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The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory (Penguin Classics) Paperback – December 18, 2007

by
Jorge Luis Borges (Author)
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Jorge Luis Borges (Author), Andrew Hurley (Editor, Translator, Introduction)
4.7 out of 5 stars 16 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: Penguin Classics
  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 18, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0143105299
  • ISBN-13: 978-0143105299
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.4 x 7.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe Book of Sand
By Damian Kelleher on December 18, 2004
Format: Paperback
The Book of Sand has thirteen stories - an accidental or fatal number, the author tells us, but not magical - and they all, more or less, deal with the same theme. While, in each and every story, there is a mystery, an enigma, a puzzle that may or may not be solved, the answer is always the same. Borges wants us to look beyond the artifices of our lives, beyond the linguistic, economic, political and religious restrictions we have given ourselves, and see the world for what it actually is.

One of the - many and varied - literary techniques that Borges uses is that of the literary reference. Always, the narrator uses an obscure reference to better make a point, or to expand the depth of a scene or image, using Tacitus, Sigurd and Brynhild, Ibsen, more. Yet, nestled quietly in between real authors and works are fictional creations, authors that are clever combinations of existing writers, works with titles that are pure fancy. The point that Borges is making is, I believe, that, with the passing of time and the simultaneously corrupting and enhancing efforts of language and culture, it does not matter if these works ever existed or not. To be affected by them it enough, to make a point or drive home an idea is enough. Four hundred years on, invoking the 'fighting windmills' phrase, does it matter if Cervantes ever really existed? Does it matter if I have or have not read the exploits of the man from La Mancha? In Borges world, the answer is no.

In one story, 'Utopia of a Tired Man', Eudoro Acevedo is transplanted from his home in the 20th century, to a place many thousands of years into the future. He meets a man, who explains the fall and rise again of mankind, who reveals the future history until 'now', when everything is different.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsUtopia of a great wirter
By Guillermo Maynez on August 7, 2003
Format: Paperback
The review's title is, of course, a paraphrase of one of the best stories in this collection, one written when Borges was already old and wiser than ever. His wisdom is a disenchanted one, but then again he was never an exactly cheerful writer. His scope is infinite, as he deals not only with far distant lands but also with entirely imaginary ones. One of the most peculiar characteristics of Borges, acutely present in this slim volume, is his constant mixing up of reality with fantasy, of different epochs, and of true and imaginary identities.
The best example of this is the first tale, "The Other", an encounter between the young and the old Borges. Both are sitting on a bench by a river, but the young one is in Geneva in the twenties, while the old is in Cambridge, Mass., in 1969. Their conversation is friendly but distant, and it is simply impossible to read it without imagining what you would say to your younger self if you had a chance to talk to him. All the stories are good -vintage Borges-, but some of my favorites are: "Utopia of a Tired Man", a chilling encounter with a man from the distant future; "The Night of Gifts", a gaucho story of learning about sex and death in a single night; "There are more things" (English title in the original), an homage to H.P. Lovecraft; "The Book of Sand", about an infinite book.
This mature collection is a strong sample of Borges's best qualities: concision, brevity, high-octanage imagination, philosophical profundity without pretentiousness.
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5.0 out of 5 starsIn memory...
By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on January 31, 2008
Format: Paperback
Trying to full describe the writings of Jorge Luis Borges is like trying to explain exactly why Leonardo da Vinci's art still captivates. The man wrote works of art.

And "The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory" brings together two of Borges' shorter collections, with all sorts of surreal twists in a seemingly ordinary world. These rich, slightly uneasy stories are a shining example of why people enjoy Borges -- magical, rich in language, and poignant in their finality.

Interestingly, two of the stories -- one from each collection -- have strikingly similar stories. "August 25, 1983" has Borges stumbling across an older version of himself, dying as he tells Borges a bit about his future. And "The Other" has Borges at Cambridge, where he accidentally bumps into a younger version of himself, whom he imparts some wisdom to.

But the stories are about far stranger things as well -- a hunt for blue tigers that leads to strangely fascinating stones, an alchemist's rose, a poet telling a king of pure beauty and wonder, receiving the hazy memories of Shakespeare, a book with no ending, the ultimate Word, a creepy religious sect, and even a Lovecraftian homage in which a man comes across grotesque aliens in a remote house.

Good luck finding flaws in this book -- Borges' writing is exquisitely detailed and atmospheric, and densely packed with philosophical pockets. And these stories are magical realism in the purest sense, with a slight, almost mystical twist to the everyday events that we take for granted -- being mistaken for someone else, being sold a book, et cetera.

And Borges wraps these stories in lush, digified prose that takes a little while to wade through, but the richness of the words he uses is worth it ("The sin the two of us now share...Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsOne of the best J.L. Borges short story collections
By A Customer on August 21, 1996
Format: Hardcover
This collection of fairly late production contains some of the very best Borges stories.
One of my favourite stories is the title story, The book of sand.
The idea of a perpetually changing and endless book is simultaneously both
a great dream and a nightmare for avid readers throughout the world.
Borges' large literary scope - he has read an extraordinary
amount of both well and less known authors- his characteristic
introductory quotations and his extremely compact, precise language
are the main reasons that lead me to do some translations of
his work into Finnish that may have helped to revive an
interest in this incomparable Argentian master over here.
In my opinion, this book is worth not only reading bur re-reading until
the pages turn into powder - or shall we say sand...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsSo amazing.

Jorge Luis Borges is one of those authors everyone should read. So amazing.

Published 3 days ago by A. C. Hecker
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Book of Sand

I was introduced to Borges, more than 30 years ago, by Harlan Ellison, who so often manages to inform and entertain at the same time. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Norman Ferriere
3.0 out of 5 starsRather second-rate Borges, but even second-rate Borges has it appeal

THE BOOK OF SAND ("El libro de arena") is a 1975 collection of short stories by Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Christopher Culver
4.0 out of 5 starstight, well constructed writing...

First 1/2 is short stories. Usual Borges menagerie of very short works that mixes genres with repetitive motifs: infinity, death, biblical references/ god. Read more

Published 22 months ago by ConcupusAl
3.0 out of 5 starsWill revisit

I'm a fan of Borges, and the inspiration from his works more than require my bended knee, but this one seemed weaker than his other works. Why? I'm not certain. Read more

Published on April 1, 2014 by BronxRev
5.0 out of 5 starsRecommend this book!

A friend recommended that I get this and I'm so glad that I did! I ordered this awhile ago and devoured it! I'm ready for another go at it again! Read more

Published on December 31, 2013 by Heather
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Book of Sand

This is one of the most reserved of all of Borges' writings. It is calmer and quieter and yet more unsettling and mysterious than much of his earlier work.

Published on March 31, 2013 by julien blundell
5.0 out of 5 starsMagnifico escritor

Jorge Luis Borges es un escritor, que en mi opinion
debe estar en todas las casas que amen la literatura.

Published on August 7, 2010 by Martha Valdes-Chao
5.0 out of 5 starsThere is no Book Borges has read that he himself

There is no book Borges has read that he himself has not written. In essence he is Literature and all he ever does is read himself to himself. Read more

Published on December 23, 2004 by Shalom Freedman
5.0 out of 5 starsONE OF THE BEST SHORT STORY WRITERS OUT THERE, PERIOD!

Speculative fiction writer Harlan Ellison was the one who introduced me to Jorge Luis Borges. In one of his introductions to his story collections, he was saying how he felt unfit... Read more

Published on March 11, 2001 by EMAN NEP

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