An Additional Comment on Borges’ English Translations

Regretfully, I copied the English titles of Borges stories as shown in Wikipedia, those on Borges’ Collected Fictions, translated by Andrew Hurley (Penguin, 1999).

A comment from Todd Mason pointed out to me that di Giovanni translations –Borges’s best-known English translator– were allowed to go out of print after Borges death. Maria Kodama, sole owner of his estate, renegotiated the English translation rights of his works. In particular, she terminated a longstanding agreement between Borges and the translator Norman Thomas di Giovanni under which royalties for a number of translations on which they collaborated were divided equally between author and translator. New translations by Andrew Hurley were commissioned and published to replace di Giovanni translations. (Source: Wikipedia)

Di Giovanni translations, many of which were co-copyrighted between Borges and di Giovanni himself, are no longer in print. Di Giovanni was not even allowed to self-publish his own works on his website and was forced to remove them. His translations are now a collectors item.

Jorge Luis Borges’s lost translations

The Borges Papers by Norman Thomas di Giovanni.

“The Garden of Branching Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni. Original title: “El jardin de senderos que se bifurcan”, 1941

“Streetcorner Man” by Jorge Luis Borges translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni. Original title: “Hombre de la esquina rosada” , 1935

“Rosendo’s Tale” by Jorge Luis Borges translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni. Original title: “Historia de Rosendo Juárez”, 1970

You can access Norman Thomas di Giovanni translations clicking on the titles.

Norman Thomas di Giovanni (3 October 1933 – 16 February 2017) was an American-born editor and translator known for his collaboration with Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges. Norman Thomas di Giovanni was born in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1933, and was graduated from Antioch College in 1955. He met Borges in 1967 while the latter was at Harvard. In 1968, on Borges’ invitation, he went to live in Buenos Aires, where he works with the author in daily sessions. Together they produced several Borges’ books in English versions. The first of these, The Book of Imaginary Beings, was published in 1969, and the second, The Aleph and Other Stories 1933-1969, in 1970. Di Giovanni has also edited Borges’ Selected Poems 1923-1967.

Norman Thomas di Giovanni obituary

It won’t be fair to finish without quoting the last sentence of Jorge Luis Borges’s lost translations, an article in The Guardian: “It’s copyrighted in Borges’s and my name because they’re not just translations – it’s stuff we wrote together in English,” he [Di Giovanni] said. And while Hurley’s translations are competent, the fact remains that some of Borges’s original works are effectively hidden from the reading public.

Mis anotaciones: “Historia de Rosendo Juárez” un cuento de 1970 de Jorge Luis Borges

This post is bilingual, scroll down to find the English language version

Editorial Bruguera, 1980. Col. Narradores de hoy. Formato: Rústica. Jorge Luis Borges Prosa Completa. Volumen 2. 546 páginas [385 – 390] ISBN (Tomo II): 84-02-06747-6. Publicado en 1970 en el volumen El informe de Brodie. 

Primer párrafo: Serían las once de la noche, yo había entrado en el almacén, que ahora es un bar, en Bolívar y Venezuela. Desde un rincón el hombre me chistó. Algo de autoritario habría en él, porque le hice caso en seguida. Estaba sentado ante una de las mesitas; sentí de un modo inexplicable que hacía mucho tiempo que no se había movido de ahí, ante su copita vacía. No era ni bajo ni alto; parecía un artesano decente, quizá un antiguo hombre de campo. El bigote ralo era gris. Aprensivo a la manera de los porteños, no se había quitado la chalina. Me invitó a que tomara algo con él. Me senté y charlamos. Todo esto sucedió hacia mil novecientos treinta y tantos.

Argumento: El cuento “Historia de Rosendo Juárez” aparece recogido en el libro del autor argentino Jorge Luis Borges llamado El Informe de Brodie, publicado en el año 1970. Este libro consta de once cuentos, cuyas tramas no son similares entre sí, que se basan principalmente en temas relacionados con el destino y la ética. La “Historia de Rosendo Juárez” empieza cuando una noche dos personas se encuentran en un bar que antiguamente había sido un almacén. Parece ser que uno de los hombres era el propio Borges y el otro era un señor mayor. El personaje, que estaba en el bar, le dice al escritor que no se conocían directamente hasta aquel preciso momento. Ellos solo se conocían de mentas (“fama, prestigio, reputación”) y el anciano le hace saber que es el propio Rosendo Juárez. El interés que tiene este último de dicho encuentro es que éste quiere aclarar y contar la verdad sobre unos acontecimientos ocurridos una noche hace unos treinta años en un quilombo (“bar de alterne”). Rosendo sabe que J.L. Borges escribió un cuento sobre lo que ocurrió y quiere que vuelva a reescribir la historia verdadera.

Siga leyendo en “El lunfardo en la literatura porteña: Roberto Arlt y Jorge Luis Borges”, PDF en Internet de autor desconocido.

Mi opinión: Unos treinta y cinco años después de la publicación de la versión final de“Hombre de la esquina rosada”, Borges volvió a utilizar la misma historia en un cuento muy breve titulado “Historia de Rosendo Juarez”, publicado en 1970 dentro de la colección El informe de Brodie. A decir verdad, en realidad es un epílogo de la primera historia. El protagonista del primer relato le cuenta a Borges, el auto, su propia versión de los hechos:

“Usted no me conoce más que de mentas, pero usted me es conocido, señor. Soy Rosendo Juárez. El finado Paredes le habrá hablado de mí. El viejo tenía sus cosas; le gustaba mentir, no para engañar, sino para divertir a la gente. Ahora que no tenemos nada que hacer, le voy a contar lo que de veras ocurrió aquella noche. La noche que lo mataron al Corralero. Usted, señor, ha puesto el sucedido en una novela, que yo no estoy capacitado para apreciar, pero quiero que sepa la verdad sobre esos infundios.”

