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Borges. Cuentos

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Selección, estudio preliminar y notas de Maria Adela Renard.

Incluye:
"Las ruinas circulares"
"El sur"
"El Zahir"
"El Aleph"
"Juan Muraña"
"La señora mayora"
"Guayaquil"
"El libro de arena"

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1986

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37 people want to read

About the author

Jorge Luis Borges

1,928 books13.9k followers
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known works, Ficciones (transl. Fictions) and El Aleph (transl. The Aleph), published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories exploring motifs such as dreams, labyrinths, chance, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers and mythology. Borges's works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre, and have had a major influence on the magic realist movement in 20th century Latin American literature.
Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, where he studied at the Collège de Genève. The family travelled widely in Europe, including Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals. He also worked as a librarian and public lecturer. In 1955, he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He became completely blind by the age of 55. Scholars have suggested that his progressive blindness helped him to create innovative literary symbols through imagination. By the 1960s, his work was translated and published widely in the United States and Europe. Borges himself was fluent in several languages.
In 1961, he came to international attention when he received the first Formentor Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize. His international reputation was consolidated in the 1960s, aided by the growing number of English translations, the Latin American Boom, and by the success of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. He dedicated his final work, The Conspirators, to the city of Geneva, Switzerland. Writer and essayist J.M. Coetzee said of him: "He, more than anyone, renovated the language of fiction and thus opened the way to a remarkable generation of Spanish-American novelists."

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5 stars
12 (38%)
4 stars
10 (32%)
3 stars
6 (19%)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Profile Image for Federico DN.
955 reviews3,800 followers
July 4, 2025
ExhaustKing.

A collection of 14 short stories by the argentine all-time legend Jorge Luis Borges.

This mangled, torn-cover, decaying used book I bought at a laughable price, mainly compiles some of the most recognized stories found in Borges’ other best-seller collections, like ‘Fictions’, ‘The Aleph’ (and other stories) and ‘Dreamtigers’. Or so I suppose was the idea.

As you may appreciate by the ratings my history with Borges has been plagued with duds, and this little book was no exception. He and I just don’t get along. The man’s intellect clearly works on different plane and I usually can’t follow, nor care to, after a while. But please, don’t be discouraged by my appalling ratings and, if you enjoy this author, just add a +2 and go nuts. Leave me alone.

Go for the Best, consider the Good, whatever the Meh.

The Best :
★★★★☆ “The Circular Ruins.”

The Good :
★★★☆ “The Aleph.” [3.5]
★★★☆ “Funes, the Memorious.” [3.5]

The Meh :
★★☆☆ “The Immortal.” [2.5]
★★☆☆ “The Cruel Redeemer Lazarus Morell.” [2.5]
★★☆☆ “The Dead.”
★★☆☆ “Man on Pink Corner.”
★★☆☆ “The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim.” [1.5]
★★☆☆ “The South.” [1.5]
★★☆☆ “The Garden of Forking Paths.” [1.5]
★☆☆ “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.” [1.5]
★☆☆ “The Captive.”
★☆☆ “The Maker.”
☆☆☆☆☆ “Borges and I.”

* I read something different from the book listed in GR but this is the closest thing I could find.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1968] [111p] [Collection] [Conditional Recommendable]
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★★☆☆ Ficciones
★★☆☆ Borges: Cuentos
★☆☆ Borges profesor: Curso de literatura inglesa en la Universidad de Buenos Aires [1.5]
★☆☆ El tamaño de mi esperanza [0.5]

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Agotadios.

Una colección de 14 cuentos de la leyenda argentina de todos los tiempos Jorge Luis Borges.

Este destrozado libro usado, con la cubierta rota y en plena descomposición que compré a un precio irrisorio, recopila principalmente algunas de las historias más reconocidas que se encuentran en otras colecciones populares de Borges, como ‘Ficciones’, ‘El Aleph’ (y otras historias) y ‘El Hacedor’. O eso supongo era la idea.

Como podrán apreciar por las calificaciones, mi historia con Borges ha estado plagada de desaciertos, y este pequeño libro no fue la excepción. Él y yo simplemente no congeniamos. El intelecto del señor claramente funciona en un plano superior y yo normalmente no puedo seguirlo, ni me importa, pasado un tiempo. Pero por favor, no se desanimen por mis pésimas calificaciones y, si disfrutan de este autor, simplemente agreguen un +2 y avanti morocha. Déjenme en paz.

Ir por lo Mejor, considerar lo Bueno, loquesea lo Meh.

Lo Mejor :
★★★★☆ “Las Ruinas Circulares.”

Lo Bueno :
★★★☆ “El Aleph.” [3.5]
★★★☆ “Funes, el Memorioso.” [3.5]

Lo Meh :
★★☆☆ “El Inmortal.” [2.5]
★★☆☆ “El Espantoso Redentor Lazarus Morell.” [2.5]
★★☆☆ “El Muerto.”
★★☆☆ “Hombre de la Esquina Rosada.”
★★☆☆ “El Acercamiento a Almotásim.” [1.5]
★★☆☆ “El Sur.” [1.5]
★★☆☆ “El Jardín de los Senderos que se Bifurcan.” [1.5]
★☆☆ “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.” [1.5]
★☆☆ “El Cautivo.”
★☆☆ “El Hacedor.”
☆☆☆☆☆ “Borges y yo.”

* Leí algo diferente al libro que figura en GR pero esto es lo más parecido que pude encontrar.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1968] [111p] [Colección] [Recomendable Condicional]
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Profile Image for José R. Torres.
32 reviews
October 29, 2023
De Jorge Luis Borges, Roberto Bolaño dijo que era el mayor exponente de las letras en español desde Cervantes, o acaso, el único. No sé mucho del autor, y desde luego no se nada de faceta poética. Lo que sí sé es que algunos de estos cuentos parecen encerrar todo el genio de Borges. No habiendo leído tantos relatos y sin ser yo nada más que un lector corriente, puedo decir que, en ellos, el género parece alcanzar sus cotas más altas, agotar sus posibilidades técnicas por la extensión limitada a la que debe obligación.

Una forma de homogeneizar estos cuentos es decir que desarrollan una idea (la inmortalidad, el infinito como número o las infinitas fracciones de algo, las decisiones que engendran decisiones que engendran decisiones) y la estiran hasta configurar un universo entero. Mejor dicho, muestran un abismo de posibilidades sin fin por el que es difícil dejar de mirar. El estilo me resulta erudito, colorido, lleno de referencias ficticias que crean una atmósfera atractiva. Requiere bastante atención y no resulta una lectura fácil. De hecho, dudo que sea posible detectar todas las capas y sutilezas que autor quiso mostrarnos.

Por último, solo añadir que, personalmente, no me basta con leer estos cuentos una vez, sino que vuelvo recurrentemente a ellos. De momento, es mi único libro de consulta.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews

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