Ficciones
Encyclopedia
Ficciones is the most popular anthology of short stories
by Argentine
writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges
, often considered the best introduction to his work. Ficciones should not be confused with Labyrinths
, although they have much in common. Labyrinths is a separate translation of Borges' material, by James E. Irby, that also appeared in 1962. Together, these two translations led to much of Borges' worldwide fame in the 60s. Several stories appear in both volumes. "The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim" was originally in History of Eternity (1936).
and published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
. In 1962, Anthony Bonner produced an English translation of Ficciones.
Borges often gives his first-person narrators the name "Borges." While he imparts many of his own characteristics in them, he does not idealize them, and gives them human failings as well.
English phrases appear intermittently in his Spanish stories. Occasionally, the title is in English.
Borges often puts his protagonists in red enclosures. This has led to analysis of his stories from a Freudian viewpoint, although Borges himself strongly disliked his work being interpreted in such a way.
Borges loved books and gives detailed descriptions of the characteristics of the fictional texts in his stories.
Other themes throughout his stories include: deterioration and ruination; games of strategy and chance; conspiracies and secret societies; and ethnic groups, especially those in his own ancestry.
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
by Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, often considered the best introduction to his work. Ficciones should not be confused with Labyrinths
Labyrinths
Labyrinths is an English-language collection of short stories and essays by Jorge Luis Borges.It includes "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", "The Garden of Forking Paths", and "The Library of Babel", three of Borges' most famous stories. Many of the stories are from the collections Ficciones and El...
, although they have much in common. Labyrinths is a separate translation of Borges' material, by James E. Irby, that also appeared in 1962. Together, these two translations led to much of Borges' worldwide fame in the 60s. Several stories appear in both volumes. "The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim" was originally in History of Eternity (1936).
Publication
In 1941, Borges' first anthology of fiction, The Garden of Forking Paths (El Jardín de senderos que se bifurcan) was published. It contained eight stories. In 1944, a new section labeled "Artifices," containing six stories, was added to the eight of The Garden of Forking Paths. These were given the collective title Ficciones. Borges added three more stories to the "Artifices" section in the 1956 edition.Translation
In 1948, the story The Garden of Forking Paths was translated into English by Anthony BoucherAnthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
and published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine is an American monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction...
. In 1962, Anthony Bonner produced an English translation of Ficciones.
Contents
- Part One: The Garden of Forking Paths
- Prologue
- Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis TertiusTlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius"Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" is a short story by the 20th century Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. The story was first published in the Argentine journal Sur, May 1940. The "postscript" dated 1947 is intended to be anachronistic, set seven years in the future...
(1940) - The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim (1936, not included in the 1941 edition)
- Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote (1939)
- The Circular RuinsThe Circular Ruins"The Circular Ruins" is a fantasy short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. Published in the literary journal Sur in December 1940, it was included in the 1941 collection The Garden of Forking Paths and then in part one of the 1944 collection Ficciones...
(1940) - The Babylon LotteryThe Lottery in Babylon"The Lottery in Babylon" is a fantasy short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges...
(1941) - An Examination of the Work of Herbert QuainAn Examination of the Work of Herbert Quain"An Examination of the Work of Herbert Quain" is a 1941 short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. It was included in the anthology Ficciones, part one...
(1941) - The Library of BabelThe Library of Babel"The Library of Babel" is a short story by Argentine author and librarian Jorge Luis Borges , conceiving of a universe in the form of a vast library containing all possible 410-page books of a certain format....
(1941) - The Garden of Forking PathsThe Garden of Forking Paths"The Garden of Forking Paths" is a 1941 short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. It is the title story in the collection El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan , which was republished in its entirety in Ficciones in 1944...
(1941)
- Part Two: Artifices
- Prologue
- Funes the MemoriousFunes the Memorious"Funes the Memorious" is a fantasy short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. First published in La Nación in June 1942, it appeared in the 1944 anthology Ficciones, part two . The first English translation appeared in 1954 in Avon Modern Writing No. 2...
(1942) - The Form of the SwordThe Form of the Sword"The Form of the Sword" is a short story by Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges, first published in July 1942 in La Nación, and included in the 1944 collection Ficciones, part two . The first English translation appeared in New World Writing No. 4, in 1953...
(1942) - Theme of the Traitor and the HeroTheme of the Traitor and the Hero"Theme of the Traitor and the Hero" is a short story by Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges originally published in 1944 in number 112 of the review Sur....
(1944) - Death and the CompassDeath and the CompassDeath and the Compass is British director Alex Cox's second Mexican feature , made in 1992. Based on the short story Death and the Compass by Jorge Luis Borges, the film is in English, and stars Peter Boyle as Erik Lönnrot the detective, Miguel Sandoval as Treviranus, his boss, and Christopher...
(1942) - The Secret MiracleThe Secret Miracle"The Secret Miracle" is a short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. It was first published in the magazine Sur in February 1943.-Plot:...
(1943) - Three Versions of JudasThree Versions of Judas"Three versions of Judas" is a short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. It was included in Borges' anthology, Ficciones, published in 1944. Like several other Borges stories, it is written in form of a scholarly article...
(1944) - The EndThe End (story)The End is a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, first published in La Nación in 1953. It was included in the 1956 edition of Ficciones, part two .-Plot summary:...
(1953, 2nd edition only) - The Sect of the PhoenixThe Sect of the Phoenix"The Sect of the Phoenix" is a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, first published in Sur in 1952. It was included in the 1956 edition of Ficciones, part two...
(1952, 2nd edition only) - The SouthThe South (Borges story)The South is a short story by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges, first published in La Nación in 1953, and which appeared in the second edition of Ficciones, part two .-Plot summary:...
(1953, 2nd edition only)
Style
Ficciones emphasizes and calls attention to its fictional nature. The choice and use of literary devices are conspicuous in the stories. Naomi Lindstrom explains that Borges saw an effort to make a story appear natural "as an impoverishment of fiction's possibilities and falsification of its artistic character."Themes
The labyrinth is a recurring motif throughout the stories. It is used as a metaphor to represent a variety of things: the overwhelmingly complex nature of worlds and the systems that exist on them, human enterprises, the physical and mental aspects of humans, and abstract concepts such as time. The stories of Borges can be seen as a type of labyrinth themselves.Borges often gives his first-person narrators the name "Borges." While he imparts many of his own characteristics in them, he does not idealize them, and gives them human failings as well.
English phrases appear intermittently in his Spanish stories. Occasionally, the title is in English.
Borges often puts his protagonists in red enclosures. This has led to analysis of his stories from a Freudian viewpoint, although Borges himself strongly disliked his work being interpreted in such a way.
Borges loved books and gives detailed descriptions of the characteristics of the fictional texts in his stories.
Other themes throughout his stories include: deterioration and ruination; games of strategy and chance; conspiracies and secret societies; and ethnic groups, especially those in his own ancestry.
See also
- Le Mondes 100 Books of the CenturyLe Monde's 100 Books of the CenturyThe 100 Books of the Century is a grading of the books considered as the hundred best of the 20th century, drawn up in the spring of 1999 through a poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde....