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Labyrinths (New Directions Paperbook) [Paperback]

Jorge Luis Borges , Donald A. Yates , James E. Irby , William Gibson , André Maurois
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)

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Book Description

May 17, 2007 New Directions Paperbook

The classic by Latin America's finest writer of the twentieth century—a true literary sensation—with an introduction by cyber-author William Gibson.

The groundbreaking trans-genre work of Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) has been insinuating itself into the structure, stance, and very breath of world literature for well over half a century. Multi-layered, self-referential, elusive, and allusive writing is now frequently labeled Borgesian. Umberto Eco's international bestseller, The Name of the Rose, is, on one level, an elaborate improvisation on Borges' fiction "The Library," which American readers first encountered in the original 1962 New Directions publication of Labyrinths.

This new edition of Labyrinths, the classic representative selection of Borges' writing edited by Donald A. Yates and James E. Irby (in translations by themselves and others), includes the text of the original edition (as augmented in 1964) as well as Irby's biographical and critical essay, a poignant tribute by André Maurois, and a chronology of the author's life. Borges enthusiast William Gibson has contributed a new introduction bringing Borges' influence and importance into the twenty-first century.

Frequently Bought Together

Labyrinths (New Directions Paperbook) + Ficciones (English Translation) + The Aleph and Other Stories (Penguin Classics)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If Jorge Luis Borges had been a computer scientist, he probably would have invented hypertext and the World Wide Web.

Instead, being a librarian and one of the world's most widely read people, he became the leading practitioner of a densely layered imaginistic writing style that has been imitated throughout this century, but has no peer (although Umberto Eco sometimes comes close, especially in Name of the Rose).

Borges's stories are redolent with an intelligence, wealth of invention, and a tight, almost mathematically formal style that challenge with mysteries and paradoxes revealed only slowly after several readings. Highly recommended to anyone who wants their imagination and intellect to be aswarm with philosophical plots, compelling conundrums, and a wealth of real and imagined literary references derived from an infinitely imaginary library. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Borges is arguably the great bridge between modernism and post-modernism in world literature.” (David Foster Wallace - The New York Times )

“Borges anticipated postmodernism (deconstruction and so on) and picked up credit as founding father of Latin American magical realism.” (Colin Waters - The Washington Times )

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: New Directions; Reprint edition (May 17, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0811216993
  • ISBN-13: 978-0811216999
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
81 of 86 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The place to start with Borges September 18, 2006
Format:Paperback
First, a memory: at the age of 19, I walked into a college elective course on Latin American literature, and was presented with a syllabus which included several works by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, Carlos Fuentes, Manuel Puig, Julio Cortazar, and Jorge Luis Borges. We were to begin with Borges, which became a life-changing discovery.

Since then, Borges has come to stand alongside Vladimir Nabokov as my favorite writer; they are two people whose writing I couldn't imagine not knowing. And LABYRINTHS is the place to begin - it's where I started, and once a year or so, it's the collection I most readily return to.

Other reviewers have done an excellent job of summing up his style, so instead of rehashing, I'll zero in on some favorites: "Death And The Compass," which blends Borges' vast knowledge of global histories and religions with his love of pulp and genre conventions; the end results are a metaphysical mystery like no others. Or "The Sect Of The Phoenix," which - in the most simplistic analysis - is a birds-and-bees discourse undertaken with unusual originality, and enhanced with anthropological allegories.

Other high-water marks include "A New Refutation Of Time," "The Garden Of Forking Paths," the brief "Borges And I" and "Pierre Menard, Author Of The Quixote." I would note that there's not a false moment to be found here, and after dozens of re-readings, I still enjoy finding new secrets hidden within these crystalline fictions, parables and essays.

Anyone with a love of literature should get to know Borges.

-David Alston
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88 of 100 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I had the pleasure to read borges May 12, 2002
Format:Paperback
I had the pleasure to read borges in his native languaje (Spanish). I even have the honor to consider him one of my own, since im from Argentina. Sometimes I regret that Maradona is a better example of an Argentinian than Borges, and better known worldwide.
I first red Borges when i was 15 (im 17 now), i started with "The Aleph", and i just didnt have the intelectaul requirements to understand it. Buy right now im reading "Personal Anthology", and i find it simply wonderfull.
His obsession with Mirrors, Cats and Labyrinths its very intresting. His conception of the world is strange and difficult to describe, and his love for knowledge and languajes is outstanding.
Borges gave his life to literature, and he died saying "I wasnt happy... books took my life". He took a sacrifice to teach others. He gave his whole life to his readers, and i, as a reader, am very very greatfull. Literature would have a huge hole without this genious of literature.
I apologize for any grammar mistakes... this is not my native languaje, but i thought an Argentine perpective of Borges was, at least usefull, if not necessary.
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81 of 93 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Literature. A Work of Genius April 13, 2002
Format:Paperback
I have difficulty imagining a world without the literature of Borges. It would be incomplete. His works - so unique, so eclectic, so intellectually stimulating, and so enjoyable - seem so essential.