No sé qué le llevó a Borges a escribir sobre la misma historia, especialmente si el propio autor reconoció que “Hombre de la esquina rosada” era una mala historia. (Fuente: Wikipedia). Pero, en mi opinión, la narración encaja perfectamente en el universo borgiano. Simplemente necesitamos recordar aquí “El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan”. Borges, como Ts’ui Pen, no creía en un tiempo uniforme, absoluto. Creía en infinitas series de tiempos, en una red creciente y vertiginosa de tiempos divergentes, convergentes y paralelos. En consecuencia, las discrepancias en las dos historias son solo una consecuencia de las múltiples variaciones que podemos encontrar en una misma historia.

¿Quién mató verdaderamiente al Corralero?

Texto original

Mi valoración: A+ (No se demore, consiga un ejemplar de este libro)

Sobre el autor: Jorge Luis Borges (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 24 de agosto de 1899 – Ginebra, Suiza, 14 de junio 1986), fue un poeta, ensayista y escritor argentino de cuentos cuyos trabajos se han convertido en clásicos de la literatura mundial del siglo XX. Después de 1961, cuando compartió junto con Samuel Beckett el Premio Formentor, los cuentos y poemas de Borges empezaron a ser reconocidos en todo el mundo. Hasta ese momento, Borges era poco conocido, incluso en su Buenos Aires natal. A su muerte, el mundo de pesadilla de sus “ficciones” se había comparado con el mundo de Franz Kafka y había sido elogiado por condensar el lenguaje común en su forma más permanente. Por su trabajo, la literatura latinoamericana pasó del ámbito académico al terreno de los lectores generalmente educados. Entre sus incursiones en el campo de la ficción policial se pueden mencionar, además de“Hombre de la esquina rosada”,  “La muerte y la brújula” y “El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan”, la novela corta Seis problemas para don Isidro Parodi, escrita junto con Adolfo Bioy Casares.

The Story from Rosendo Juárez by Jorge Luis Borges

Opening paragraph: It was about eleven o’clock one night; I had gone into the old-fashioned general-store-and bar, which is now simply a bar, on the corner of Bolivar and Venezuela. As I went in, I noticed that over in a corner, sitting at one of the little tables, was a man I had never seen before. He hissed to catch my eye and motioned me to come over. He must have looked like a man that one didn’t want to cross, because I went at once toward his table. I felt, inexplicably, that he had been sitting there for some time, in that chair, before that empty glass. He was neither tall nor short; he looked like an honest craftsman, or perhaps an old-fashioned country fellow. His sparse mustache was grizzled. A bit stiff, as Porteños tend to be, he had not taken off his neck scarf. He offered to buy me a drink; I sat down and we chatted. All this happened in nineteen-thirtysomething. (Translated by Andrew Hurley)

“Rosendo’s Tale” (aka “The Story from Rosendo Juárez”) by Jorge Luis Borges

Opening paragraph: It was about eleven o’clock at night; I had entered the old grocery store-bar (which today is just a plain bar) at the comer of Bolívar and Venezuela. From off on one side, a man signaled me with a “psst.” There must have been something forceful in his manner because I heeded him at once. He was seated at one of the small tables in front of an empty glass, and I somehow felt he had been sitting there for a long time. Neither short nor tall, he had the appearance of a common workingman or maybe an old farmhand. His thin moustache was graying. Fearful of his health, like most people in Buenos Aires, he had not taken off the scarf that draped his shoulders. He asked me to have a drink with him. I sat down and we chatted. All this took place sometime back in the early thirties. This is what the man told me. (Translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni)

Storyline: The short story “Rosendo’s Tale”, is included in the book by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges called Doctor Brodie’s Report, published in 1970. This book contains eleven short stories, whose plots are not similar to each other, that are based mainly on issues related to destiny and ethics. “Rosendo’s Tale” begins when one night two people meet in a bar that had once been a warehouse. It seems that one of the men was Borges himself and the other was an older man. The character, that was at the bar, tells the writer that they didn’t know each other directly until that precise moment. They only knew each other by mentas (“fame, prestige, reputation”) and the old man lets him know that he is Rosendo Juarez himself. The latter’s interest in this meeting is that he wants to clarify and tell the truth about some events that happened one night some thirty years ago in a quilombo (“a brothel”). Rosendo knows that J.L. Borges wrote a story about what happened and wants he to rewrite the true story.

Read more at “El lunfardo en la literatura porteña: Roberto Arlt y Jorge Luis Borges” on line PDF in Spanish by an unknown author.

My take: Some thirty-five years after the final version of “Streetcorner Man” was published, Borges used again the same story in a very brief tale titled “Rosendo’s Tale”, published in 1970 within the collection Doctor Brodie’s Report. To tell the truth, it is actually an epilogue of the first story. 

The main character of the first account tells Borges, the author, his own version of the facts:

“You’ve heard of me, sir, though we’ve never met,” the man began, “but I know you. My name is Rosendo Juárez. It was Nicolás Paredes, no doubt, God rest his soul, that told you about me. That old man was something. I’ll tell you—the stories he’d tell… Not so as to fool anyone, of course—just to be entertaining. But since you and I are here with nothing else on our hands just now, I’d like to tell you what really happened that night… the night the Yardmaster was murdered. You’ve put the story in a novel, sir— and I’m hardly qualified to judge that novel—but I want you to know the truth behind the lies you wrote.”  (Translation by Andrew Hurley)

“You don’t know me except by reputation, but I know who you are. I’m Rosendo Juárez. The late Paredes must have told you about me. The old man could pull the wool over people’s eyes and liked to stretch a point—not to cheat anybody, mind you, but just in fun. Well, seeing you and I have nothing better to do, I’m going to tell you exactly what happened that night, the night the Butcher got killed. You put all that down in a storybook, which I’m not equipped to pass judgment on, but I want you to know the truth about all that trumped-up stuff.” (Translation by Norman Thomas di Giovanni)

I don’t know what led Borges to write about the same story, especially if the author himself recognised that “Man in Pink Corner” was a bad tale. (Source: Wikipedia). But in my view, the narration fits perfectly well within Borges’ universe. We simply need to remember here “The Garden Of Forking Paths”. Borges, as Ts’ui Pen, doesn’t conceive time as absolute and uniform. He believed in an infinite series of times, in a dizzily growing, ever spreading network of diverging, converging and parallel times. Accordingly, the discrepancies in the two stories are just a consequence of the multiple variations we can find in a same story.

