The Book of Imaginary Beings

by Jorge Luis Borges, Andrew Hurley (Translator), Peter Sís (Illustrator)

In a perfect pairing of talent, this volume blends twenty illustrations by Peter S.' with Jorge Luis Borges' 1957 compilation of 116 "strange creatures conceived through time and space by the human imagination," from dragons and centaurs to Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat and the Morlocks of H. G. Wells' The Time Machine. A lavish feast of exotica brought vividly to life with art commissioned specifically for this volume, The Book of Imaginary Beings will delight readers of classic fantasy as well as Borges' many admirers.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mythology, Classics, Short Stories, Literature, Reference

236 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 1957

About the author

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."

Reviews

[Valeriu Gherghel · Rating 4 out of 5]

#bibliotecaafectiva

Borges a cules din surse foarte diferite 120 de ființe imaginare - atîtea numără colecția finală. La cea dintîi versiune (1957) a bestiarului a fost ajutat de Margarita Guerrero, o dansatoare cu fantezii ocultiste. Borges orbise complet și avea nevoie de bunăvoința prietenilor, pentru a completa bibliografia.

Autorul principal nu a controlat doar enciclopediile din Antichitate (Ovidiu, Pliniu, Seneca etc.) și bestiarele medievale, a folosit și scrieri relativ recente. Astfel, a identificat creaturi fantastice în operele lui Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll, Franz Kafka, C. S. Lewis, H. G. Wells. Cele mai cunoscute creaturi sînt, desigur, humbaba (din Epopeea lui Ghilgameș), minotaurul, Sfinxul, pasărea Phoenix, unicornul, dragonii (în versiune chineză sau occidentală, dragonii din Romanele Mesei Rotunde, să zicem), Golemul (ilustrat și de Gustav Meyrink într-un roman celebru). Să nu uit, există și un Phoenix chinezesc. Borges semnalează sursa mitologică a fiecărei entități și apoi îi dezvăluie evoluția istorică de la un autor la altul. În Cartea ființelor imaginare, găsim și făpturile care au bîntuit imaginația modernă: elfi, gnomi, zîne, satiri, nimfe. Pe mine m-a obsedat dintotdeauna „fauna din oglinzi”...

Putem citi și descrieri oarecum surprinzătoare. Mă gîndesc la panteră și pelican (dar aș putea adăuga și lynx-ul), ființe care au primit atribute bizare în scrierile din Evul Mediu. Pantera, de pildă, are o voce blîndă și un miros îmbietor (știm asta și de la Dante).

Borges se mărginește să rescrie textele vechi și nu inventează ființe „personale”. O astfel de carte, precizează autorii, cere o lectură pe sărite. Cititorul are dreptul de a ignora ființele care nu-i plac. Sau pe cele care-l bagă în sperieți...

Ființele imaginare au nume pe măsură. Cîteva exemple:

- A Bao A Qu
- Bahamut
- Burak
- Fastitocalon
- Ichthyocentaur
- Kujata
- Simurgh
- Youwarkee
- Zaratan

P. S. Cînd a descris călătoria lui Baudolino în Țara preotului Ioan, Umberto Eco a aruncat, cu siguranță, măcar o privire și în antologia lui Jorge Luis Borges.
(8 aprilie 2022, vineri)

[William2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating compendium of incredible beasts from world mythology, folklore and fiction. The entries are generally from one to three pages in length. There are illustrations, too, by one Peter Sís; stylish intaglio etchings. The format is that of an encyclopedia with the entries in alphabetical order. My favorite entries include the "Banshees," "The Celestial Cock," "The Chinese Dragon," "The Western Dragon," "The Hydra," "Lilith," "The Golem," "The Unicorn," "The Chinese Unicorn," etc. etc.

This is a wonderful testment to the extraordinary breadth of Borges's reading, for which he was famous, as well his exquisite use of that hoary utility, the research library. You may recall that Borges was rewarded by the subsequent Aramburu régime with the directorship of the National Library in Buenos Aires for his public stance against Peron. I think his named collaborator here, Margarita Guerrero, was a researcher at that institution.

