Ficciones / Fictions (Spanish Edition)

This was a great collection of short stories. Borges's elegance and form never cease to amaze when I read his stories. Many of these stories beg to be read several times as the ideas they present are so complex that the first reading isn't enough to understand them. The first book in this collection, El jardin de senderos que se bifurcan is really fantastic. In "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", Borges tells of a conspiracy to convince the world that another world really exists and that we have had contact with them. This conspiracy spans many generations and several centuries, and every time that a new discovery related to the made-up world appears, it comes closer to reality and existence. The story makes me want to question what is really necessary for an unknown (and possibly extinct) world to exist or have existed. Is it enough to have a written proof, or is that proof too easily manufactured? What is the difference between discovery and fabrication? Where is the line drawn? Does history only exist because we write it? Another story in this collection, "La loteria en Babilonia" reminds me of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", published 7 years after Borges's work. The two stories explore the role of chance in life and make one question what the nature of chance actually is. Are we really the slaves to it that we believe ourselves to be, or are we willingly subjected to its vagaries? In all, a great collection, but I preferred El jardin de senderos que se bifurcan to Artificios. It was the stronger collection, depending less on the journalistic style to tell compelling stories, and taking greater flights of fancy. But, for me, Borges is always worth reading.

Always a treat to read Borges in his native language. Among these selections there’s a good analysis on Judas, motives, sacrifice and expectations. Just masterful.

Leer el libro de Borges es una tarea desafiante pero uno que vas a querer alcanzar. Aunque muchas de las obras son complejos, tienen un mensaje muy profundo y interesente que conectan al mundo real. Los cuentos te enseñan moralejas nuevas y te hacen cuestionar tus percepciones del mundo. Tambien, para alguien que todavia esta aprendiendo el español, es un libro que va a ser dificil pero va a ayudarte mucho en desarollar tus habilidades. Tendras que aceptar que no vas a entender todo y en vez enfocarte en apreciar el fluyo del cuento y los mensajes escondidos. Borges mismo es un escritor genial y muy relevante, y leer sus trabajos ouede darte un entendimiento mejor de la literatura latinoamericana.

I teach some of these stories to my senior English class, and periodically a question comes up about the accuracy of our translation or I want to have a good Spanish student read the stories in the original. The postmodern stories in here are essentially the reification of various different philosophies. But instead of writing *about* the philosophy Borges creates a world in a story in which the philosophy is true. They are superb. Although some of my students find the Spanish hard, I think it's very accessible with the aid of a dictionary.

Borges is a mesmerizing author whose work will have you stepping through the rabbit hole into an eternal spiral library in space or through endless doors to meet eccentric figures from history. In his prose, Borges weaves tales that while seemingly set in the actual world really seep into Ali Baba’s cave and Sheharazade’s 1001 Nights. Before Garcia Marquez, Alejo Carpentier and Cortazar, there was Borges.

Por años tuve pendiente leer a Borges, lo cual puede no ser verdad, seguramente leí un cuento perdido por ahí, o quizás le confundo con Cortázar. Cómo sea la sección de ficciones casi nos hace retirarnos, los cuentos complejos, entre ciencia y fantocheria son difíciles de seguir, pero en cuanto llegamos al Jardín de los Senderos la cosa tomo forma, las historias tienen sentido más claro, si aún la idea central. De cualquier forma una cosa me quedo clara, Borges no escribe cuentos, reescribe el mundo con cada sentencia.

The book is great but it came in used or broken condition.

Inicié mi lectura de Ficciones con aprensión debido a la tan proclamada erudición de su autor y la adoración de tantos conocedores y enamorados de la literatura por el mito que es Jorge Luís Borges. Había escuchado que su lectura no era fácil y que no todos podemos beber de su fuente con entendimiento y satisfacción. Empecé titubeando con los dos primeros cuentos hasta que me atrapó con su magia el tercero: Las ruinas circulares. De ahí en adelante gocé con un estilo de escritura totalmente diferente a todo lo que he leído. Sus cuentos están llenos de magia, de aventuras fascinantes, de diferentes perspectivas de la realidad, de ideas filosóficas para ponderar, y de extraños misterios con matices irónicos. Hay cierta estrategia narrativa que se distingue en Ficciones así como un humor sutil y una templanza: un buen alimento para el intelecto, no para el corazón. Muy recomendable, por supuesto.

Lo amo!!!

Borges is one of my favourite Authors in any language. Beginning to learn Spanish has given me the opportunity to sample his prose in the original language. I know the English translations of these stories very well, but on first look it's going to be some time before I'm able to read these as freely as I like to! For now I have to content myself with reading lines I know so well with with the best Argentinian accent I can manage. (p.s. This book's text is Spanish, NOT English. When in doubt about the exact content of a book try searching on-line for the ISBN to check).

Un libro excelente, sin lugar a dudas una obra cumbre de la literatura.

Livro para ler e reler tranquilamente cada conto. A cada nova leitura vc descobre algo novo. Cheio de metáforas filosóficas é uma leitura surpreendente!

There some writers, like Borges, that can't be rated. He is one of the top scholars - philosopher -storyteller of the world!