Alberto Manguel’s book Fabulous Monsters details those fictional characters that he seems to feel the most for. At times it is a stranger list. There is Phoebe Caulfield for one. But it is an international list and that in of itself is a pleasure. Each character gets his/her own essay. The book, like most of Manguel’s work when he writes about reading is engrossing and great fun.

At times, though, it is very strange and, dare I say, very male.

Manguel’s reading of Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty are bit disturbing, off putting. They are not necessarily wrong. But strange. He takes about the seductive power about Red Riding Hood, and while he is not wrong when he calls her both the seduced and seducer, there is something weird about that expression considering that the version Manguel mostly deals with is the Perrault version, which is really about women and sex. He also does not mention the coda in the Grimm version (I can see Angela Carter rapping his knuckles about that), and so there is a disjointed feeling.
The same is true about his reading of Sleeping Beauty where the rape versions are not mentioned, which is strange because there is a French version. It makes for slightly strange reading.

But his essays about Alice and Gertrude in particular are absolutely wonderful. His take on Alice is great and his opinion of Gertrude is quite amusing. He also gets you to look at Catcher int eh Rye in different way (besides Holden as an ass). He is one of those people who does feel something for Gertrude.

Long time, heavy readers (ie everyone on this site) all have those "haven't read yet" secrets.  There is usually more than one.  For the longest time, my wasn't not having read To Kill a Mockingbird.  BUT, that is no longer the case.   

Currently, this year at least, it is that I haven't read Borges.  I've got a collection of his short fiction in my TBR mountain range, honest.  Just haven't gotten to it yet.   Maybe this year.

I mean this book makes me want to kick that collection up the TBR peaks, trail, or something - whatever the term is.

Manguel's book about Borges is in part a book about memory, part about hanging out with a legend (who does not seem to care that he is a legend) and part an illustration about how reading and books inform and make lives.  In other words, like most of Manguel's work, it is an essay about the loving of reading and how that can make a society.

Manguel is never better than when he is writing about books. In packing his library, he looks at why books and libraries are important - moving from his personal library to his work on a national library. If you read for escape or peace, if you are more at home with a book in your hand, Manguel is your type of man and author.

The digressions are interesting for he looks at how reading can bring you into a community (the example of a lack of reading is Trump). He also discusses why we keep books and how books are simply more than words

Es hat mich immer erstaunt, dass die Ereignisse, die unsere Vergangenheit markieren [...] sich außerhalb der täglichen Abläufe und Verrichtungen abspielen, die unser ganzes Leben ausmachen. Die Tage sind angefüllt mit dem Erwachen, der Morgentoilette, dem Knirschen des Toasts, dem Milchduft des Frühstücksgeschirrs, dem Rascheln der Kleider, dem Durchzählen der Geldscheine, dem Klimpern der Münzen, den kleinen Gefälligkeiten, mit Lügen und Bosheiten, Erlösungen, Erleuchtungen, Augenblicken der Weisheit, Schlaf. Nichts davon berührt die großen Ereignisse. Sie finden statt, und wir machen weiter.