Borges pores through the entire history of the written word from Gilgamesh onward to collect his examples. There's a passage from Robert Grave's translation of the Pharsalia to illustrate the entry of the "Basilisk." We also find ourselves dipping into the Septaugint, the Old and New Testaments, Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, the Babylonian Talmud, the other Burton's translation of A Thousand Nights and A Night, Thomas Brown's Pseudodoxia Epidemica, as well as works by Pliny the Elder, Benvenuto Cellini, Marco Polo, Confucius, Leonardo, Herodotus, Homer, Tennyson, Hesiod, Dante, William H. Prescott and any number of Chinese and Indian and Arab writers.

One note of caution. I went into this with my usual raging thirst for Borgesian narrative. The book in fact provides very little of that. What it offers in excess is a fascinating peek at Borges's astonishing erudition. Highly recommended.

[فؤاد · Rating 4 out of 5]

چقدر این کتاب لذت بخش بود. چقدر خستگی در کن بود، بین ساعت های درس خوندن برای امتحان!

کتاب موجودات خیالی، از خورخه لوییس بورخس، نویسنده ی بزرگ آرژانتینی، که از بزرگ ترین نویسنده های سبک رئالیسم جادوییه
این کتاب یه دائرة المعارفه از جانوران خیالی ای که در افسانه های ملل مختلف وجود دارن (از چین تا ایران و یونان و اسکاندیناوی). بورخس همۀ موجودات افسانه ای رو جمع نکرده، که در این صورت نیاز به چندین جلد کتاب بود، بلکه خودش به سلیقۀ خودش، گزیده ای از این موجودات رو جمع آوری کرده، شاید اون هایی که به نظر خودش غریب تر بوده ن.
مترجم توی مقدمه نوشته بود که شیوۀ بورخس در کتاب های دیگه ش، اینه که گاهی از خودش مطالبی تخیلی می سازه و ارجاع میده به کتاب هایی که وجود خارجی ندارن. و نوشته بود که ممکنه بعضی از موجودات این کتاب، یا توصیف خاص بورخس از موجودات، زاییدۀ تخیل خودش باشه و کتاب هایی که بهش ارجاع داده، همچین مطلبی نداشته باشن یا اصلاً وجود خارجی نداشته باشن.

در نتیجه، ما با کتابی مواجهیم که می خواد برامون تخیل ها (افسانه ها) رو بازگو کنه، اما در بازگو کردن تخیل ها هم آمیخته به تخیله و محققانه نیست. یعنی یه اثر تخیلی در تخیلی.
و چی از این هیجان انگیزتر؟

[Luís · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inexhaustible source of inspiration. Poetic and encyclopedic. I think it is handy for anyone interested in folklore and legends worldwide.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this is yet another one of those books made superfluous by the internet (seriously - if you want to know the specifics of a manticore, would you use google or look it up in a book?), it's a lovely and intriguing little volume to use for perusing, AND, as a reference. Borges provides alphabetical descriptions of both biblical beasts, and mythological monsters, with a few literary creatures dumped in, as well.

Most interesting to me was the tale of The Squonk. Though I've lived in Pennsylvania all my life, his account is the first I've heard of the wart-covered, unhappy critter that is rumored to stalk the hemlock forests of my state. This character can literally dissolve into tears:

Mr. J.P. Wentling . . . had a disappointing experience with a Squonk near Mont Alto. He made a clever capture by mimicking the Squonk and inducing it to hop into a sack, in which he was carrying it home, when suddenly the burden lightened and the weeping ceased. Wentling unslung the sack and looked in. There was nothing but tears and bubbles.

Part of me wants to argue that if someone has claimed to have photographed, and/or captured a beast, it is not an imaginary being, but instead, a cryptid . . . but that would be splitting hairs.

This version includes not nearly enough illustrations by the wonderful Peter Sís.

