It is a book of two halves and many segments. Its various parts have been rendered into English by a variety of translators. It’s in excellent condition save for a few insignificant squiggles made with a blue biro and the occasional underlining of words such as tremulous, simulacrum and cosmogonic.īefore the stories commence, there is a superb Introduction from the late John Sturrock, in which he describes the collection as “unlikely and delectable” a comprehensive Chronology and an original Prologue (worth reading for Borges’ comments on “imaginary books”, of which there are many), signed off in Buenos Aires on 10th November 1941. My 1962 hardback edition of Borges’ most popular short story collection, Ficciones (published by Everyman’s Library) was acquired second-hand from Richard Booth’s Bookshop in Hay-on-Wye. “ From the far end of the corridor, the mirror was watching us and we discovered, with the inevitability of discoveries made late at night, that mirrors have something grotesque about them.”

Ficciones was voted one of Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century. He was a pivotal figure in 20th century Spanish language literature and the magical realism movement of Latin America, receiving the first Formentor prize (Prix International) in 1961, which he shared with Samuel Beckett, and the Jerusalem Prize in 1971. The book I have chosen for the challenge was written by the Argentine author, essayist, poet and translator, Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986).

This time, Karen says: “We got as far as the 1970s before deciding to go for a random year earlier in the 20th century, and 1944 came out of the hat!” Participants are encouraged, over a period of one week, to read, review and share on social media books first published in a predetermined year. The 1944 Club is the latest in a series of bi-annual reading events hosted by bloggers Karen Langley and Simon Thomas, which have previously covered 1924, 1938, 1947, 1951, 19. Somerset Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge, Enid Blyton’s The Island of Adventure, Saul Bellow’s Dangling Man and Agatha Christie’s Death Comes as the End – to name but a handful.

Some of the titles first published in 1944 were: Colette’s Gigi, W. Indeed, the demand for books increased significantly and it was a surprisingly fertile period for lovers of literature.

There was a scarcity of resources during the Second World War, especially paper, but this did not prevent people from wanting to read. Home › Readathons / Challenges › 1944 CLUB: Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borgesġ944 CLUB: Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borgesġ944 is the year in which Britain lifted the prohibition on married women working as teachers Mount Vesuvius erupted killing 26 and causing thousands to flee their homes Hans Asperger published his paper on Asperger syndrome and World War II, the deadliest conflict in human history, dragged into its fifth sanguinary year.

Jorge borges ficciones