Book Of Imaginary Beings
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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 regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...
with Margarita Guerrero and published in 1957 under the original Spanish title ''Manual de zoología fantástica'' ("Handbook of fantastic zoology"). It contains descriptions of mythical beasts from
folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
and literature. In 1967 the authors published an expanded edition retitled as ''El libro de los seres imaginarios''. Borges collaborated on the first English translation, which was praised upon its publication in 1969.


Contents

Although a work of fiction, the book is situated in a tradition of paper museums,
bestiaries A bestiary () is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beas ...
, and natural history writing. 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 symmetrical pattern when viewed fro ...
"; and that "legends of men taking the shapes of animals" have been omitted. Though Borges conducted research for the book, he also fabricated sources and invented details (and in the case of the peryton, a whole creature). As translator Andrew Hurley writes, "The nature of Borges’ erudition, creativity, and sense of fun is such that it has been simply impossible to ferret out all the originals, where originals in fact ever existed (some of his “quotations” are almost certainly apocrypha, put-ons)."


Versions

The original 1957 publication of ''Manual de zoología fantástica'' contained eighty-two entries. Thirty-four additional entries were added to the retitled second edition. While collaborating on the 1969 English translation, Borges revised many of the original entries and added another four, bringing the total count to 120. In 2005, Penguin published an illustrated edition with a new English translation of the 116 entry 1967 edition as part of its series of Classics Deluxe editions.


Original editions

* ''Manual de zoología fantástica''. Mexico D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica , 1957 * ''El libro de los seres imaginarios''. Buenos Aires: Editorial Kier, S.A., 1967


English translations

* ''The Book of Imaginary Beings''. Norman Thomas di Giovanni (tr.). E.P. Dutton, 1969. * ''The Book of Imaginary Beings''. Andrew Hurley (tr.), Peter Sís (illus.). Viking Penguin, 2005.


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 the book for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 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 on legends were "delightful". Benjamin DeMott in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 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 in '' Journal of Modern Literature,'' 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".


Influence

Many writers have been influenced by ''The Book of Imaginary Beings''; this is especially apparent in the way that many of Borges's fabrications are repeated as accurate representations of folklore in later bestiaries and books on fantastical creatures. British weird fiction author
China Miéville China Tom Miéville ( , born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and Literary criticism, literary critic. He often describes his work as "weird fiction", and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called ...
credits Borges for inspiring '' The Tain'', his 2002 fantasy novella, which features "imagos" that resemble the Fauna of Mirrors entry in ''The Book of Imaginary Beings.'' The title of Caspar Henderson's 2012 book ''The Book of Barely Imagined Beings'' is a reference to Borges's book. Cuban composer and classical guitarist
Leo Brouwer Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939) is a Cubans, Cuban composer, conducting, conductor, and classical guitarist. He is a Member of Honour of the International Music Council. Early years Brouwer was born in Havana, Cuba. When he ...
also titled a 2018 album ''El Libro de los Seres Imaginarios'' after Borges's book.


See also

*
Anthrozoology Anthrozoology, also known as human–animal studies (HAS), is the subset of ethnobiology that deals with biological interaction, interactions between humans and other animals. It is an interdisciplinary field that overlaps with other disciplin ...
* '' Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge'' *
Meinong's jungle In metaphysics and ontology, nonexistent objects are a concept advanced by Austrian philosopher Alexius Meinong in the 19th and 20th centuries within a " theory of objects". He was interested in intentional states which are directed at nonexisten ...
* Peryton


References

{{Authority control 1957 books 1969 books Argentine speculative fiction works Bestiaries Works about legendary creatures Works by Jorge Luis Borges Spanish-language novels