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otra prueba inequívoca del poder erudito y sabiduría eterna que poseía Jorge Luis Borges.
Un completo y detallado “Bestiario”, en el que el Maestro enumera la gran cantidad de seres mitológicos y fantásticos que pueblan las religiones, las tradiciones y la literatura oriental y occidental. Todas las mitologías (griega, latina, escandinava, china, japonesa, americana, hindú, eslava, anglosajona e indígena) aportan sus propios seres imaginarios a este volúmen.
En lo referente a la literatura, hay casos claros y ejemplificadores que pasan por la vasta imaginación y los pasajes más oníricos surgidos de la pluma de autores como Franz Kafka, Dante Alighieri, Gustave Flaubert, Edgar Allan Poe y C.S. Lewis, por nombrar algunos.
Los seres que más rescato durante la lectura de este fantástico libro son la Hidra de Lerna, la Salamandra, el Grifo, la Quimera, las Arpías, Escila, los Sátiros, el Unicornio, los distintos tipos de Dragones, las Valquirias, las Ninfas, el Minotauro, Lilith, el Golem, la Mandrágora, el Kraken, el Gato de Cheshire, el Ave Fénix, el Cancerbero, el Behemot, el Basílico, el Ave Fénix, el Centauro, las Hadas y los Gnomos, entre otros.
Sí, damas y caballeros: Borges recopiló todo este bestiario mucho antes de que hordas de jóvenes lectores descubrieran nuevos seres imaginarios creados por notables autores como J.R.R. Tolkien o George R.R. Martin.

[هدى يحيى]

كدت أجن لأحصل على كتاب ألبرتو مانغويل عن بورخس
فإذ بي أحصل على كتابين معاً

مليون شكر لا تكفي لمن قام برفعه

للمهووسين أمثالي ب بورخس


كتاب المخلوقات الوهمية لبورخس يليه في حضرة بورخس لألبرتو مانغويل

[Jack Tripper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's the 1970 E.P. Dutton & Co. hardcover I have (3rd printing, 256 pages), which isn't listed here on Goodreads. I see others have their copies tagged as "illustrated," though mine's not, unfortunately.

Full review to come.

3.5 Stars.

[پیمان عَلُو · Rating 3 out of 5]

دو تا سر فصل کتابی به اسم موجودات خیالی به اسم”کوتوله‌ها The pygmies”
و “کوتوله‌ها-عبدالجنه- The Elves” برای کوتوله‌ای مثل من میتونه خیلی برجسته و جذاب باشه که براتون می‌نویسمش…




‏ طبق اطلاعات مردم دنیای باستان،این قوم کوتاه قد،که اندازهٔ قد آنها به شصت و هشت سانتی‌متر می‌رسید،در کوهستان های منتهی الیه سرحدات هند و اتیوپی می‌زیستند.پلینی می‌نویسد آن‌ها آلونک‌های خود را از گل مخلوط با پر و تخم پرندگان می‌ساختند.ارسطو مغاک‌های زیرزمینی را زیستگاه آن‌ها می‌دانست.کوتوله‌ها برای درو کردن گندم از تبر استفاده می‌کردند.انگار می‌خواستند درخت‌های جنگل را قطع کنند.هرساله دسته‌ای از درناهایی که در استپ های روسیه می‌زیستند به کوتوله‌ها حمله می‌کردند.کوتوله ها به تلافی این حمله،سوار بر بز و قوچ به آشیانهٔ دشمنان خود حمله می‌کردند و تخم‌ها و لانه‌های آنها را خراب می‌کردند.این عملیات جنگی سه ماه از دوازده ماه سال کوتوله ها را به خود مشغول می‌کرد.
همچنین «پیگمی»کوتوله اسم آن خدای قرطاجنه بود که صورتش را برای ایجاد وحشت در میان دشمنان در جلوی کشتی‌های جنگی هک می‌کرد


