Collected Fictions

Starred review from August 31, 1998
Undeniably one of the most influential writers to emerge in this century from Latin America or anywhere else, Borges (1899-1986) is best known for his short stories, all of which appear here for the first time in one volume, translated and annotated by University of Puerto Rico professor Hurley. Many of the stories return to the same set of images and themes that mark Borges's best known work: the code of ethics embraced by gauchos, knifefighters and outlaws; labyrinths; confrontations with one's doppelganger; and discoveries of artifacts from other worlds (an encyclopedia of a mysterious region in Iraq; a strange disc that has only one side and that gives a king his power; a menacing book that infinitely multiplies its own pages; fragmentary manuscripts that narrate otherworldly accounts of lands of the immortals). Less familiar are episodes that narrate the violent, sordid careers of pirates and outlaws like Billy the Kid (particularly in the early collection A Universal History of Iniquity) or attempts to dramatize the consciousness of Shakespeare or Homer. Elusive, erudite, melancholic, Borges's fiction will intrigue the general reader as well as the scholar. This is the first in a series of three new translations (including the Collected Poems and Collected Nonfictions, all timed to coincide with the centennial of the author's birth), which will offer an alternative to the extensive but very controversial collaborations between Borges and Norman Thomas di Giovanni. First serial rights to the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books and Grand Street.

This collection, featuring a master storyteller, a diverse mix of tales, and a skilled narrator, makes for an interesting audio experience for the devoted listener. The reliable George Guidall offers varied voices to suit each story's cast, and he seems genuinely absorbed by the works, as indicated by his enthusiastic delivery. The recording itself retains a tinny quality, not unlike the audiobooks of yesteryear, and this can make for fatiguing listening. Also, Borges's subtlety and dreamlike prose can get lost between the page and the ear, making the listener long to slow Guidall down and ask him to repeat certain lines. Fans of Borges will embrace this recording; newcomers may do better to begin with the printed text. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine