tried to be fair & descriptive in this
reveiw but I fail here & there...

Seven Nights gives you a quick and unavoidably
engaging look into the some of Borges'
favorite themes and ideas.

The text is taken from lectures and has a
pleasant verbal style. Because of the format
used, (the lecture) this book is quite
different from any other Borges you may have
read.

If you have read Borges and found his
novels a little dense you will find this
slim volume well leavened. If you have never
read his works then this is a great place to
begin.

Each chapter of Seven Nights explores a
different topic. Topics include: Date's Divine
Comedy, Buddhism, Nightmares, Blindness,
Poetry, The Thousand and One Nights, and
The Kabbalah.

My favorite moment occurs in the in the
chapter on Poetry. Borges compares the words
for 'moon' in English, Spanish, Greek,
French, Portugese, and German for their
aesthetic effects and the degree to which
they fit with the the moon itself. He
concludes that the English 'moon' is best
because of the slowness & roundness of the
sound when spoken.

Seven Nights is melodious and occasionally
sublime.

This is the fine Borges aged like wine. The lectures were given at a time where he was beyond concern of his or anyone else's "status" in literature. These lectures are almost evangelical and they have a personal touch. For our benefit Borges becomes an enthusiastic amateur. They are the most erudite "informal" lectures I have ever read.

The seven nights in question are off the cuff essays Borges delivered in Buenos Aires in the late seventies, written down by fans. He clearly did this sort of thing very well, and the regret one has at not being able to appreciate the performance at first hand is vitiated by these excellent transcriptions. Dante, the Thousand and One nights, Buddhism - all dealt with in exquisite thoughtful prose. All quotations are from memory (Borges was by now completely blind) and all conclusions paradoxical, lapidary, Borgesian. A stocking filler. Go ahead, treat yourself.

Like most prominent authors of the last century, Jorge Luis Borges made his fair share of speeches.

But "Seven Nights" is no dry collection of stiff monologues. Instead, Borges explores seven different topics over the course of seven intricate, insightfully beautiful speeches. His exquisite prose and conversational style just show us what was obvious all along, that he was a master of the written word.

On the surface, Borges explores seven basic topics -- a careful theological and artistic study of Dante's "Divine Comedy," the nature of nightmares, the origins of "A Thousand and One Nights," the history and qualities of Buddhism, the power of poetry, the Kabbalah (the traditional one, not the Hollywood cult-lite), and finally the question of his own ever-growing blindness.

But Borges isn't just interested in the history and current status of these various topics. He seems a lot more interested in common facets, which intertwine together when these speeches are compiled -- he studies the nature of God, the nature of love, and the power that words -- even everyday ones -- can hold over our minds and souls.

In fact, it's a credit to Borges that he doesn't just ramble on about himself, or the creative writing process. Quite honestly, it would be boring. What's insightful about "Seven Nights" is that these speeches reveal the mind that fuels his otherworldly prose -- we have masks, dreams, classic poetry, legends of Gautama Buddha, and many other things. Seen through these speeches, the world is a magical place.

And he injects a lot of unusual thought into these studies, such as his ruminations that "if Dante had always agreed with the God he imagines [in the Comedy], it would have meant that this was a false god, merely a replica of Dante himself." And he lets his gorgeous prose flow unchecked, such as the horrible, beautiful dream of Wordsworth by the sea -- you'd think it was another of his stories.

If there's a flaw in this slim little volume, it's that the "Nightmares" speech tends to be rather fragmented, with Borges' dreams and accounts breaking into the main narrative.

In fact, he really reveals a great deal about himself over the course of these "seven nights" -- his nightmares, his thoughts on his own blindness, his love of words. It tells you a lot about him -- he wasn't a snob, and he was unafraid to homage writers from Plato to Poe, from the nameless storytellers of the Middle-East to G.K. Chesterton.

"Seven Nights" must have been a thrilling experience for those who heard Borges lecture on these topics, and had a little of his magical realism exposed in the real world. Definitely worth checking out.

