Borges often stated that he was unable to write novels. He preferred the short narrative form, and he excelled at it. In fact, his stories are models of narrative style, less for his skill at character development and detail than for their power and impact on the reader. He accomplishes this in spite of the most economical use of language. It is rare for one of his pieces to exceed ten pages; some of the more memorable are less than five. Borges the narrator relies on a few important techniques.

In stories where there is a protagonist, the reader might learn his name, his age, and perhaps one or two details about his life. It is the person's mind and his reaction to a particular circumstance that propel the plot of the story.

This circumstance might be a certifiable historical event as easily as it might be a...