I found it interesting that although he was middle class, his family came from two different backgrounds, and that he identified a lot with his grandfather who was a soldier and war hero. I also found the fact that he started writing at such a young age to be incredible, because most kids are busy just playing with friends, and he was off reading and writing stories. He dedicated so much of his life to reading and writing, and I was surprised when he video we watched said that he eventually went blind because of his head injury. I couldn't imagine having to rely on someone else to read to me, if reading used to be my favorite thing to do for myself. I would be uncomfortable having to rely on other people so much.
One thing I liked about "The South" was the fact that a lot of the story came from Borges's own life. I think it was cool that he found a way to write about his own life experiences without writing an autobiography of some sort. I also like the fact that because the story was not entirely about him, the reader has to take the time to figure out what is fact and what is fiction, and also what is a mix. It kind of made his real life more mysterious.
image found on wikipedia
I was also fascinated by Borges life, and most specifically the young age when he began. To be completely honest, I remember when I was in about first or second grade I asked my mom why we had a thermos in our cabinet that had Harry Potter on it and who that was. She answered "Oh that's a really big book, you'll see one day". If I couldn't read Harry Potter by that age, I find it truly incredible that this little boy was reading the classic stories he was, and writing as well, which I used to hate doing at that age. I recently watched Matilda while babysitting, and this makes me think of her, and how she was reading Moby Dick in first grade, and was incredibly smart for her age. I also found it interesting not only that the head injury from "The South" actually happened to him, and did indeed have very negative effects. To me, being blind is on of my worst fears, and so to imagine loving reading like Borges did really makes me think of how much he lost when he lost his vision. It really was a true love of his to continue writing and have others read to him, but it could not have been anything like what he used to have in reading. Like you, I found Borges to be an interesting individual, especially at a young age.
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