Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Publishers, (2007), Paperback, 576 pages
Description
A collection of writings includes essays, literary and film criticism, biographical sketches, and lectures.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
Borges is a reader's writer and he is a writer who reads; but unlike the many other writers who read he writes about reading as both an intellectual challenge and an inspiration (some might find that redundant). The connections he makes with writers from Plato to Cervantes, from Bacon to Mallarme,
This collection displays his writing skill in the essay, the prologue, the review, the lecture and the dictation of literary miscellany, all of which have their unique appeal. He reveals the mind of an omnivorous reader who is incapable of writing uninteresting pieces about what he has read and the surprising ideas and connections to which he is led by his reading. He shares his personal library; while elsewhere you learn about the synergy between Swedenborg and the Kaballah! The "Library of Babel" is represented and his comments make you suddenly want to go back and reread that wonderful story. One aspect of all of this is to provide some little insight into the mind of the writer who created the stories of Babel and Menard and the wonderful Ficciones that entrance your reader's mind.
I return to Borges to remind myself why I read and to find out more about the process, the act of reading, the humanity of it all -- the magic he performs is spiritual food for my soul.
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are made fascinating by his ability to be comprehensible while demonstrating an erudition that is almost beyond description. That his erudition does not obscure his attempt to share his ideas is one of his many charms. This collection displays his writing skill in the essay, the prologue, the review, the lecture and the dictation of literary miscellany, all of which have their unique appeal. He reveals the mind of an omnivorous reader who is incapable of writing uninteresting pieces about what he has read and the surprising ideas and connections to which he is led by his reading. He shares his personal library; while elsewhere you learn about the synergy between Swedenborg and the Kaballah! The "Library of Babel" is represented and his comments make you suddenly want to go back and reread that wonderful story. One aspect of all of this is to provide some little insight into the mind of the writer who created the stories of Babel and Menard and the wonderful Ficciones that entrance your reader's mind.
I return to Borges to remind myself why I read and to find out more about the process, the act of reading, the humanity of it all -- the magic he performs is spiritual food for my soul.
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LibraryThing member billable
Forty years before Umberto Eco there was Jorge Luis Borges. Borges believed that it was not necessary to write a book the length of Don Quixote if, in the twentieth century, he could write a ten page short story that expressed the same major themes. Not just an intellectual, however, many of these
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stories are classic mysteries, in the mode of Chesterton and Poe. Anyone who likes sci-fi will especially like his early stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member chosler
Contains essays, book and movie reviews, lectures, prologues, and dictations concerning a wide variety of subjects, some philosophical, others historical, others pop culture. No red flags, but some of the early work is tedious.
LibraryThing member stillatim
Dear editors of 'selected' editions,
no, you don't need to include that. I recognize that you're fascinated by the idea that someone opposed fascism, but by and large, that's only worth a footnote. You also don't have to include this. Sure, it's interesting every now and then to see what a favorite
On the other hand, who am I to complain? This is a lovely looking volume, despite the horrid ruffled pages (did all the book-cutting machines in the world break at the same time? Why do so many books come with this rubbish? How do you expect me to flick forward and back?), and contains wonders and wealth.
The downside to including so much is that Borges' world starts to look a little more restricted and a little less fascinating. There are only so many times you can go over the same themes, many of which are treated more effectively and more entertainingly in the fiction. There are a number of absolute must reads, particularly the Dante essays, and the writings brought together in section II.
One solution to my problem, of course, would just be to read what looks fascinating to you. But I like to finish books, so here I am: fascinated at times, but ultimately a bit disappointed that Borges wasn't treated better by Weinberger.
no, you don't need to include that. I recognize that you're fascinated by the idea that someone opposed fascism, but by and large, that's only worth a footnote. You also don't have to include this. Sure, it's interesting every now and then to see what a favorite
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author thinks about a book, but not *every* book. Don't you see, editor, what a disservice you're doing to these people? Just choose the very best, and leave the rest for later volumes. On the other hand, who am I to complain? This is a lovely looking volume, despite the horrid ruffled pages (did all the book-cutting machines in the world break at the same time? Why do so many books come with this rubbish? How do you expect me to flick forward and back?), and contains wonders and wealth.
The downside to including so much is that Borges' world starts to look a little more restricted and a little less fascinating. There are only so many times you can go over the same themes, many of which are treated more effectively and more entertainingly in the fiction. There are a number of absolute must reads, particularly the Dante essays, and the writings brought together in section II.
One solution to my problem, of course, would just be to read what looks fascinating to you. But I like to finish books, so here I am: fascinated at times, but ultimately a bit disappointed that Borges wasn't treated better by Weinberger.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ivanfranko
Borges displays how wonderful and heavenly literature can be. His expansive reading encourages Borges' readers to glimpse the wonders that the classics contain. We are challenged to read and discern more, so that we might more thoroughly understand and appreciate his wealth of comprehension and
I was especially taken by his treatment of the mystic Swedenborg. This opened up a fabulous philosophical/religio/visionary world I had never heard of before.
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love for the word.I was especially taken by his treatment of the mystic Swedenborg. This opened up a fabulous philosophical/religio/visionary world I had never heard of before.
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Awards
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — 1999)
Language
Original language
Spanish
Original publication date
1999
Physical description
576 p.; 5.08 inches
ISBN
0141183020 / 9780141183022