Jorge Luis Borges is one of the great writers of the twentieth century. His literary works include short stories, essays, and poetry, but not novels. He was never awarded the Nobel Literature Prize, a rather remarkable failure by the Nobel Committee. Borges will be read and respected long after many Nobel Prize winners of the last century have been forgotten.

"Labyrinths" is an exceptional collection, great as an introduction to Borges, but equally suitable for the reader already familiar with his works. It consists of 23 of his best known stories, ten literary essays, eight short parables, an elegy to Borges from Borges himself, and a very useful bibliography.

The detailed bibliography helps make Borges' works more accessible. In the last fifty years Borges' works in English have been published as a confusing mix of overlapping collections, largely due to complications regarding publishing rights.

Translations also differ. The first sentence in The Form of the Sword (from Ficciones) - "His face was crossed with a rancorous scar: a nearly perfect ashen arc which sank into his temple on one side and his cheek on the other" - is recognizable, but transformed in The Shape of the Sword (from Labyrinths) - "A spiteful scar crossed his face: an ash-colored and nearly perfect arc creased his temple at one tip and his cheek at the other." While both translations are good, I suspect that the effort to master Spanish would be paid in full by the joy of reading Borges in his native language.

Borges is difficult to characterize, but terms like metaphysical, philosophical, erudite, literate, unexpected, mysterious, and haunting are common adjectives. Like Franz Kafka, Edgar Allen Poe, and Umberto Eco, Borges offers unique perspectives and insights that startle us with originality and genius. He creates worlds that range from plausible to implausible to simply impossible, but under the spell of his imagination we accept unreality and illusion.

The reader should peruse "Labyrinths" over time, rather than hurrying from story to story. There is no need to hurry as you undoubtedly will revisit these stories and essays. I find I return to Borges again and again with awe and appreciation, almost as though I am discovering him for the first time. I cannot imagine a world without Borges.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Creme de la Creme
There are few authors in whom I delight as much as Borges. He is a virtuoso. All his stories are extraordinary tales, none lacking. Read more
Published 1 month ago by francis lemfield
5.0 out of 5 stars The best
Start with Labyrinths. I find these even superior to Borges' on work with di Giovanni. They are wonderful to compare. Read them both!
Published 2 months ago by Barbara L. Ross
4.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this book immensely
I enjoyed this book immensely; not just the fiction, but the essays and parables as well.

The stories were thought-provoking and engaging beyond belief. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dan
5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Collection of Short Stories
This was my first time reading any of J.L. Borges' work. I have to admit that it took me a while to get into the stories. Read more
Published 5 months ago by ellie59
5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe I'm Amazed
I'm still new to the world we now live in, in which a remembered book title can float through my mind at one moment-- and then show up in my mailbox the next. Amazing. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ava Wooton
4.0 out of 5 stars "The beginner with Borges can find a seductive entrance...
...to his enchantment through the short stories collected in "Labyrinths" (1962), which transmits his poetic magic irresistibly even through translation. Read more
Published 11 months ago by John P. Jones III
5.0 out of 5 stars Redefines what a short story can accomplish
Those new to Jorge Luis Borges should be forewarned.

This collection of short stories, essays and poems redefines the extent of meaning that can be conveyed in a very... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Steve Reina
3.0 out of 5 stars Replete with spelling errors
Both the back cover and James E. Irby claim to have revised this current edition; in the postscript to his original introduction Mr Irby states "this new revised edition... Read more
Published 22 months ago by David Z. Black
4.0 out of 5 stars Uneven
I was not as impressed by this book as I expected to be. Perhaps it's because I've read plenty of other stories which use techniques which Borges pioneered, but I didn't find many... Read more
Published on December 26, 2010 by A. Argyriou
3.0 out of 5 stars The search for Borges
I am embarrassed to admit that this was my first proper exposure to Borges - though I had seen, and was intrigued by, many fragments of his works quoted by other authors, which is... Read more
Published on October 18, 2010 by Oldthinker
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