Borges can be very, very good, of course, but this is a cute, pleasant, slightly disjointed inconsequentiality--the lottery in Babylon gets more and more popular, negative tickets are introduced, then combination tickets that imply infinite possible results, then participation becomes mandatory, and the end result is that the lottery is life itself and who knows what comes about as a result of the lottery and what is "really meant" to happen, and what difference does it make anyway? Playfully pokes fun at existentialism and nihilism, among other things, I'd think.

(Originally published in the magazine Sur.) ( )