Collected Fictions

A New York Times Notable Book “A marvelous new collection of stories by one of the most remarkable writers of our century.” —The New York Times “The major work of probably the most influential Latin American writer of the century.” —The Washington Post “An unparalleled treasury of marvels … Along with a tiny cohort of peers, and seers (Kafka and Joyce come to mind), Borges is more than a stunning storyteller and a brilliant stylist; he’s a mirror who reflects the spirit of his time.” —Chicago Tribune“This book is a real feast, prepared by one of the greatest modern confectioners of sheer fiction.” —The Seattle Times “An event worth of celebration … Hurley deserves our enthusiastic praise for this monumental piece of work.” —San Francisco Chronicle“Beneath Borges’s paradoxical twists and inverted spells there is the deeper, ineffably human magic of all great literature.” —Los Angeles Times “Borges is the most important Spanish-language writer since Cervantes… . To have denied him the Nobel Prize is as bad as the case of Joyce, Proust, and Kafka.” —Mario Vargas Llosa“Though so different in style, two writers have offered us an image for the next millennium: Joyce and Borges. The first designed with words what the second designed with ideas: the original, the one and only World Wide Web. The Real Thing. The rest will remain simply virtual.” —Umberto Eco “It is a deep pleasure to read the Collected Fictions of Borges in Andrew Hurley’s capable new version. Old favorites like ‘Death and the Compass’ and ‘The Immortal’ are revivified by Hurley. There is also a particular satisfaction in having all of the stories in one volume.” —Harold Bloom “What are we to make of him? The economy of his prose, the tact of his imagery, the courage of his thought are there to be admired and emulated. In resounding the note of the marvelous last struck in English by Wells and Chesterton, in permitting infinity to enter and distort his imagination, he has lifted fiction away from the flat earth where most of our novels and short stories still take place.” —John Updike “When I read a good book, I sometimes like to think I might be capable of writing something similar, but never, in my wildest dreams, could I write anything that approaches the level of cleverness and intellect and madness of Borges. I don’t think anyone could.” —Daniel Radcliffe

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 June 1986. In 1961 Borges shared the International Publisher’s prize with Samuel Beckett. The Ingram Merrill Foundation granted him its Annual Literary Award in 1966 for his “outstanding contribution to literature.” In 1971 Columbia University awarded him the first of many degrees of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa (eventually the list included both Oxford and Cambridge), that he was to receive from the English-speaking world. In 1971 he also received the fifth biennial Jerusalem Prize and in 1973 was given one of Mexico’s most prestigious cultural awards, the Alfonso Reyes Prize. In 1980 he shared with Gerardo Diego the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish world’s highest literary accolade. Borges was Director of the Argentine National Library from 1955 until 1973.

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