‏ کوتوله‌ها ریشه اسکاندیناوی دارند.در مورد شکل‌ آن‌ها چیز چندانی نمی‌دانیم جز اینکه کوچک و منحوس‌اند.آن‌ها رمه‌ها و بچه‌ها را می‌دزدند و از شیطنت‌های کوچک لذت‌میبرند.در انگلستان واژه elf lock به معنای موی ژولیده است زیرا تصور می‌کردند ژولیدن مو کار کوتوله‌هاست.بر اساس یکی از طلسم‌های مردم انگلوساکسون،که تا جایی که می‌دانیم به دوران بت پرستی،باز می‌گردد،این عادت شیطانی را به آن‌ها می‌دهد که می‌توانند از فاصلهٔ دور نیزه های آهنی کوچک پرتاب کنند که بی اینکه معلوم باشند بر پوست فرو می‌روند و فقط وقتی به ریشهٔ پوست می‌رسند انسان ناگهان احساس خارش دردناکی می‌کند. ادای متأخر Younger Edda میان کوتوله‌های سفید و سیاه چنین تمایز می‌گذارد:کوتوله‌های روشن سفید‌تر از نور خورشیدند،کوتوله های تاریک سیاه‌تر از قیر.در زبان آلمانی برای کابوس واژهٔ Alp را به کار می‌برند که ریشه آن به elf بر می‌گردد که معنایش کوتوله و جن است.از آنجا که در قرون وسطا عموما تصور می‌کردند که هنگام خواب کوتوله‌های سیاه روی سینه فرد خواب بین می‌افتند و سنگینی می‌کنند از این رو این واژه معادل کابوس شد.


کاملا باهات موافقم آقای بورخس:)))))))))))

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πρόκειται για μία εκτενή καταγραφή των φανταστικών πλασμάτων που η ανθρώπινη φαντασία συνέλαβε στο χώρο και στο χρόνο. Μέσα από αυτές τις σύντομες ιστορίες ερχόμαστε σε επαφή με την ανάγκη της ανθρώπινης φύσης για μυθοπλασία, την ανάγκη να εξηγήσουμε πράγματα που παραμένουν έξω από τη σφαίρα της γνώσης και λογικής της εποχής με παράξενα όντα στα οποία και προσδίδουμε εξωπραγματικές ιδιότητες. Αναφέροντας ο συγγραφέας, στις διηγήσεις του το ιστορικό, κοινωνικό αλλά και θρησκευτικό περιβάλλον κατά το οποίο οι διάφοροι λαοί συνέλαβαν τα όντα αυτά και παραθέτοντας ταυτόχρονα πλούσιες βιβλιογραφικές παραπομπές μετατρέπει το βιβλίο του σε ένα εγχειρίδιο μελέτης της ψυχοσύνθεσης των πολιτισμών και των ανθρώπων της εκάστοτε εποχής. Μια καταγραφή των φόβων, των επιδιώξεων αλλά και των ονείρων τους. Οι ιστορίες είναι σύντομες και η αφήγηση λιτή και ροϊκή κάτι που καθιστά την ανάγνωση ιδιαίτερα ευχάριστη.

[Chris_P · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say I'm surprised by the fact that it's so highly acclaimed. That said, I can't say I found much interest in it, either. Truth is, it kind of made the already long hours of the night shift at work a tiny bit longer. All in all, The Book of Imaginary Beings is an admittedly big literary achievement that simply didn't touch me.
Shit happens, I guess.

[Kevin Lopez (on sabbatical) · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as intricately surreal or consistently striking as his short stories—nor as illuminating and erudite as his literary criticisms and commentary—nor yet as mellifluous and mystical as his archly arcane poetry—Jorge Luis Borges’s Book of Imaginary Beings is something entirely its own: an encyclopædia of imagination let loose; an encomium of the otherworldly; a wacky wax museum of phantasmagoria and a carnival collection of grotesqueries; a madcap compendium of sheer, uncanny creation. It is both extraordinarily entertaining and—because this is Borges, after all—delightfully eclectic, too.

The lushly drawn pages of Imaginary Beings are populated by a multifarious menagerie of miscellaneous monsters, critters, creatures, beasts, and all manner of other sundry megafauna lifted from mythology, theology, folklore, and myriad archaic oral traditions of ancient fireside yarn-spinnings. ‘Here there be dragons’—yes—but also hordes and thickets of other beasts, be they of land, water, air or fire. And although many of these will be familiar to most readers (the Dragon, Sphinx, and Basilisk, the three-headed hellhound Cerberus), one of the things that makes this book so enjoyable is that even the familiar entries are accompanied by the kind of fascinatingly esoteric interpolations that only a mind as nimble and omnivorous as Borges’s could provide: strange and uncanny origin stories that delve back into the mists of time; oddly archaic etymologies; disparate cultural roots—and again, because this is Borges—obscure references to previously unheard-of authors (for me these included—amongst many others—Isidore of Seville, and Konrad von Gesner; and part of the fun was tracking down the referenced works to see whether they’re actually “real,” or mere Borgesian red-herrings*), as well as many others whom you‘ll likely have heard of, though maybe not have been aware that they contributed to the mythological canon of such-and-such a creature (eg Livy, St. Augustine, Sir Richard Burton, Carl Jung, etcetera).

