The Borgesian narratives are full of odd characters from all periods of history and from all nations. Some are famous, such as Averroes, some are not. And when history does not provide sufficient samples, he creates his own. Their uniqueness is often caused by a particular obsession or event.

Once they are possessed by a curiosity or a need to know, however, they no longer behave in ways that are comprehensible to the rest of society. It is as if the rules of the universe become suspended while the characters go in pursuit of their particular truth.

Labyrinths, it must be pointed out, contains the only short story written by Borges with a female protagonist, "Emma Zunz." It is the tale of a murder committed by a young woman to avenge her father's suicide. Here the gender of the main character is not especially significant; what is important...