Customer Reviews

The Book of Imaginary Beings

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Borges has compiled a zoology of the imagination under the title The Book of Imaginary Beings. He arranges these fantastical creatures from world literature alphabetically, but urges the reader to skip around, looking for subjects of interest. Some are familiar creatures: centaurs, nymphs, harpies, sirens, banshee, phoenix, hippogriffs, minotaur, mandrakes, and unicorns. Others I failed to recognize: A Bao A Qu, lamed wufniks, kujata, nagas, odradek, catoblepas, and others.

Ctesias, physician to the Persian emperor Artaxerxes Mnemon, compiled a deficient description of distant India in the fourth century B.C., in which he mentions the crocotta, a blend of a dog and a wolf. The Roman writer Pliny expands on this work by describing a cross between the hyena and antelope.

Kafka tells about an unnamed creature, that is half cat and half lamb, not only in appearance, but also in behavior. C. S. Lewis describes chilling monsters in his fantasy fiction Perelandra. Dante paints a vivid, horrifying picture of Cerberus, a creature with clawed hands that rip the skin of the souls of the damned as they file past him. In The Time Machine H. G. Wells predicts the future split of mankind into the weak, aristocratic Eloi living on the surface, and the carnivorous Morlocks, a race of underground proletarians that feast on the Eloi.

While I enjoyed perusing The Book of Imaginary Beings, this little collection is not among his best works. Perhaps, his structured approach, that of assembling accurate depictions of creatures from literature, unduely prevented Borges from freely exercising his own uniquely creative imagination. Nonetheless, the reader familiar with Borges will find this little book an interesting addition to a larger collection of his works. The Book of Imaginary Beings was co-authored with Margarita Guerrero.

The first edition with 82 topics was published in Mexico in 1957 and titled Handbook of Fantastic Zoology. In 1967 a second edition with 34 additional entries was published in Buenos Aires. My 1969 yellowed paperback edition (Penguin Books, UK) is slightly larger with 120 subjects. Newer editions are available.

In 1971-72 Robert Parris composed a chamber work, a suite of seven musical portraits and a final reprise, based on this book and sharing the same title, The Book of Imaginary Beings. The first performance was on May 7, 1972 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. during the American Music Festival under the direction of Richard Bales.

Other reviewers have commented that Borges is too far removed here, or that it's a "minor work from a major author" -- all of which is true. If you're looking for serious *Borges*, this may not be of much interest. But if what you're looking for is a bestiary in the medieval tradition (with roots going back even further, to the 2nd Century Greek Physiologus), this is a great addition to the literature.

Wry and clever on some pages, deliciously ambiguous and foggy on others, Borges' compendium of curious creatures makes for enjoyable perusal. The only thing missing, of course, is more creatures. Borges himself begins the work with a disclaimer that any such undertaking can never be complete, yet there was plenty of room for more here. Some omissions are surprising. But in any case, for what it is (and not for what it's not), I can recommend the book without reservation.

A much more full and informative review of this book is made by a Mr.Wischmeyer on the Amazon site. I recommend it.
I remember reading this book with disappointment. It seemed to me as dictionary- like works often do constructed in a formula- like fashion. Of course it has Borges tremendous learning, and his capacity to search through literatures no one else gets to , to find for the reader certain treats and insights. Yet on the whole like the fantastic creatures themselves the work does not have real life, and the deepest kind of human feeling. A minor work of a great master.

Yes, this is a minor work from a major author of literature, and no, this is not Borges' best, but if anyone wants an encyclopedia of fantastical creatures, especially little-known ones as well as creatures found in modern-day literature, why not get get your information from this fun little book by one of the most influential and highly-revered Latin American writers of our time? All in all, I wouldn't have bought this book if Borges' name wasn't on it, but I wasn't disappointed.

Jorge Luis Borges was a remarkable linguist, familiar with several modern European languages as well as Latin, Anglo-Saxon, and medieval Italian; this unusual zoological compilation reflects his broad literary interests. While I enjoyed perusing The Book of Imaginary Beings, it is not among his best works; perhaps its structured format may have limited Borges's freedom to wander at will across the literary landscape, surprising us with his unexpected connections and discoveries. Nonetheless, the reader familiar with Borges will find this compilation an interesting addition to a larger collection of his works.

These fantastical beings are arranged alphabetically, although Borges urges the reader to skip around, looking for subjects of interest. Some are familiar creatures: centaurs, nymphs, harpies, sirens, banshee, phoenix, hippogriffs, minotaur, mandrakes, and unicorns. Others I failed to recognize: A Bao A Qu, lamed wufniks, kujata, nagas, odradek, catoblepas, and others.

His sources are diverse. Ctesias, physician to the Persian emperor Artaxerxes Mnemon, compiled a deficient description of distant India in the fourth century B.C., in which he mentions the crocotta, a blend of a dog and a wolf. The Roman writer Pliny expands on this work by describing a cross between the hyena and antelope.

Kafka tells about an unnamed creature, that is half cat and half lamb, not only in appearance, but also in behavior. C. S. Lewis describes chilling monsters in his fantasy fiction Perelandra. Dante paints a vivid, horrifying picture of Cerberus, a creature with clawed hands that rip the skin of the souls of the damned as they file past him. In The Time Machine H. G. Wells predicts the future split of mankind into the weak, aristocratic Eloi living on the surface, and the carnivorous Morlocks, a race of underground proletarians that feast on the Eloi.