*in Imaginary Beings, in contrast to much of Borges’s short fiction, the references do seem to be genuine. But, as I haven’t yet checked out every reference, who knows—maybe he smuggled some real red herrings in after all??


There will also undoubtedly be many creatures with which you’re entirely unfamiliar: the A Bao A Qu, the Kami, the Amphisbæna, the Garuda (though not if you’ve read Miéville’s Perdido Street Station, of course), the Lamed Wufniks (one of my favorites!), the Squonk (which is also known by its Latin name, lacrimacorpus dissolvens - who knew?), the Youwarkee, and many, many more. (For Gene Wolfe fan’s, there are also entries on the Baldanders and the Talos!)

Imaginary Beings can be read front to back, in alphabetical order, or you can hop around, reading what you find most interesting first and then moving outwards to explore the rest (in the foreword Borges writes, “our wish would be that the curious dip into it from time to time in much the way one visits the changing forms revealed by the kaleidoscope”). I skipped around a bit at first and then read it straight through, finding it an incredibly fun and fascinating read. It’s one of those books that you know you’ll want to jump back into frequently, just to have a look around, reread and rediscover.

The imaginary beings included are given anywhere from a couple paragraphs to a couple pages of explanation, historical and literary references, etc., by Borges, and a few of the beings are also accompanied by illustrations.

Which brings me to my only complaint about this book (or rather, this edition of this book), and it isn’t anything to do with Borges, but with the so-called “deluxe” edition I got (published by Penguin Classics). I bought this edition specifically because I thought there would be more and better (and more deluxe!) illustrations than in other, non-“deluxe” editions. Alas, the pictures included (by artist Peter Sís) appear infrequently, with maybe one illustration for every ten or more entries, and are disappointingly bland—which seems especially odd given that Borges in particular is a writer whom I would expect to be paired with intricate, bold and baroque artwork, to match the style of his writing. Instead what you get is a smattering of lumpen creatures abstracted to the point of being lifeless and unexciting—the opposite of what you’d want or anticipate in an otherwise splendid book which describes many of the most fantastical creatures the human mind has ever conjured.

Still, I’m definitely happy I bought it. Sure, if I had a mulligan I’d spring for a different edition, but the important part of the book is the writing, and Borges, as ever, doesn’t disappoint. It’s a crazily eclectic compendium that I know I’ll be exploring and re-exploring for years to come (and though my son is a little too old and too cool for it at the moment, I’ve got plenty of nieces and nephews who are just the right age!)

4.5 out of 5 stars, rounded down to 4 for too few (and, in my opinion, not very good) illustrations.
A terrific read!

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borges explains at the beginning that the book is not intended to be read through, but opened at random and skimmed. Well, I read it through, and I don't regret it. But that's because I'm interested by very unusual things. Borges has here compiled from what is essentially a set of utterly trivial facts something with meaning. His selection is bizarre, pretty and humorous, and he describes each beast with great variation in tone. The reason for each voice only becomes clear after several beasts are examined. The optimal reading circumstances appear to be a small group of people intimately familiar with the work of Borges reading aloud to each other and chuckling knowingly at each other. But it's still awesome. You should keep it on a shelf nearby, and open it when wondering what doesn't exist.

[Macropsalis · Rating 5 out of 5]

120 διαφορετικά φανταστικά πλάσματα, από την ελληνική και κινέζικη μυθολογία, από παραδόσεις διαφόρων λαών, από συγγραφείς οι οποίοι τα αναφέρουν στα βιβλία τους....πολλά από αυτά τα έχουμε δει σε ταινίες χωρίς να ξέρουμε ότι ανήκουν στην παράδοση κάποιου λαού.

