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Personal Anthology Jorge Luis Borges Books

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Personal Anthology Jorge Luis Borges Books

Clean good condition, and a fabulous read.


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Personal Anthology Jorge Luis Borges Books Reviews

Published first in Spanish in 1961 and in English in 1967, Jorge Luis Borges' A Personal Anthology was released after Borges had achieved world-wide fame as the author of the short story compilations The Garden of Forking Paths, A Universal History of Infamy, and The Aleph, as well as numerous books of poetry and essays.

A Personal Anthology can be read as a sort of broad summation of the major themes and metaphors of Borges's literary life, or as a mere introduction into his expansive oeuvre. As an avid reader of Borges, to me his anthology is an exciting glimpse into the intellectual heart of the writer. As a truly "personal anthology", edited by Borges himself, the work is, in essence, Borges' own idea of his contribution to literature, philosophy, and criticism. It is, to a great extent, what Borges would choose to leave to that infinite library that he often invokes.

The literary styles within the text span the extent of Borges' work, from short story, to literary meditation, to essay and philosophical argument. The themes of Borges' works are primarily existential. His questions surround the nature of identity, time, and consciousness, and his narratives usually lead back to the questions of myth and history, creator and creation, philosophical idealism, and the line between the waking mind and the dreaming mind. Summarizing Borges' works proves difficult, as he draws heavily from history, philosophy, religion, and references to real and imaginary books. Meaning is meant to be layered; the sacred and the profane, the everyday and the fantastic weave together to create his strange literary vignettes.

In the the book we find some of Borges' most well-known short stories, including The Aleph, Death and the Compass, Funes the Memorious, The South, and The Zahir. He also includes pseudo histories like The Warrior and the Captive, the essay A New Refutation of Time, and his brief meditation Borges and I. Borges is attracted to paradox, to unanswered questions, and his anthology reflects that propensity. While A Personal Anthology portrays Borges' at the heights of his intellectual powers, which span numerous languages, histories and literary styles, the collection also gives us Borges in his most vulnerable state, a scholar going blind, asking questions he knows are beyond his grasp to answer.

For Borges fans, A Personal Anthology is an ideal compendium to have in the library, and for those new to Borges, the edition provides a perfect introduction into the fascinating world of the writer.
Jorge Luis Borges was born in Buenos Aires in 1899. His parents, multilingual intellectuals, would soon travel to Europe with their children in the hopes of finding medical treatment for the progressive (inherited) failing eyesight that Borges' father was experiencing. Borges was a brainy, precocious, nearsighted and bookish child who was deeply attached to his sister Norah, with whom he played nearly exclusively and happily, mainly in the protected indoors of the family's library, or in the garden, and at the Buenos Aires Zoo, where Borges adored tigers most of all. (Stroking the fur of a living tiger was a lifelong dream and one that he finally attained - in old age).
Borges wrote his first short story at age six and, amazingly, at the age of nine translated Oscar Wilde's short story "The Happy Prince" from English to Spanish, publishing the story in a local newspaper. It was simply assumed that his father (also "Jorge Borges") had done the translation. Borges was educated in the classics, was multilingual, and was eventually named Director of the National Library of Argentina. The irony of being blind - and also in direct control of "800,000 volumes" did not escape him.
This book was assembled by Borges himself, in the 1960s. It's an assortment of short stories, essays, fictions and nonfictions, and poems. It is a demanding and rewarding read. Like most of his work, his human subjects here are mainly males- of history, myth, and his own invention. Women are not much included in his oevre. I add that so that readers new to Borges are informed, in advance.
He does not court the reader so much as respect readerly intelligence. As such his work sometimes initially intimidates students - and later, thrills. It stays with you, permanently.
Borges was a master of several forms, and they are here. Most of his areas of interest are 'big' themes art, poetry, mortality, loyalty, destiny, ancient and world history. (He even wrote articles about books or other articles that, in fact, did not exist - other than for his express purposes.) In his poetry and other pieces, notions of eternity versus mortality (for example one's knowing that one will never again open a certain beloved book, travel a familiar street, or know or see a still-living loved one) is approached with profound humility and grace. There are meditations on a variety of men and topics, among them Shakespeare, 'the Aleph,' and Shih Huang Ti, the Chinese emperor who ordered that the Wall of China be built, and "likewise ordered all books antedating him to be burned."
Borges loves details, material culture, and even minutiae, too. There is much to hang on to in these pieces. It's a deliberate and purposeful sampling of some of his work - not a "best of," since one volume of 200 pages can't really do that. His writing demands full engagement. Many of his stories lack characters of romance, drama, or overt emotionality - but have great power nonetheless.
Several of his most well-known poems are included. "The Art of Poetry," as able an explication of the meaning of art, life, and eternity as you might ever read and "The Tango," a poem about (among other things) Argentina ("The South, behind suspicious walls,/Keeps a knife and a guitar." In conclusion "An impossible recollection of having died/ Fighting, on some corner of a suburb.")
Borges is considered to be a modern master, and this collection illustrates why.
This is one of my favorite anthologies. I continue to re-read several of the stories, poems and essays. Borges was a master of the author-identity concept. Many authors attempt to spin an identity separate from the "real" them which is the identity they present to their public, to their readers.

Borges writes that he wants the works in this anthology to be representative of his work; he wants these works to speak for him.

I don't read Spanish, yet, so I can't say how close to the original these translations are, but they are wonderful to read and I imagine are very good.

If you're interested in identity in literature, Latin American literature, influence, or in literature in general, read this. I highly recommend anything by Borges, but like any literature, you have to read for yourself to truly to discover if you will enjoy it. And, with Borges, you should try to read a wide swath of his work, because it varies. That's what makes this a great choice for introduction to his work, it gives a taste of his fiction, poetry and essays (which, you may know are not always non-fiction).

Enjoy!
One of my favorite writers.
It's Borges....you love him or you don't. I happen to love him.
Clean good condition, and a fabulous read.