num_pages: 236
description: The Book of Imaginary Beings is Borges's whimsical compendium of more than a hundred of "the strange creatures conceived down through history by the human imagination." Imbued with Borges's characteristic wit and erudition, this unique contribution to fantasy literature ranges widely across the world's mythologies and literatures to bring together in one delightful encyclopedia the fantastical inventions drawn from the Kabbalah, Homer, Pliny, Confucius, Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, and C.S. Lewis, among others. Here readers will find the familiar and expected Dragons and Centaurs, Unicorns and Gnomes, as well as the less familiar and altogether unexpected Animals That Live in the Mirror, The Elephant That Prefigured the Birth of Buddha, the Hairy Beast of La Ferté-Bernard,and other undeniably curious creatures. Throughout, Borges's cunning and humorous commentary is sheer delight.Andrew Hurley's brilliant new translation is perfectly paired with original drawings from award-winning illustrator Peter Sís. The result is a wonderful work - an Alice-Through-the-Looking-Glass menagerie, which should appeal to fantasy fans of all stripes and ages.
language: English
title: The Book of Imaginary Beings
titlecomplete: The Book of Imaginary Beings
genres: Literature, Classics, Mythology, Reference, Latin American, Magical Realism, Short Stories, Fiction, Folklore, Fantasy
ratings_count: 8898
awards: awardedAt: 1262332800000
name: Tähtifantasia Award
publisher: Viking Adult