When it comes to literature, I abhor the wanton use of needless adjectives. Next time I read a book in which the author tells me something utterly obvious with a long list of adjectives, I'm going to strangle that author and describe to him/her the experience as suffocating and breath-taking, the kind of stuff that takes your breath away and turns your skin blue...What I look for in fictional reading, if I can pull myself away from non-fiction for a day or two, is to be challenged on the complexity and subtlety of some concept, to be forced to think about the implications that follow as a logical or practical consequence of some idea. This might be a partial explanation of why I consider Jorge Luis Borges to be one of the best writers in the history of writing: his writing is both economic and fascinating.
The following reading and brief analysis of one of his short stories, The Gospel According to Mark, touches on a few of the many thought-provoking questions embedded in this macabre story.
I wonder if any religious missionaries have ever had that experience :)
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