The Secret Books [Paperback]

Jorge Luis Borges (Author), Sean Kernan (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

This collection of three stories and numerous poems of Jorge Luis Borges is complemented by extraordinary, original photographs that give this book great visual appeal. Stories include “Library of Babel,” in which a man wanders though the labyrinthine universe; “The Book of Sand,” where a man discovers a book that reveals a strange and shifting content; and “Borges and I,” in which the protagonist reinvents himself through his writings. A collection that combines the most provocative writings of the great Argentinian author and the startling black-and-white photographs of the artist, this volume is a beautiful and profound evocation of the power of the book to inform and inspire.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jorge Luis Borges was one of the 20th century’s greatest authors, who published numerous collections of poems, essays, and fiction. He received various literary awards over the course of his career, including the International Publishers’ Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett in 1961, and the Doctor of Letters from both Columbia and Oxford universities. Sean Kernan is an artist and photographer whose work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum, the Portland Museum of Art, and numerous galleries in New York, Santa Fe, and San Francisco. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Leetes Island Books; 1st edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918172217
• ISBN-13: 978-0918172211
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 12 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,310,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun for any Borgesian or fan of the apocryphal written word, December 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret Books (Paperback)

Featured in the photographer's epilogue is the claim that he began juxtaposing items such as snakes, skulls, and hands with mysterious books in Latin, Greek, Spanish and other languages before connecting his photographic inspiration with the literary inspiration of Borges. Once he understood the connection, however, it seems the influence of Borges contaminated him; several photographs not only capture Borges's enthusiasm for the enigmas within books and words, they quote the Argentine master within them. Therein lies my favorite aspect of this wonderful book: the photographer's particular fascination with secret books overlaps with yet remains distinct from Borges's particular fascination with the same subject, creating--as with Edward Fitzgerald and Omar Khayyam--a dialogue that is more beautiful and valuable together than apart.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful artifact of the mystery of books, April 8, 2000

By 

vic spicer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Books (Paperback)

interwoven with poems and stories by borges are these stunning, surreal representations of books as objects of art and mystery. while none of them "illustrate" the text, they follow a parallel theme.

the imagination behind these compositions is both uplifting and a little scary. the notion of a text composed completely of small beetles opens all sorts of interesting possibilities. my only complaint is the binding- this would have made a beautiful hardcover.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original Vision, March 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret Books (Paperback)

As with Borges' writing, there is nothing quite like this stunningly original, evocative collection of photographs. The images contain all the elements for which the writer was so admired: paradox, beauty, and elemental simplicity. If you have any reverence for books as objects, or as vessels for meaning, then you should possess this "secret" book.