[Raha · Rating 4 out of 5]

به قول بورخس : پژوهش درباره موضوعات بی‌فایده و غریب لذتی كاهلانه در بر دارد

بورخس اکثر مطالب این کتاب رو از متون قدیمی ، ادبیات شرق و کلاسیک ،جمع آوری کرده بود.این کتاب حاوی اطلاعات جالبی از قبیل تاریخچه ی پدید اومدن موجودات خیالی ، شکل ظاهری و نحوه ی زندگیشون هست

کتاب سرگرم کننده و جالبی بود.از اون دسته کتاب هایی بود که می تونید ازش به عنوان یک مرجع خوب ، برای شناخت موجودات اساطیری و جادویی، استفاده کنید

[Reihane · Rating 4 out of 5]

لحن گزارشی و پر ارجاعی که داره باعث میشه اگر خودت بخوای و پایه باشی واقعا فکر کنی همچین چیزایی بوده. همزمان با این کتاب تاریخ هنر بین النهرین و ایران و مصر رو میخوندم برای همین جوری شدم که اگر برم بیرون یه مینوتور بهم سلام کنه ��واب سلامشو میدم و خیلی عادی رد میشم :))
راجع به خیلیاشون دوست داشتم بیشتر بخونم ولی در حد یه پاراگراف فقط نوشته بود، درحالیکه بعضیاشون چند بار با اسمای مختلف تکرار میشدن که به نظرم بهتر بود یه جا میاوردشون.
گوگولی‌ترینشون که عاشقش شدم جانور گریان بود:
☆☆☆...این جانور به خاطر پوست نامطلوب و زشتی که پوشیده از دانه و زگیل است جانوری غمگین و گوشه‌گیر است و به همین دلیل اگر بخواهد جایی برود معمولا گرگ و میش از خانه‌اش بیرون می‌آید...این جانور ناخوشترین حیوانات است. چون این جانور دائما می‌گرید شکارچیان ماهر در ردگیری به آسانی می‌توانند رد او را روی زمین از جای اشکهایش پیدا کنند. اگر این جانور را گوشه‌ای گرفتار کنید که راه گریز نداشته باشد، و یا اگر از چیزی بترسد و یا غافلگیر شود، می‌تواند خود را در اشکهایش حل کند...☆☆☆

[Cherisa B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A magical blend of fun and seriousness - entries alphabetized (sort of), with footnotes and a bibliography of sources. Some very thoughtful prose about how people over the centuries have used magical beings to make sense of the mysteries of the world around them or just imagine other life possibilities.

Two of my favorite passages:

Of the Lamed Wufniks:
On the earth there are, and have always been, 36 just men whose mission is to justify the world to God.... These men do not know each other, and they are very poor..:. These men are, without suspecting it, the secret pillars of the universe. If not for them, God would annihilate the human race. They are our saviors, and they do not know it.

Of the Perytion:
...inhabits the island of Atlantis, and is a creature half stag, half bird... The most astonishing feature of this beast is that when struck by the rays of the sun, the shadow it throws upon the ground is not that of its own figure, but rather that of a human being... some have concluded that the Perytions are the souls of men who died far from the protection of the gods.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has all the charm of Borges compiling a specific list in encyclopedic format – which I suppose is exactly what it is. For anyone who grew up reading fairy tales and myths, perhaps having had these stories read to them at night, this will be a treat. Even if this was not the case, it wouldn’t hurt to dig through this list. I keep saying list because it’s not a novel, nor is it a series of short stories. There are lots of entries that show the fabulous and imaginary creatures that the myths of a variety of cultures showcase. My favourite entries were:

-Two Metaphysical Animals
-The Three-Legged Ass
-The Simurgh

[Akemi G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really don't know how JLB makes such exciting topic sound so boring.

