Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges is a collection of short stories that delve into imaginative and thought-provoking realms, exploring concepts such as missing encyclopedia entries, expansive imaginary worlds, and the blurring of reality and fiction. Borges' writing style is described as powerful, dense, and philosophical, with stories that challenge readers to think deeply about literature, language, and the nature of knowledge. The book is a labyrinth of intricate narratives, surreal settings, and metafictional elements that push the boundaries of traditional storytelling.

Characters:

Characters in the stories often serve to explore deeper philosophical themes rather than being well-rounded or central to traditional narratives.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is dense and complex, requiring careful attention due to its layered and rich prose.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot of the collection is characterized by surrealism and philosophical exploration, with twists that alter the reader's perception of reality.

Setting:

Settings often drift between imaginary and abstract environments, highlighting themes over concrete locations.

Pacing:

Pacing varies between stories, often demanding careful and slow reading due to their complexity.

I owe the discovery of Uqbar to the conjunction of a mirror and an encyclopedia. The unnerving mirror hung at the end of a corridor in a villa on Calle Goana, in Ramos Mejía; the misleading encycloped...

Notes:

Borges wrote highly intellectual stories that blend philosophy, literature, and religion.

Ficciones is a compilation of two collections of short stories: The Garden of Forking Paths and Artifices.

The stories often explore complex societal structures and the nature of reality.

One story features a man who dreams another man into existence, only to fear he is a mere dream himself.

The Library of Babel is one of the stories that imagines an infinite library containing every possible book.

Borges's writing style is marked by a rich use of language packed with philosophical concepts.

He enjoyed playing with literary conventions, often blurring the line between fiction and reality.

Many stories contain meta-textual elements, examining the process of writing itself.

Borges often connects his stories through shared themes and characters.

Ficciones challenges readers with its dense and multi-layered narratives, requiring careful and reflective reading.

From The Publisher:

"Pensé en un laberinto de laberintos, en un sinuoso laberinto creciente que abarcara el pasado y el porvenir y que implicara de algún modo los astros". -Jorge Luis Borges

Ficciones es quizá el libro más reconocido de Jorge Luis Borges, compuesto por los libros El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan y Artificios, ambos considerados piezas fundamentales del universo borgiano. Entre los cuentos que aquí se reúnen hay algunos de corte policial como "La muerte y la brújula", la historia de un detective que investiga el asesinato de un rabino; otros sobre libros imaginarios como "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", una extraordinaria reflexión sobre la literatura y su influencia en el mundo físico; y muchos pertenecientes al género fantástico como "El Sur", acaso su mejor relato, en palabras del mismo autor.

Fascinante y sorprendente, Ficciones le brinda al lector un mundo de reflexiones sobre las convenciones de lectura y el modo de entender la realidad.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Jorge Luis Borges has been called the greatest Spanish-language writer of our century.

From Jorge Luis Borges's 1935 debut with The Universal History of Iniquity, through his immensely influential collections Ficciones and The Aleph, these enigmatic, elaborate, imaginative inventions display Borges' talent for turning fiction on its head by playing with form and genre and toying with language. Together these incomparable works comprise the perfect compendium for all those who have long loved Borges, and a superb introduction to the master's work for those who have yet to discover this singular genius.

Ratings (27)

Incredible (10)
Loved It (10)
Liked It (6)
Did Not Like (1)

Reader Stats (65):

Read It (28)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (32)
Not Interested (4)

What can you read after
Ficciones?

See the list (100 books)

About the Author:

Jorge Luis Borges was born in Buenos Aires in 1899 and was educated in Europe. One of the most widely acclaimed writers of our time, he published many collections of poems, essays and short stories before his death in Geneva in 1986. He was director of the Argentine National Library from 1955 until 1973. Mario Vargas Llosa, in a tribute to Borges, has written: 'His is a world of clear, pure, and at the same time unusual ideas expressed in words of great directness and restraint. [He] was a superb storyteller. One reads most of Borges' tales with the hypnotic interest usually reserved for reading detective fiction...'

Meet New Books is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products and services on amazon.com and its subsidiaries.
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.

Activity

Recommendations

My Stuff

Account

More

Ficciones

Jorge Luis Borges