Death and the Compass

E622058

"Death and the Compass" is a metaphysical detective short story by Jorge Luis Borges that blends crime fiction with philosophical and theological puzzles.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Death and the Compass canonical 4

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf detective fiction
metaphysical detective story
short story
author Jorge Luis Borges NERFINISHED
centralTheme Jewish mysticism
fate and predestination
interpretation of signs
philosophical paradox
the limits of rationality
character Erik Lönnrot NERFINISHED
Inspector Treviranus NERFINISHED
Red Scharlach NERFINISHED
containsElement philosophical puzzle
police investigation
serial murders
theological references
countryOfOrigin Argentina NERFINISHED
firstPublishedIn Sur NERFINISHED
genre detective fiction
metaphysical fiction
philosophical fiction
short story
hasAdaptation Death and the Compass (1992 film) NERFINISHED
Death and the Compass (1996 film) NERFINISHED
inCollection Artifices NERFINISHED
Ficciones NERFINISHED
influencedGenre postmodern detective fiction
languageStyle erudite
intertextual
literaryMovement magic realism
postmodern literature
mainCharacter Erik Lönnrot NERFINISHED
motif Kabbalah NERFINISHED
geometric patterns
labyrinths
prophecy and fulfillment
narrativePerspective third-person narration
notableFor integration of Kabbalistic symbolism into crime narrative
philosophical treatment of crime and detection
subversion of detective story conventions
originalLanguage Spanish
originalTitle La muerte y la brújula NERFINISHED
publicationYear 1942
setInPeriod 20th century
setting unnamed city resembling Buenos Aires

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ficciones hasPart Death and the Compass
Alex Cox notableWork Death and the Compass
Alex Cox directed Death and the Compass
Alex Cox wrote Death and the Compass