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Title: The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges, Erik Desmazieres, Andrew Hurley, Angela Giral ISBN: 1-56792-123-X Publisher: David R Godine Pub. Date: August, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.83 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Books Omnipotent, Illustrated and Magical
Comment: "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.
Rating: 5
Summary: Borges Magic
Comment: 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 labyrinths.
Rating: 4
Summary: Borges for Beginners
Comment: 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. This book, a slim and highly cerebral volume which uses a theoretical library as a metaphor for the universe, with each volume a soul, each shelf an ideal, and perhaps curated by The Divine Ethereal, is a magnificent tour-de-force, yes, but is also highly accessible and certainly a viable choice for those of you who are new to Borges. His other fictional and non-fictional work can be very meaty and sometimes too complex. This particular edition, illustrated with gorgeous plates by the Moroccan printmaker Erik Desmazieres, is a marvelous addition to any serious library.
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Title: Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges, James E. Irby, Donald A. Yates ISBN: 0811200124 Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation Pub. Date: February, 1988 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, Andrew Hurley ISBN: 0140286802 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Ficciones (English Translation) by Jorge Luis Borges, Anthony Kerrigan, Anthony Bonner ISBN: 0802130305 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: March, 1989 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Everything & Nothing by Jorge Luis Borges, Donald A. Yates, James E. Ieby, John M. Fein, Eliot Winberger, James E. Irby, Jorge Borges, Eliot Weinberger ISBN: 0811214001 Publisher: New Directions Publishing Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $8.50 |
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Title: Selected Non-Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, Eliot Weinberger, Esther Allen ISBN: 0140290117 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 31 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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