On the theme of memory, see Borges' "Shakepeare's Memory", in which the German narrator is possessed by the bard's thoughts, and also Borges' "Funes, His Memory", about a man who could forget nothing. For other Borgesian fictional essays, "Parable of Cervantes and the Quixote" is a brief commentary on the fate of literary works, "An Examination of the Work of Henry Quain" presents notes on an unwritten novel, and "The Approach to Al- Mu'Tasim" is a quasi-serious treatise on a nonexistent novel very similar to "Pierre Menard".

Colombian Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story parable "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" concerns differing interpretations of reality.

Borges often acknowledged the influence of Franz Kafka on his own work. The Trial is representative of Kafka's themes and style.

Frederick Crews' The Pooh Perplex and Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire, like "Pierre Menard...