Who actually killed the Butcher?

Read the full text at Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, translated by Andrew Hurley here.

Read the full text at Doctors Brodie’s Report by Jorge Luis Borges, translated byNorman Thomas di Giovanni here.

My rating: A+ (Don’t delay, get your hands on a copy of this book)

About the Author: Jorge Luis Borges (Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 24, 1899 – Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 1986), was an Argentine poet, essayist and short-story writer whose works have become classics of 20th century world literature. After 1961, when he and Samuel Beckett shared the Formentor Prize, the stories and poems of Borges began to be increasingly acclaimed all over the world. Until then, Borges was little known, even in his native Buenos Aires. By the time of his death, the nightmare world of his “fictions” had come to be compared to the world of Franz Kafka and to be praised for condensing the common language into its most enduring form. Through his work, Latin American literature emerged from the academic realm into the field of generally educated readers. Among his incursions in the field of detective fiction it can be mentioned, besides “Man on Pink Corner”, “Death and the Compass” and “The Garden Of Forking Paths”, the novella Six Problems for Don Isidro Parodi, written together with Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Mis anotaciones: “Hombre de la esquina rosada” un cuento de 1935 de Jorge Luis Borges

This post is bilingual, scroll down to find the English language version

Editorial Bruguera, 1980. Col. Narradores de hoy. Formato: Rústica. Jorge Luis Borges Prosa Completa. Volumen 1. 448 páginas [195 – 202] ISBN (Tomo I): 84-02-06746-8. La versión definitiva de este cuento se publicó en 1935 en el volumen Historia universal de la infamia.

Primer párrafo: A mi, tan luego, hablarme del finado Francisco Real. Yo lo conocí, y eso que éstos no eran sus barrios porque el sabía tallar más bien por el Norte, por esos laos de la laguna de Guadalupe y la Batería. Arriba de tres veces no lo traté, y ésas en una misma noche, pero es noche que no se me olvidará, como que en ella vino la Lujanera porque sí a dormir en mi rancho y Rosendo Juárez dejó, para no volver, el Arroyo. A ustedes, claro que les falta la debida esperiencia para reconocer ése nombre, pero Rosendo Juárez el Pegador, era de los que pisaban más fuerte por Villa Santa Rita. Mozo acreditao para el cuchillo, era uno de los hombres de don Nicolás Paredes, que era uno de los hombres de Morel. Sabía llegar de lo más paquete al quilombo, en un oscuro, con las prendas de plata; los hombres y los perros lo respetaban y las chinas también; nadie inoraba que estaba debiendo dos muertes; usaba un chambergo alto, de ala finita, sobre la melena grasíenta; la suerte lo mimaba, como quien dice. Los mozos de la Villa le copiábamos hasta el modo de escupir. Sin embargo, una noche nos ilustró la verdadera condicion de Rosendo.

Argumento: “Hombre de la esquina rosada” relata unos acontecimientos que ocurrieron en un quilombo (“un bar de alterne”) llamado “Salón de Julia”, situado en el Barrio de Santa Rita (zona rural de la ciudad de Buenos Aires), donde se bailaba el tango, se bebía y se alternaba con mujeres de vida alegre.

Una noche llegó al barrio un coche lleno de hombres que venían del Norte. Uno de ellos se llamaba Francisco Real, cuyo seudónimo era el Corralero. Éste era alto y fuerte, con melena grasienta y vestido con un chambergo (“tabardo de uniforme militar”). El Corralero tenía fama de matón. En el bar de Julia, Rosendo Juárez cuyo apodo era el Pegador, su mujer llamada la Lujanera y muchos de los habitantes del barrio estaban disfrutando del ambiente de milonga (” baile y fiesta”). Poco después, el grupo de hombres del Norte entraron en la taberna en busca de pelea. El narrador del cuento, que participa en el relato, explica que el recién llegado, Francisco Real, entró de manera violenta en la cantina y que el propio narrador intentó frenarlo pero sin suerte. Mientras el Corralero iba adentrándose en el tugurio, todos los que estaban allí le escupían y le daban golpes, trompadas y cachetas, pero él continuaba caminando ausente a lo que ocurría a su alrededor.

El Corralero, con este viento de chamuchina (“chusma y fruslería”), fue empujado hasta llegar cerca de la persona que estaba buscando. De golpe, el forastero dijo:

“Yo soy Francisco Real, un hombre del Norte. Yo soy Francisco Real, que le dicen el Corralero. Yo les he consentido a estos infelices que me alzaran la mano, porque lo que estoy buscando es un hombre. Andan por ahí unos bolaceros (“mentirosos”) diciendo que en estos andurriales hay uno que tiene mentas (“fama”) de cuchillero, y de malo, y que le dicen el Pegador”

Rosendo Juárez no respondió con la actitud que todos los presentes esperaban, que era la de enfrentarse al Corralero. Entonces, es cuando la Lujanera, la mujer del Pegador, le dio un cuchillo a su marido para que se enfrentara con el forastero. Por sorpresa de todos, Rosendo no solo no utilizó el cuchillo sino que lo tiró por una ventana. El Corralero insistió en el desafío al Pegador y viendo que este último no respondía le dijo: “De asco no te carneo. ( “descuartizar como a un carnero”)”.

