Labyrinths - Jorge Luis Borges

Borges occupies an almost mythic place in the literary world. He possesses a special kind of prowess that allows him to combine esoteric philosophy and varied references to different cultures and literature with deft plotting. Who else writes about an encyclopedia with an obscure reference to a country that does not exist? Or about a man who sets out to re-create Don Quixote by living as Cervantes did in 17th-century Spain? Only Borges does, and he does so with such ingenuity and skill that all writers who follow in his footsteps will seem like weak echoes.