The Book of Sand: Part I Summary

The Other

The author, Borges, is about 70 years old and in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is sitting on a bench and another man sits down, humming a song from his homeland. Borges realizes that this is himself at age 18. The two Borgeses discuss literature, including Dostoyevsky's work "the Double." The older Borges recites a line from the poet Hugo in French to show to the other that this is not a dream.

Ulrikke

The narrator is a middle-aged, unmarried Colombian professor on a trip to York, England, perhaps for an academic conference. He meets a tall, beautiful Norwegian woman named Ulrikke at an inn. He sees her the next day at breakfast and goes for a walk with her. Casually, she agrees to sleep with him at an inn.

The Congress

Alexander hears about...