Entonces, la mujer de Rosendo se acercó al forastero y le dijo que lo dejara porque su marido había demostrado, delante de todos, que era un cobarde. Ella convenció fácilmente a Francisco Real diciendo: “Déjalo a ése, que nos hizo creer que era un hombre.” Y juntos empezaron a bailar. Pocos minutos después, la Lujanera y el Corralero salieron del bar de Júlia.

La voz del narrador vuelve a aparecer y explica que se siente avergonzado y deshonrado, ya que su ídolo había sido desprestigiado delante de todos. Éste, con una gran tristeza interior, salió del antro a tomar el aire. Rosendo Juárez también salió del salón y coincidió con el cronista de los hechos, pero al encontrarse solo se murmuraron dos palabras. Al cabo de unas horas, el comentarista volvió al recinto.

Esa misma noche, la Lujanera y el Corralero regresaron al quilombo (“bar de alterne”). Él estaba herido de muerte, agonizando. La mujer explicó que mientras estaba con Francisco Real alguien lo llamó y le clavó un puñal. Ella dejó claro que no había sido su marido, sino que lo había apuñalado un desconocido.

Los hombres del Norte acusaron a la Lujanera de asesina, pero el narrador de la historia les convenció de que no era posible, ya que ni las manos, ni el pulso de una mujer podrían acabar con la vida de un hombre tan fornido. Al acercarse la policía, se decidió tirar el cuerpo del Corralero al arroyo para evitarse problemas. (Fuente: El lunfardo en la literatura porteña: Roberto Arlt y Jorge Luis Borges. PDF en Internet de autor desconocido).

Evito deliberadamente contar el final del cuento, si no lo han adivinado.

Mi opinión: El cuento de Borges “Hombre de la esquina rosada”, se publicó por primera vez con el título “Leyenda Policial” en la revista Martín Fierro del 26 de febrero de 1927. Una segunda versión se integró en el volumen El idioma de los argentinos en 1928 con el nombre “Hombres pelearon” y una tercera versión se publicó como “Hombres de las orillas” en la Revista Multicolor de los sábados, en el periódico Crítico del 16 de septiembre de 1933. La versión final con su nombre definitivo se integró en el volumen Historia universal de la infamia, que se publicó en 1935. (Fuente : Wikipedia) El cuento está dedicado al escritor, poeta y periodista uruguayo Enrique Amorim.

Uno de los aspectos que más me interesó de esta historia es su lenguaje. Está escrito en lunfardo, un argot originado y desarrollado a fines del siglo XIX y principios del XX entre las clases bajas de Buenos Aires y desde allí se extendió a otras ciudades cercanas, como los alrededores de Gran Buenos Aires, Rosario y Montevideo. Por lo tanto, no sorprende que a algunos lectores les resulte difícil leerlo sin la ayuda de un diccionario. Se adjunta una nota explicativa de expresiones y palabras lunfardo para las personas interesadas en El lunfardo en la literatura porteña: Roberto Arlt y Jorge Luis Borges (PDF)

Es sin duda una de las pocas incursiones de Borges en la ficción criminal. Y a pesar de que el propio Borges lo consideró una de sus peores historias, realmente lo disfruté y no me canso de volver a leerlo. Ya he publicado sobre esta historia corta aquí y aquí, pero me animé a volver a escribir sobre ella al encontrar información adicional que pensé que podría ser de interés para algunos lectores.

Me parece importante resaltar que Borges anuncia el desenlace de la historia desde la primera página: “pero es noche que no se me olvidará ….. y Rosendo Juárez dejó para no volver, el Arroyo” y, sin embargo, el interés de la historia se mantiene hasta el final.

El texto tiene una secuela que el mismo Borges escribió algunos años después, “Historia de Rosendo Juárez” en la colección El informe de Brodie, 1970, donde el propio Rosendo Juárez da su propia versión de lo sucedido. (Continuará …. )

Texto original

Mi valoración: A+ (No se demore, consiga un ejemplar de este libro)

Sobre el autor: Jorge Luis Borges (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 24 de agosto de 1899 – Ginebra, Suiza, 14 de junio 1986), fue un poeta, ensayista y escritor argentino de cuentos cuyos trabajos se han convertido en clásicos de la literatura mundial del siglo XX. Después de 1961, cuando compartió junto con Samuel Beckett el Premio Formentor, los cuentos y poemas de Borges empezaron a ser reconocidos en todo el mundo. Hasta ese momento, Borges era poco conocido, incluso en su Buenos Aires natal. A su muerte, el mundo de pesadilla de sus “ficciones” se había comparado con el mundo de Franz Kafka y había sido elogiado por condensar el lenguaje común en su forma más permanente. Por su trabajo, la literatura latinoamericana pasó del ámbito académico al terreno de los lectores generalmente educados. Entre sus incursiones en el campo de la ficción policial se pueden mencionar, además de La muerte y la brújula y El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan, Seis problemas para don Isidro Parodi, escrito junto con Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Man on Pink Corner by Jorge Luis Borges

