The ''Book of Imaginary Beings'' was written by

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

with Margarita Guerrero and published in 1957 under the original Spanish title ''Manual de zoología fantástica''. The subsequent English version contains descriptions of 120 mythical beasts from

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

and literature, and was praised upon its release.

The book contains descriptions of 120 mythical beasts from folklore and literature. In the preface, Borges states that the book is to be read "as with all miscellanies... not... straight through... Rather we would like the reader to dip into the pages at random, just as one plays with the shifting patterns of a

kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...

"; and that "legends of men taking the shapes of animals" have been omitted. Although a work of fiction, it is situated in a tradition of Paper Museums, bestiaries, and natural history writing.

Development

It was expanded in 1967 and 1969 in Spain to the final ''El libro de los seres imaginarios''. The English edition, created in collaboration with translator

Norman Thomas di Giovanni Norman Thomas di Giovanni (3 October 1933 – 16 February 2017) was an American-born editor and translator known for his collaboration with Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges. Biography Di Giovanni was born in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1933, son o ...

, contains descriptions of 120 mythical beasts from

and literature. A similar book, ''The Book of Barely Imagined Beings,'' was also later authored by Caspar Henderson.

Reception

A review from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' praised the book, describing it as "perfect foils for classic Borgesian musings on everything from biblical etymology to the underworld, giving the creatures particularly vivid and perfectly scaled shape". Reviewing from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', Caspar Henderson stated that the book was brief but also a "map of the endless labyrinth of human imagination and its contents" that was "dense and deep". The reviewer also commented that the entries of legends were "delightful". Benjamin DeMott from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' also complimented the book, stating that it was "an amusing tribute to the human gift for seeing the invisible and debating whether it whistles". An article from ''

Journal of Modern Literature The ''Journal of Modern Literature'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed literary journal covering studies of literature in any language produced after 1900. It was established in 1977 at Temple University; since 1996, it has been published by Indiana U ...

,'' written by Melanie Nicholson, reported that some critics described the book as a "curious but unoriginal compilation of already-told tale". However, Nicholson stated that it was also "one worthy of serious consideration".

References

{{Authority control Works by Jorge Luis Borges 1957 books 1969 books Bestiaries Argentine speculative fiction works Works about legendary creatures Roc (mythology)

Contents

Development

Reception

See also

References