The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim (original Spanish title: El acercamiento a Almotásim) is a fantasy short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. It first appeared in 1936 in the book History of Eternity (Historia de la eternidad), and then was included in Ficciones, as an addition to part one (El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan).
Plot summary
The story is a review of an imaginary work, The Conversation with the Man Called Al-Mu'tasim, which is the second (and inferior) edition of a book called The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim, by an Indian lawyer named Mir Bahadur Ali.
The book that Borges "reviews" is essentially a detective story about a law student in Bombay. After unexpectedly committing a murder during a riot, he becomes an outcast among the lower classes of India. Through his dealings with people he infers the existence of a "perfect man", whom he calls Al-Mu'tasim. He believes Al-Mu'tasim has indirectly influenced other people for the better, through a number of intermediaries. The student becomes obsessed with finding and meeting Al-Mu'tasim.
A long footnote at the end of the review summarises The Conference of the Birds (1177), by Farid ud-Din Attar, which is related in theme.
Al-Mu'tasim means "he who goes in quest of aid."