Opening paragraph: Imagine you bringing up Francisco Real that way, out of the clear blue sky, him dead and gone and all. Because I met the man, even if this wa’n’t exactly his stomping ground—his was more up in the north, up around Guadalupe Lake and Batería. Truth is, I doubt if I crossed paths with the man more than three times, and all three were on a single night—though it’s not one I’ll be likely ever to forget. It was the night La Lujanera came home to sleep at my place—just like that, just up and came—and the same night Rosendo Juárez left Maldonado* never to return. Of course you probably haven’t had the experience you’d need to recognize that particular individual’s name, but in his time Rosendo Juárez—the Sticker, they called him— was one of the toughest customers in Villa Santa Rita. He was fierce with a knife, was Rosendo Juárez, as you’d expect with a moniker like that, and he was one of don Nicolás Paredes’ men—don Nicolás being one of Morel’s men.* He’d come into the cathouse just as dandified as you can imagine, head to foot in black, with his belt buckle and studs and all of silver. Men and dogs, both, had a healthy respect for him, and the whores did too; everybody knew two killings’d been laid to him already. He wore a tall sort of hat with a narrow brim, which sat down like this on a long mane of greasy hair. Rosendo was favored by fortune, as they say, and we boys in the neighborhood would imitate him right down to the way he spit. But then there came a night that showed us Rosendo Juarez’s true colors. (Translated by Andrew Hurley)

Streetcorner Man by Jorge Luis Borges

Opening paragraph: Fancy your coming out and asking me, of all people, about the late Francisco Real. Yes, I knew him, even if he wasn’t from around here. His stamping ground was the Northside – that whole stretch from the Guadalupe pond to the old Artillery Barracks. I never laid eyes on him above three times, and they were all on the same night, but nights like that you don’t forget. It was when La Lujanera decided to come around to my place and bed down with me, and when Rosendo Juárez disappeared from the Maldonado for good. Of course, you’re not the sort of person that name would mean much to. But around Villa Santa Rita, Rosendo Juárez – or, as we called him, the Slasher – had quite a reputation. He was one of don Nicolás Paredes’ boys, just as Paredes was one of Morel’s gang, and he was admired for the way he handled a knife. Sharp dresser, too. He always rode up to the whorehouse on a dark horse, his riding gear decked out in silver. There wasn’t a man or dog around that didn’t respect him – and that goes for the women as well. Everyone knew that he had at least a couple of killings to his credit. He usually wore a soft hat with a narrow brim and tall crown, and it would sit in a cocky way on his long hair, which he slicked straight back. Lady luck smiled on him, as they say, and around Villa all of us who were younger used to ape him – even as to how he spit. But then one night we got a good look at what this Rosendo was made of. (Translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni)

Storyline: Streetcorner Man (alka Man on Pink Corner recounts some events that took place in a quilombo (‘a brothel’) called Julia’s Place, located in Santa Rita’s borough (rural area of the city of Buenos Aires), where tango was danced, alcohol was drank, and women of relaxed moral could be found.

One night, a car full of men that were coming from the North arrived to the neighbourhood. One was Francisco Real, called the Butcher. He was tall and strong, with greasy mane and dressed in a chambergo (“military uniform tabard”). The Yardmaster was reputed to be a thug. In Julia’s place, Rosendo Juárez, whose nickname was the Sticker, his woman la Lujanera and many people of the neighbourhood were enjoying the milonga (‘dance and feast’) atmosphere. Shortly after, the group of men from the North entered the tavern looking for fight. The teller of this tale, who participates in the account, explains that the newcomer, Francisco Real, violently entered the canteen and the narrator himself tried to stop him with no luck. As the Butcher got deep into the tavern, everyone who was there were spitting him and punching him and shoving and slapping, but he continued walking absent of what was going on around him.

The Butcher, with this wind of chamuchina (“rabble and gimcrack”), was pushed until arriving next to the person he was looking for. Abruptly, the stranger said:

“I’m Francisco Real, from up on the Northside. Francisco Real, and they call me the Yardmaster. I’ve let these poor sons of bitches lift their hands to me because what I’m looking for is a man. There are people out there—I figure they’re just bolaceros (‘talkers’), you know—saying there’s some guy down here in these boondocks that fancies himself a knife fighter, and a bad’un—say he’s called the Sticker.”  (Translation by Andrew Hurley

‘I’m Francisco Real and I come from the Northside. I let these fools lay their hands on me because what I’m looking for is a man. Word is going around that there’s someone out here in mudville who’s good with a knife. They call him the Slasher’ (Translation by Norman Thomas di Giovanni)

Rosendo Juárez did not reply with the attitude that everyone present expected, which was that of confronting himself to the Butcher. Then, it is when the Lujanera, the Slasher’s woman, gave a knife to her husband for him to face with the stranger. To everyone’s surprise, Rosendo not only did not use the knife but threw it through a window. The Butcher insisted in the challenge to the Slasher and seeing the latter was not responding, he said: I don’t carneo you (‘I don’t cut you to piecemeal like a ram’), because you disgust me.

Then, Rosendo’s wife approached the stranger and told him to leave him because her husband had shown to be a coward, in front of everyone. She convinced easily Francisco Real saying: “Forget that dog—he had us thinking he was a man.” And together they begun to dance. A few minutes later, la Lujanera and the Butcher left Julia’s Place.

The narrator’s voice re-emerges explaining that he feels ashamed and dishonoured, since his idol had been discredited in front of everyone. And so, with a great inner sadness,  he left the den to take a breath of pure air. Rosendo Juarez also left the hall and coincided with the chronicler of the events, but when they encountered they only murmured two words. After a few hours, the commentator got got back to the precinct.

That same night, la Lujanera and the Yardmaster returned to the quilombo (‘brothel’). He was mortally wounded, agonizing. The woman explained that while she was with Francisco Real someone called him and stabbed him with a knife. She made it clear it had not been her husband but he had been stabbed by a stranger.

The men from the North accused la Lujanera of murderer, but the narrator convinced them it was not possible, since neither the hands, nor the pulse of a woman could end the life of such a stocky man. When the police approached, it was decided to dump the Butcher’s body to the creek to avoid hassles. (Source: El lunfardo en la literatura porteña: Roberto Arlt y Jorge Luis Borges . On line PDF in Spanish by an unknown author). 

I deliberately avoid telling the ending of the tale, if you have not guessed it.