This is slightly over a hundred pages, but it is chock full of gems. By Seven Nights, Borges is referring to seven lectures that he gave at night. Now these aren't verbatim what he said, but fairly close. Here's my short breakdown of the Seven Nights and what I thought of them: FIRST NIGHT: THE DIVINE COMEDY. If you've never read Dante's Divine Comedy, this lecture will certainly pique your interest, as it did mine. Most memorable in this lecture is Borges' statement about "what is poetry?". Very well-worded and very quotable, that part is. SECOND NIGHT: NIGHTMARES. Borges quotes some from a few psychology books, discusses Dante's Inferno, and relates a humorous personal experience that he (Borges) had. He tops it off with a chilling ending paragraph. THIRD NIGHT: THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS. Also known as the ARABIAN NIGHTS. I love his explaination as to why it got called 1001 instead of 999. To sorta paraphrase him, he says that if you only got 999, you'd feel like you're being shortchanged. If you get 1001, you feel like you're getting a little bonus tossed in. I haven't read the Arabian Nights, but I can't help but feel curiousity after reading that lecture. FOURTH NIGHT: BUDDHISM. To be honest, I didn't glean much from this lecture, as I don't really understand Buddhism. For others, though, the experience may be different. FIFTH NIGHT: POETRY. Borges concentrates mostly on Banchs and Quevedo. Spanish poets, that I'm aware of. Borges is Argentine, by the way, so don't feel too bad if those names don't sound familiar. There are some good points in this lecture, but not, in my opinion, as compared to others. SIXTH NIGHT: THE KABBALAH. I know nothing really about Kabbalism, but I was interested in two words that may sound familiar--especially to you video-gamers out there: Sefirot and Jehovah. If you've played Final Fantasy 7, then you know that the antagonist's name is Sephiroth and that his mother's name is Jenovah. A direct parallel, beyond all doubt. In this lecture are also some other good points about God and His Word. SEVENTH NIGHT: BLINDNESS. Isn't it ironic that Borges should end the night with blindness? For those of you who don't know, Borges was blind, so he's speaking from experience. Poe, Coleridge, and Milton are some of the poets mentioned in this lecture. Borges discusses the origins of some words like "yellow". Yellow was one color that Borges could see fairly well when he was partially blind. FINAL JUDGEMENT: This is a really good book if you want page-turning lectures on a wide variety of subjects, some of which may be new to you. Keep in mind that these are LECTURES and not short stories. If this book didn't meet your expectations, then I recommend that you read THE BOOK OF SAND by the same author. Hope you like his books, I sure do!

Estas conferencias que Borges pronunció a lo largo de siete noches diferentes -¿o idénticas?- son una muestra acabada de su maestría verbal.
Quienes hemos leído estas deliciosas apreciaciones borgeanas volvemos a ellas cada noche que necesitamos regocijar nuestro éspiritu. (Entonces, es como comer con champagne)

I'm not cualified to critice his books. All I know is that when I read his books I really believe him, he can create a whole world with words and I sometimes think he must have been in every place he describes, even unexistant places. He deserved the Novel and I think he didn't get it because he was latin american, and Argentine certainly, like me.

Thanks to the other reviewers on the Amazon page for reminding me about the contents of this book. It is one of the many I have read through the years which I do not hold most of in mind, but reminded of recall to a certain degree. ' Seven Nights' impressed me as lesser Borges. The Dante lecture, the lecture on nightmare, the lecture on Kabbalah seemed less essential than Borges words on poetry which too seemed to me only one definition among many .This book of course has those Borges qualities, tremendous learning, capacity to connect between different books and worlds, irony and humor, a certain kind of dignity , the great great love of Literature which inform all of Borges work.
In a way this work leads me to another thought about books. It is that there are writers we love so much that the discovery of an additional even minor work of theirs gives us great pleasure even though it cannot equal their greatest work.
So 'Seven Nights'. And again thanks to other Amazon reviewers who helped me with this review.