Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish
Original Language: Spanish
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"The Library of Babel" is one of the most memorable stories by the great Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. This slim book contains Andrew Hurley's English translation of the story, eleven illustrations by Erik Desmazieres, and an introduction by Angela Giral.
"Library" is the quintessential "Borgesian" tale. The story concerns an infinite library, composed of endlessly connected hexagonal galleries, and populated by inhabitants among whom have risen various weird belief systems and subcultures. The first-person narrator is one of the library's residents. "Library" is a masterpiece of the fantastic and the metaphysical.
Giral notes in her introduction that Desmaziere's engravings are not literal representations of scenes from the story, but rather "the product of a parallel imagination, inspired to create in visual images his own, equivalent universe." The etchings have an elegant, majestic, and sometimes whimsical quality that effectively complements Borges' unique imagination. This book would make a nice gift for lovers of Borges, or of fantastic literature in general.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By "krchicago"
Format:Hardcover
"The Library of Babel" is one of Borges' finest short fictions -- a meditation on the possible, the infinite, the nature of hope and the creation of meaning. The Library contains all possible books, all possible combinations of the 25 orthographic symbols in all possible languages, and therefore everything man is capable of knowing and expressing -- but it appears to have no order, no organization. It contains the true catalogue of the Library, as well as innumerable false catalogues, books proving the falsity of the false catalogue, and books proving the falsity of the true catalogue. Yet from chaos arises meaning: "There is no combination of characters one can make . . . that the divine Library has not foreseen and that in one or more of its secret tongues does not hide a terrible significance. There is no syllable one can speak that is not filled with tenderness and terror, that is not, in one of those languages, the mighty name of a god." (35)
This volume is intended for the lover of fine books and contains "only" this single, quite short, fantasy by Borges, beautifully illustrated with duotone etchings by Erik Desmazieres. The etchings are not particularly consistent with Borges' description of the Library, although they are plainly inspired by it. Although Desmazieres' Library appears to be physically bounded in a way that Borges' Library is not (there is no "outside" for Borges), the etchings present a magisterial universe that by the overwhelming size and fine detail of its rooms evokes a sense of the infinite in the same way that High Gothic cathedrals function. My only real quarrel with Desmazieres is that his Library is too populated. He captures the sense of infinite space, but misses the fundamental loneliness of the librarian.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in fine printing or as an addition to an existing collection of Borges' fiction. If you are new to Borges, I would recommend buying a more substantial collection of his work first, then buying this volume as a beautifully realized vision of one aspect of his universe.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Bibliophiles will be drawn to this wonderful little volume combining fine writing, fascinating artists engravings and top quality book production. Borges' meditation on the library of Babel - an infinite universe of hexagonal galleries containing every possible book - provides a metaphor for thinking about knowledge and truth. While only a few thousand words long, Borges' story draws the reader into a world both deeply familiar and utterly surreal. His descriptions of how people have searched for the ultimate truth, to be found (they imagine) in a volume somewhere on the endless library shelves, makes for an unsettling parable.
Print maker Eric Desmazieres provides eleven engravings, offering intricately detailed architectural drawings of the library - a monstrous, looming tower of Babel; huge internal chambers with book-shelves reaching into the darkness; urgent, scurrying librarians pushing books in barrows across narrow bridges, meticulously arranging volumes on shelves. The moody darkened images perfectly compliment Borges' prose.
The publisher, David R Godine, from Boston specialises in fine quality editions. The book itself is a wonderful example of the publisher's art. It too will have a well-deserved place in Borges' Library of Babel.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful service
The book arrived well packaged and in excellent condition. I love the protective wrap around the dust cover. I really appreciate the tracking feature. Thank you very much
Published 10 days ago by Libris Alexandria
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
This is an enjoyable reading of the great labyrinth of Jorge Luis Borges. Once you read it you will come back to it,
Published 4 months ago by Hazem Rashed
3.0 out of 5 stars
Highlighted at the San Diego Museum of Art
I am anxious to read this book after puzzling over an exhibit in the San Diego Museum of Art for hours on end. Read more
Published on May 8, 2008 by R. Volzer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Book...But Thin Value
Let me start of by saying that the artwork of Erik Desmazieres in this nicely designed little hardcover is fantastic! Read more
Published on May 20, 2007 by Wildness
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must for Borges Fans
"The Library of Babel" is Jorge Luis Borges' take on an astounding library that contains every possible volume, of a given size and number of pages, that can be printed with a... Read more
Published on September 16, 2005 by Eric Halsey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Borges Magic
This unique compelling story is beautifully supported by the remarkable illustrations. Borges in any format is worth time and reflection as he leads you through his wonderful... Read more
Published on August 27, 2002 by Barry Wiley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Borges for Beginners
Jorge Borges, (1899-1986) was born in Beunos Aires and educated in Geneva, and was a prominent figure in the avant-garde Ultraist movement in the late teens and early 1920's. Read more
Published on May 15, 2002 by Jeffrey C. Gillespie
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great blend of illustration and poetics
This brief--but beautiful--volume brings artistic splendor to Borges's vision of the endless library. The etchings here, by a French artist, are stunning and illuminating. Read more
Published on November 17, 2000
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