My take: Borges short story “Man on Pink Corner” was first published under the title “Leyenda Policial” in the magazine Martín Fierro of 26 February 1927. A second version was integrated in the volume El idioma de los argentinos in 1928 with the name “Hombres pelearon” and a third version was published as “Hombres de las orillas” in the Multicolor Magazine on Saturdays, in Crítico newspaper of 16 September 1933. The final version with its definitive name was integrated into the volume Historia universal de la infamia, published in 1935. (Source: Wikipedia). The short story is dedicated to the Uruguayan writer, poet and journalist Enrique Amorim.

One of the aspects that interested me most of this story is its language. It is written in lunfardo,  an argot originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among the lower classes in Buenos Aires and from there spread to other cities nearby, such as the surrounding area Greater Buenos Aires, Rosario and Montevideo. Thus, it is not surprise that some readers find it difficult to read it without the help of a dictionary. An explanatory note of expressions and lunfardo words is attached for interested individuals El lunfardo en la literatura porteña: Roberto Arlt y Jorge Luis Borges (PDF in Spanish). 

It is undoubtedly one of the few incursions of Borges into crime fiction. And despite Borges himself considered it one of his worst stories, I have really enjoyed it and I don’t get tired re-reading it. I have already posted about this short story here and here, but I encouraged myself to re-write about it when finding additional information that I thought might be of interest to some readers.

I feel important to highlight that Borges announces the denouement of the story from the fist page: ‘the same night Rosendo Juárez left Maldonado never to return’ and, nevertheless, the interest of the story is kept to the very end.

The text has a sequel that Borges himself wrote some years later, “Rosendo’s Tale” in the collection Doctor Brodie’s Report, 1970, where Rosendo Juárez himself gives his own version of what happened. (To be continued …. )

Read the full text at Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, translated by Andrew Hurley here.

Read the full text at A Universal History of Infamy by Jorge Luis Borges, translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni here.

My rating: A+ (Don’t delay, get your hands on a copy of this book)

About the Author: Jorge Luis Borges (Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 24, 1899 – Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 1986), was an Argentine poet, essayist and short-story writer whose works have become classics of 20th century world literature. After 1961, when he and Samuel Beckett shared the Formentor Prize, the stories and poems of Borges began to be increasingly acclaimed all over the world. Until then, Borges was little known, even in his native Buenos Aires. By the time of his death, the nightmare world of his “fictions” had come to be compared to the world of Franz Kafka and to be praised for condensing the common language into its most enduring form. Through his work, Latin American literature emerged from the academic realm into the field of generally educated readers. Among his incursions in the field of detective fiction it can be mentioned, besides Death and the Compass and The Garden Of Forking Paths, Six Problems for Don Isidro Parodi, written together with Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Mis anotaciones: El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan, 1941 de Jorge Luis Borges

This post is bilingual, scroll down to find the English language version

Editorial Bruguera, 1980. Col. Narradores de hoy. Formato: Rústica. Jorge Luis Borges Prosa Completa. Volumen 1. 448 páginas [369 – 379] ISBN (Tomo I): 84-02-06746-8.

Descripción del libro: “El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan”  es un cuento escrito en 1941 por el escritor y poeta argentino Jorge Luis Borges. Fue la primera de sus obras en ser traducida al inglés. Fue publicada en el Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine de agosto de 1948. Fue la historia que dio su nombre a la colección El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan en 1941; esta colección fue publicada nuevamente en su totalidad en la colección Ficciones de 1944. (Fuente: Wikipedia)

Mi opinión: Hace unos días una entrada en el blog The Green Capsule aquí, me recordó un relato breve de Borges “El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan” y me animé a volver a leerlo. Borges es uno de mis escritores favoritos.

Este cuento tiene el formato de un manuscrito encontrado años después al que le faltan sus dos páginas iniciales. El manuscrito está escrito por Yu Tsun. Yu Tsun, un espía al servicio del Imperio alemán, posee un secreto militar: el nombre del sitio exacto del nuevo parque de artillería británico sobre el Ancre durante la ofensiva militar contra la línea alemana Serre-Montauban en el Gran Guerra. Para poder transmitir este secreto a sus superiores en Berlín, Yu Tsun intenta burlar a su implacable perseguidor, el Capitán Richard Madden: un irlandés al servicio de Inglaterra. Y así, Yu Tsun toma un tren a Ashgrove donde vive el Dr. Stephen Albert. En casa de Stephen Albert, este último le confía el secreto que ha descubierto, el verdadero significado de la decisión de Ts’ui Pen, que resultó ser un ilustre antepasado de Yu Tsun, cuando renunció a todo y se encerró para dedicarse a componer un libro y un laberinto. Todos imaginaron que se trataba de dos obras. Nadie se dio cuenta que, en realidad, libro y laberinto eran un solo objeto. Dos circunstancias le dieron a Stephen Albert la solución al problema. Una: la curiosa leyenda de que Ts’ui Pên se había propuesto un laberinto que fuera estrictamente infinito. Otra: un fragmento de una carta que decía: Dejo a los varios porvenires (no a todos) mi jardin de sendereos que se bifurcan. En todas las ficciones, cada vez que un hombre se enfrenta con diversas alternativas, opta por una y elimina las otras. En la del casi inextricable Ts’ui Pen opta –simultáneamente– por todas. Crea, así, diversos porvenires, diversos tiempos que también proliferan y se bifurcan. El jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan es una imagen incompleta. pero no falsa, del universo tal y como lo concebía Ts’ui Pen. …., su antepasado [agrega Stephen Albert] no creía en un tiempo uniforme, absoluto. Creía en infinitas series de tiempos, en una red creciente y vertiginosa de tiempos divergentes, convergentes y paralelos. Esa trama de tiempos que se aproximan, se bifurcan, se cortan o que secularmente se ignoran, abarca todas las posibilidades.

