A Universal History of Iniquity, Jorge Luis Borges
A Universal History of Iniquity, Jorge Luis Borges
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A Universal History of Iniquity

Author: Jorge Luis Borges, Andrew Hurley

Narrator: Castulo Guerra

Unabridged: 3 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 08/22/2023

Synopsis

In his writing, Borges always combined high seriousness with a wicked sense of fun. Here he reveals his delight in re-creating (or making up) colorful stories from the Orient, the Islamic world, and the Wild West, as well as his horrified fascination with knife fights, political and personal betrayal, and bloodthirsty revenge. Sparkling with the sheer exuberant pleasure of story-telling, this collection marked the emergence of an utterly distinctive literary voice.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

About The Author

Jorges Luis Borges was born in Buenos Aires in 1899 and educated in Europe. One of the most widely acclaimed writers of our time, he published many collections of poems, essays and short stories, before his death in Geneva in June 1986. In 1961 Borges shared the International Publishers' Prize with Samuel Beckett. The Ingram Merrill Foundation granted him its Annual Literary Award in 1966 for his "outstanding contribution to literature." In 1971 Columbia University awarded him the first of many degrees of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa that he was to receive from the English-speaking world. In 1971 he received the fifth biennial Jerusalem Prize and in 1973 was given the Alfonso Reyes Prize, one of Mexico's most prestigious cultural awards. In 1980 he shared the Cervantes Prize (the Spanish world's highest literary accolade) with Gerardo Diego. Borges was Director of the Argentine National Library from 1955 until 1973. In a tribute to Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa wrote: "His is a world of clear, pure, and at the same time unusual ideas...expressed in words of great directness and restraint. [He] was a superb storyteller. One reads most of Borges' tales with the hypnotic interest usually reserved for reading detective fiction..."Andrew Hurley is a translator of numerous works of literature, criticism, history, and memoir. He is professor emeritus at the University of Puerto Rico.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Vit on June 24, 2023

It is literally impossible to overvalue Jorge Luis Borges’ influence on the modern intellectual literature – however much we think he did, he did even more. Similar to sounds, skilfully combined by a composer into a harmonious sequence, turning them into melody, simple words, cunningly used by an art......more

Goodreads review by Glenn on January 03, 2022

From his early years the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges lived among books and languages, classical literature from many civilizations and cultures: Chinese, Persian, Nordic, Spanish, to name several. His greatest childhood memory was his father's books; he was reading Shakespeare in English at......more

Goodreads review by Valeriu on October 25, 2024

Cred că nimeni nu poate uita (dacă a citit-o) povestirea despre profetul cu fața acoperită, Hakim din Merv. Adepții săi spun că poartă un văl brodat cu pietre prețioase, pentru ca nimeni să nu fie orbit de privirea lui necruțătoare. Ochii lui fanatici ard. În realitate, profetul este un impostor. Și......more

Goodreads review by Ian on March 02, 2015

"In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing." Oscar Wilde Exercises in Style These stories are fascinating exercises in style. They effectively document the development of Borges' style at a time when "he was a shy sort of man who could not bring himself to write shor......more

Goodreads review by Olga on December 08, 2023

'A Universal History of Infamy' is a collection of short, 'baroque' (according to the author), merely entertaining stories. The protagonists of these stories have real names of real famous criminals who got really lucky after their death. The reason for it is that Jorge Luis Borges re-created their......more

Quotes

"Hurley’s efforts at retranslating Borges are not anything but heroic. His versions are clear, elegant, crystalline." —Ilan Stavans, The Times Literary Supplement"[Borges’s] stories often take the outer form of some genre from popular literature, a form proved by long usage, which creates almost mythical structures." —Italo Calvino

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