The first edition with 82 topics was published in Mexico in 1957 and titled Handbook of Fantastic Zoology. In 1967 a second edition with 34 additional entries was published in Buenos Aires. The 1970 Discus/Avon edition (120 topics) was co-authored with Margarita Guerrero. Norman Thomas di Giovanni translated this edition in collaboration with Borges.

In 1971-72 Robert Parris composed a chamber work, a suite of seven musical portraits and a final reprise, based on this book and sharing the same title, The Book of Imaginary Beings. The first performance was on May 7, 1972 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. during the American Music Festival under the direction of Richard Bales.

"The Book of Imaginary Creatures" seems like kind of a flimsy book for a great author like Jorge Luis Borges -- a bestiary of creatures from myth, religion and literature. But the book becomes deeper and more intriguing as it goes on, tapping into philosophy and common imaginings around the world.

There are several religion-based creatures -- the Biblical Levithian, Swedenborg's angels and demons, Mohammed's heavenly steed Buraq, Judaical golems (which aren't quite the same as other creatures, since people have to make them), and supernatural versions of real animals, like the white elephant that appeared before the birth of Buddha or Chinese foxes.

But even more numerous are the mythic creatures, from the usual (centaurs, unicorns, hellhounds, gryphons) to the obscure (the A Bao A Qu, an insubstantial little thing that follows people up the stairs). These are a more colourful bunch, especially since many of them -- dragons, the hare in the moon, the basilisk -- recur in different countries, and Borges told readers of most of those.

And to round it off, Borges included creatures invented in literature -- Homer and Dante's mythic creatures, Poe's Antarctic creatures, Kafka, Lewis Carroll's version of a Cheshire cat, and C.S. Lewis's alien creatures from the "Space Trilogy." These authors all created creatures that were almost too weird, but which also seemed relatively likely (as invented animals go).

"The Book of Imaginary Beings" is actually very well-rounded, with lots of bizarre or relatively unknown creatures. You'd expect a bunch of typical mythic creatures just tossed together, but fortunately Borges goes way behind the call of duty, from the A Bao A Qu to the Zaratan (a carnivorous living island).

Borges obviously had great respect for these various legends, since he treats them as seriously as if they were scientifically proven. And he did his research, including duplicates and variations from across the world (not all of them, though), such as the Guardians of the four directions: for the Chinese, it was four tiger spirits, while it was four angelic beasts for the kabbalists.

Borges writes this in a solemn, scholarly manner, but it's still very easy to read ("It is a monster of form, inspired by the devil of symmetry in the imagination of sculptors, potters and ceramicists"). He also includes translations of the beings' names, and quite a few snippets of text and poetry that describe them. Even ancient nonfiction, such as Lucretius insisting that a creature like the centaur couldn't exist. Okay, whatever.

"The Book of Imaginary Beings" seems like a rather minor work for a legendary author. But taken on its own, this little mythic bestiary is a solid little read.

One of Borges' excellent books to really enjoy. Fantastic by all aspects. The best writer of Spanish America. A treasure.

I just finished Borges's Ficciones, and found it filled with thoughtful, intelligent fantasy - a brilliant experience. Althhough this continues the fantasy theme, I found none of the depth and insight of the Ficciones, just a catalog one-and two-pagers adapted from other sources. They're interesting enough, but barely begin to cover mythical zoology. If anything, the omissions stand out as much as the items included.

I'm coming back for more Borges. If this had been the first I read by him, though, I might not have.

-- wiredweird

A collection of mythological creatures, written with Borges' wit and charm. Great for when you don't have much time to read, but you want something interesting to think about or something to make you smile.

In addition to being a brilliant and talented author, Jorge Luis Borges also had a strong interest in mythology, fantasy and philosophy. It shines through in this book, a field guide, of sorts, to the imagination. While it may not be amongst his best works, it IS a fun read, and one gets the feeling it was really a labor of love for Borges. Spanning the realms of folklore, mythology, theology and literature, this volume winds up being perhaps one of the closest modern equivalents to a medieval bestiary. While not quite like Carol Rose's 'Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns and Goblins,' or Mack & Mack's 'Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits,' I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this little book. And, as Borges himself says in the introduction, this really is meant to be a book one flips through occaisonally as any good volume of miscellenea.

Lurking in the pages of this book, one finds such familiar beasts as dragons (of east and west), lamiae, harpies, the minotaur, satyrs, Valkyrie, manticores, golems, kami and the Lernaean hydra. Yet we also find more obscure and exotic things, like the Chinese ink monkey, Lamed Wufniks, creatures from American folklore (like the Hide-Behind and goofus bird) and a strange hairy beast seen in France. While werewolves and other shapeshifters were intentionally excluded, Borges also includes a great number of beasts from literature, ranging from the Behemoth of the Bible, Homer's scylla and the roc from the 1,001 Nights, to stranger things imagined by Poe, Kafka, H.G. Wells and C.S. Lewis. All in all we get well over a hundead beasts mentioned, each with a short story and description, and some with cute little cartoon illustrations.

The end result is quite a fun read. Like I said before, its not quite on par with Borges other works. But still, its well worth the purchase, especially if you share his interest in the strange, mythical creatures that haunt our thoughts and minds. Like the title says, its a zoology of our imagination, and a very unique adventure.