Si quieren saber cómo termina este cuento, no duden en leerlo. Es breve, no les llevará mucho tiempo, y espero que lo disfruten tanto como yo. Texto completo en español.

Mi valoración: A+ (No se demore, consiga un ejemplar de este libro)

Sobre el autor: Jorge Luis Borges (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 24 de agosto de 1899 – Ginebra, Suiza, 14 de junio 1986), fue un poeta, ensayista y escritor argentino de cuentos cuyos trabajos se han convertido en clásicos de la literatura mundial del siglo XX. Después de 1961, cuando compartió junto con Samuel Beckett el Premio Formentor, los cuentos y poemas de Borges empezaron a ser reconocidos en todo el mundo. Hasta ese momento, Borges era poco conocido, incluso en su Buenos Aires natal. A su muerte, el mundo de pesadilla de sus “ficciones” se había comparado con el mundo de Franz Kafka y había sido elogiado por condensar el lenguaje común en su forma más permanente. Por su trabajo, la literatura latinoamericana pasó del ámbito académico al terreno de los lectores generalmente educados. Entre sus incursiones en el campo de la ficción policial se pueden mencionar, además de La muerte y la brújula, Seis problemas para don Isidro Parodi, escrito junto con Adolfo Bioy Casares.

The Garden Of Branching Paths (aka The Garden Of Forking Paths), 1941 by Jorge Luis Borges

Book description: “The Garden of Branching Paths” (original Spanish title: “El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan”) is a 1941 short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. It was the first of Borges’s works to be translated into English by Anthony Boucher when it appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine in August 1948. It is the title story in the collection El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan (1941), which was republished in its entirety in Ficciones (Fictions) in 1944. (Source: Wikipedia)

My take: A few days ago a blog entry in The Green Capsule here, reminded me of a short story by Borges “The Garden of Forking Paths” and I was encouraged to read it again. Borges is one of my favourite writers.

This short story has the format of a manuscript found years later to which it lacks its two initial pages. The manuscript is written by Yu Tsun. Yu Tsun, a spy in the service of the German Empire, is in possession of a military secret: the name of the exact site of the new British artillery park on the Ancre during the military offensive against the German line at Serre-Montauban in the Great War. To be able to convey this secret to his superiors in Berlin, Yu Tsun attempts to dodge his implacable pursuer, Captain Richard Madden: an Irishman in the service of England. And thus, Yu Tsun takes a train to Ashgrove where Dr Stephen Albert lives. At Stephen Albert’s house, the latter entrusts him the secret he has uncovered, the true meaning of Ts’ui Pen’s decision, who happened to be an illustrious ancestor of Yu Tsun, when he gave up everything and went into seclusion to devote himself to write a book and to construct a maze. Everyone assumed these were separate activities. No one realized that the book and the labyrinth were one and the same. Two circumstances showed Stephen Albert the solution to the problem. First, the curious legend that Ts’ui Pen had proposed to create an infinite maze, second, a fragment of a letter which reads: “I leave to various future times, but not to all, my garden of forking paths.”  In all fiction, when a man is faced with alternatives he chooses one at the expense of the others. In the almost unfathomable Ts’ui Pen, he chooses –simultaneously– all of them. He thus creates various futures, various times which start others that will in their turn branch out and bifurcate in other times. The Garden of Forking Paths is a picture, incomplete yet not false, of the universe such as Ts’ui Pen conceived it to be. …. , your ancestor [adds  Stephen Albert] did not think of time as absolute and uniform. He believed in an infinite series of times, in a dizzily growing, ever spreading network of diverging, converging and parallel times. This web of time –the strands of which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect or ignore each other through the centuries– embraces every possibility.

If you want to find out how this story ends, don’t hesitate to read it. It’s short, it won’t take you long, and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. Full text in English (translated by Andrew Hurley) and Full text in English translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni.

My rating: A+ (Don’t delay, get your hands on a copy of this book)

About the Author: Jorge Luis Borges (Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 24, 1899 – Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 1986), was an Argentine poet, essayist and short-story writer whose works have become classics of 20th century world literature. After 1961, when he and Samuel Beckett shared the Formentor Prize, the stories and poems of Borges began to be increasingly acclaimed all over the world. Until then, Borges was little known, even in his native Buenos Aires. By the time of his death, the nightmare world of his “fictions” had come to be compared to the world of Franz Kafka and to be praised for condensing the common language into its most enduring form. Through his work, Latin American literature emerged from the academic realm into the field of generally educated readers. Among his incursions in the field of detective fiction it can be mentioned, besides Death and the Compass, Six Problems for Don Isidro Parodi, written together with Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Mis anotaciones: La muerte y la brújula (1942), de Jorge Luis Borges

This post is bilingual, scroll down to find the English language version

Editorial Bruguera, 1980. Col. Narradores de hoy. Formato: Rústica. Jorge Luis Borges Prosa Completa. Volumen 1. 448 páginas [401 – 411] ISBN (Tomo I): 84-02-06746-8.

Descripción del libro: La muerte y la brújula es un relato policial breve del escritor y poeta argentino Jorge Luis Borges. Publicado originalmente en la revista Sur en mayo de 1942, se recopiló posteriormente en la colección Ficciones de 1944. El inspector Erik Lönnrot investiga una serie de crímenes que conforman una compleja trama que parece seguir un patrón cabalístico. La historia fue llevada al cine en la película estadounidense, rodada en México, Death and the Compass (1996), dirigida por el británico Alex Cox.

Mi opinión: Aunque escribí sobre La muerte y la brújula en una entrada anterior de este blog, honestamente, fue solo una mera referencia a esta breve relato que, en mi opinión, merece un análisis más detallado. Su importancia me surgió tras leer el capítulo dedicado a “Detection and Literary Fiction” de Laura Marcus en The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction. Mi entrada sobre este último estará lista pronto. Pueden encontrar algunos spoilers en mi resumen, pero les sugiero que lean el cuento primero, si están interesados. Estoy seguro de que encontrarán una copia gratuita en Internet, ya sea en español o en inglés.