Let's take Scylla as an example. She is one of the weirdest monsters--a girl with the heads of six barking dogs coming from her waist. The story behind her transformation (from Ovid's Metamorphoses) is equally twisted -- a guy named Glaucus falls in love with Scylla (lovely girl at this point), she scorns him. Desperate, he seeks help from Circe, the sorceress. (He is probably hoping for some love potion to change Scylla's mind.) To his surprise, Circe falls for him and puts down Scylla. And even though Glaucus says no, Circe goes ahead and poisons the water Scylla likes to bathe in. She only sank her body halfway when the dog heads grew out of her loins! Wild. Ovid's story stimulates emotions and marvels us.

JLB makes this story, as well as 100+ others, unbearably boring, just piles of exotic knowledge. If you are interested in these fantastic creatures, read Homer, Ovid, and various world mythologies. You'll enjoy the reading much more.

[Vasilis Manias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Το ερωτεύτηκα αυτό το βιβλίο φέτος το καλοκαίρι. Μέσα σε 3-4 σελίδες σου δίνει μια σαγηνευτική "περίληψη" από το παραμυθι κάθε σημαντικόυ πλάσματος της παγκόσμιας μυθολογίας, από τον Πήγασσο και τη Μέδουσα μέχρι τον Βασιλίσκο και το Α Μπαου Α Κου. Η ταλαντούχα πένα του Μπόρχες μου έκλεψε την καρδιά, ίσως ότι διασκεδαστικότερο έπεσε στα χέρια μου τα τελευταία χρόνια.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great! Unlike Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them or Holly Black's Arthur Spiderwick's Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, which provide authoritative portraits of magical creatures in a particular fantasy world, The Book of Imaginary Beings compiles interesting stories and details about a diverse array of imagined beasts, drawing from both Western and Eastern mythologies. Borges's aim is not simply to delight his readers with whimsical stories couched in a satirical tone--though he manages this quite well--but to ascertain the true purpose of these beings in humanity's collective consciousness.

"We do not know what the dragon means," Borges writes in the Introduction, "just as we do not know the meaning of the universe, but there is something in the image of a dragon that is congenial to man's imagination, and thus the dragon arises in many latitudes and ages. It is, one might say, a necessary monster...."

This gets to the heart of what fascinates every fantasy lover or typologist. What are our profound hopes; our neurotic fears? What force drives us to tell the same stories over and over, resurrecting our favorite characters and their villains again and again?

Keep this noble cause in mind as you skim this book, and it will help you get through the drier bits. Not every entry sparkles with Borges's wit. Some unfamiliar creatures, like the A Bao A Qu or Animals That Live in the Mirror, are a joy to meet, while others could have remained obscure.

Read it before bed, and be sure to remember your dreams.

[Miss Ravi · Rating 3 out of 5]

خوبیش اینه که انگار همه‌چیز قبلاً اتفاق افتاده، یه جایی در گذشته، شاید خیلی دور، شاید هم خیلی نزدیک. اصلاً مهم نیست چقدر تخیل در شکل‌گیری این موجودات عجیب و غریبِ یه چشم و چهار دست و شیش پا سهم داشته، مهم اینه که خیلی‌ها این موجودات رو همون اندازه قبول دارن که گربه‌ی خونگی‌شون رو.
وقتی دارید توصیف یکی از این موجودات خیالی رو می‌خونین حس می‌کنید شاید کتاب جانورشناسی دست گرفتید که این‌طور دقیق و با جزئیات وصف شدن. من که ابائو آکو، اسب تک‌شاخ، سانتورها، کوتوله‌ها یا پیگمی، سیرن‌ها، نورن‌ها و ابولهول رو بیش‌تر از بقیه موجودات دوست داشتم و خب این کاملاً سلیقه‌ایه.


جداً که بورخس نابغه‌اس.

[Pollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excepcional recopilación, fantasía pura. El dragón, el unicornio, el fénix y muchos otros, como criaturas imaginadas por Kafka o Lewis Carroll son descritas con un prisma diferente. También editado con el nombre de Manual de zoología fantástica ¿Compararlo con Animales fantásticos y dónde encontrarlos de la saga de Harry Potter? Bitch, please.

[Vartika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although fond of Borges's writing, I probably wouldn't ever have thought of reading this book were it not for the friend who enthusiastically lent me his copy.

