Book Description
Since 'Fictions' was first published in Britain in 1962, Jorge
Luis Borges - internationally recognised as one of the greatest short story
writers of the 20th century - has become a bestseller in English as well as
in Latin languages.
His triumphant visit to Britain in the late 1970s resulted in his lectures
having to be transferred to one of the largest halls in London to
accomodate the clamour to hear him. The enthusiasm for this master
myth-maker was largely among the young, who find an excitement in his work
that is very contemporary and it is this continued demand for his work that
has encouraged the ongoing success of 'Fictions' - a collection of 17 of
his best-known short stories.
This was the volume that made Borges famous outside his native Argentina.
He perfectly describes the puzzles of creating literature, the Labyrinth
that is the world we inhabit where every change of direction gives us a
different future life, where a book that does not exist except in the
imagination can be bought to life with the review of it. Clever, erudite,
witty and often wickedly surprising, Borges is one of the major twentieth
century literary figures, a must for every literate reader.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Jorge Luis Borges was born in Buenos Aires in 1899 and was educated in Europe. One of the most widely acclaimed writers of our time, he published many collections of poems, essays and short stories before his death in Geneva in 1986. He was director of the Argentine National Library from 1955 until 1973. Mario Vargas Llosa, in a tribute to Borges, has written: 'His is a world of clear, pure, and at the same time unusual ideas expressed in words of great directness and restraint. [He] was a superb storyteller. One reads most of Borges' tales with the hypnotic interest usually reserved for reading detective fiction...'
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.