The Book Of Imaginary Beings is an encyclopaedic collection of fictions, presenting an inexhaustive set of 116 alphabetically-organised entries on fantastic, phantasmagoric creatures from around the world—from Chinese, Greek, and Norse mythology and Hindustani folklore to the annals of Pliny and the writings of C.S. Lewis, H.G. Wells, and Franz Kafka. These entries read like erudite works from a reference library, for the authors go as far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh to look for subjects and meticulously cite their sources—yet, because Borges is involved, one can assume that at least some of these are red herrings. "Real" fantasies or not, I was excited to read about such imaginary Beings as the Acheron, the Animals That Live In The Mirror, the Eloi and the Morlocks, Hochigan, the Ink Monkey, the Norns, and Thermal Beings (oh, the Thermal Beings!).

While Borges' style is usually somewhat esoteric, the translation in this edition felt particularly stiff to me, rendering some parts more dictionary than encyclopaedia. Peter Sís' illustrations, too, were too few and ultimately unexceptional to add to the experience (like most mediocre illustrations, in fact, they seem to have taken something out of it instead, limiting the kind of imaginative play that would've otherwise been possible with Borges and Guerrero's words alone).

However, problems of this edition aside, there is immense value in this book, especially for those fond of fantasy and exotica—or just good old Borgesian wit. Because of its structure and subject, one can flip through it randomly and read at a relaxed pace, as one does with magazines. It may also, after all, serve as excellent reference material for anyone looking to write some fantastic literature of their own.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um dicionário de criaturas lendárias e mitológicas - e de outras criadas por autores como Kafka, Wells, Flaubert - no qual Borges narra as suas origens e características.
Não desfrutei da leitura como esperava porque, além de já conhecer a maioria, não me interessa muito o assunto.

[Jelena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poučna, zanimljiva i neobična knjiga isprepletena religijom, magijom i fantastikom.

[Jadranka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ne mogu ni da zamislim koliki je trud bio potreban da bi se napisala ova naizgled majušna knjiga. Jedino mi je žao što svako Borhesovo biće nije ispraćeno ilustracijama Bojane Stojanović.

Ocena: 4⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Nickolas B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Τι διαφορά έχει ο κινέζικος δράκος από τον δράκο της Ευρώπης; Τι είναι το Γκόλεμ; Ποιός ακριβώς είναι ο μηγμυγκολέων και γιατί υπήρχε ένα τέρας σαν την Λερναία Ύδρα;;
Όλα αυτά μπορεί κανείς να τα μάθει στο συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο του Μπόρχες!!!

Αφάνταστα διασκεδαστικό με χιλιάδες πληροφορίες από όλες τις μυθολογίες του κόσμου. Ο άνθρωπος είχε πολλά βιβλία τα οποία όπως φαίνεται τα "ξεκοκάλιζε"!!!

[তানজীম রহমান · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this again because I'm in the middle of translating it, and it's still as beautiful as ever. The creatures described in this book have been a major influence on all my horror work.

[George Şandru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dacă aș alege mitul, l-aș alege pe Borges. Dacă aș prefera să știu de unde izvorăsc secretele lumii, l-aș alege tot pe Borges.
Jose Luis Borges! El este omul care aduce cartea, cel care te aduce aproape de creaturile mitice a căror însemnătate te poartă pe drumurile spirituale alături de mari personalități. Despre asta este această "ciudată" carte, dar extrem de bine ilustrată, cu descrieri care te poartă dincolo de starea ta carnală.
A respecta istoria nu înseamnă doar a te documenta, a căuta atestări istorice, ci și în a crede în ceva mult mai presus: în divin, în frumusețea estetismului, în claritatea vizualizării asupra a ceea ce te reprezintă pe tine, originile umanității, impacturile și rolurile pe care le-au avut aceste ori mici, ori mai mari mituri/creaturi mitice asupra umanității. Tot pe baza lor s-au scris și cărți.
Nu mă declar înfocat al mitologiei, dar pe baza multor mituri omenirea s-a clădit. Oamenii au luat decizii. S-au dărâmat și s-au construit monumente. Iar această carte a marelui scriitor argentinian Jorge Luis Borges te apropie de partea nevăzută a lucrurilor.