La muerte y la brújula gira en torno a una serie de asesinatos en una ciudad sin nombre, aunque hay indicios fundados de que la ciudad es Buenos Aires. El primer asesinato tuvo lugar en el Hotel du Nord el 3 de diciembre. La víctima fue el delegado de Podolsk al Tercer Congreso Talmúdico, doctor Marcelo Yarmolinsky. El comisario Treviranus y el inspector Lonnrot discutieron el tema con ecuanimidad. Treviranus opinaba que no había necesidad de investigar más.

“Todos sabemos que el Tetrarca de Galilea posee los mejores zafiros del mundo. Alguien, para robarlos, habrà penetrado aquí por error. Yarmolinsky se ha levantado; el ladrón ha tenido que matarlo. ¿Qué le parece?”
“Posible, pero no interesante”, respondió Lonnrot.

Sin embargo estaba claro para Lonnrot. Allí yacía muerto un rabino y prefería una explicación puramente rabínica. Su sospecha se confirmó cuando, uno de los agentes encontró una nota escrita a máquina con la siguiente frase: ‘La primera letra del Nombre se ha pronunciado.” Poco después, un periódico publicó que el investigador Erik Lonnrot se había dedicado a estudiar los nombres de Dios para dar con el nombre del asesino.

El segundo crimen ocurrió la noche del tres de enero, en el más desamparado y vacío de los huecos suburbios occidentales de la capital, en el umbral de una antigua pinturería. El muerto fue identificado como Daniel Simon Azevedo, el último representante de una generación de bandidos que sabía el manejo del puñal, pero no del revolver. Junto a él eran visibles las siguientes palabras en tiza: “La segunda letra del Nombre ha sido articulada.”

El tercer crimen ocurrió la noche del tres de febrero. Un hombre, que se identificó como Ginzberg o Ginsburg, llamó por teléfono para decir que, por una remuneración razonable, estaba en condiciones de ofrecer una explicación a las dos muertes anteriores. La policía pudo saber que la llamada venía de Liverpool House, una taberna en la Rue de Toulon. Una vez en la taberna, el comisario Treviranus descubre que la última persona que usó el teléfono fue un tal Gryphius, un inquilino que acababa de salir con hombres disfrazados de arlequines. Uno de ellos garabateó la siguiente sentencia en tiza junto con una figura obscena en una de las pizarras de la recova: “La última de las letras del Nombre ha sido articulada”.

Tras examinar la habitación ocupada por el citado Ginzberg/Ginsburg/Gryphius, Treviranus le muestra a Lonnrot un libro en latín con una frase subrayada cuya traducción viene a decir que el día hebreo empieza al anochecer y dura hasta el siguiente anochecer.

El primero de marzo, el comisario recibe un sobre sellado que contiene una carta, firmada por Baruj Spinoza, en la que se afirma que no habrá un cuarto crimen el tres de marzo. De hecho, la tienda de pinturas del Oeste, la Taberna de la Rue de Toulon y el Hotel du Nord eran los “vértices perfectos de un triángulo equilátero y místico”. Al día siguiente, Treviranus le muestra la carta a Lonnrot, quien le dice que esta carta le ha permitido resolver el enigma. Mañana viernes los criminales estarán en la cárcel; podemos dormir muy tranquilos.

Aunque esta narración puede calificarse de fantástica, claramente tiene la estructura de una historia policial clásica. Las dos tramas se refieren tanto al relato del crimen como al descubrimiento del responsable. Para mi gusto, es una verdadera joya de la novela policial que está a la altura de las mejores historias cortas de Borges. Borges utiliza dicha estructura para sorprender al lector y dar un nuevo giro a los mismos principios de la ficción policial. Y ese es precisamente el interés que, para mi gusto, tiene este cuento. Juzguen ustedes mismos y permítanme saber su opinión. Muy recomendable.

Para concluir, me gustaría señalar que Borges rinde homenaje a Chesterton cuando considera a Lonnrot de la estirpe de Auguste Dupin y parece claro que La muerte y la brújula (1942) guarda cierta similitud con el relato de Chesterton La forma equívoca (1911). Además, estoy bastante seguro de que el cuento de Borges sirvió de inspiración a El nombre de la rosa (1980) de Umberto Eco.

Mi valoración: A+ (No se demore, consiga un ejemplar de este libro)

Sobre el autor: Jorge Luis Borges (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 24 de agosto de 1899 – Ginebra, Suiza, 14 de junio 1986), fue un poeta, ensayista y escritor argentino de cuentos cuyos trabajos se han convertido en clásicos de la literatura mundial del siglo XX. Después de 1961, cuando compartió junto con Samuel Beckett el Premio Formentor, los cuentos y poemas de Borges empezaron a ser reconocidos en todo el mundo. Hasta ese momento, Borges era poco conocido, incluso en su Buenos Aires natal. A su muerte, el mundo de pesadilla de sus “ficciones” se había comparado con el mundo de Franz Kafka y había sido elogiado por condensar el lenguaje común en su forma más permanente. Por su trabajo, la literatura latinoamericana pasó del ámbito académico al terreno de los lectores generalmente educados. Entre sus incursiones en el campo de la ficción policial se pueden mencionar, además de La muerte y la brújula, Seis problemas para don Isidro Parodi, escrito junto con Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Death and the Compass (original Spanish title: La muerte y la brújula) by Jorge Luis Borges

Book Description: Death and the Compass (original Spanish title: La muerte y la brújula) is a short detective story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. Originally published in the magazine Sur in May 1942, it was subsequently collected in the 1944 volume Ficciones. Detective Erik Lönnrot investigates a series of crimes that make up a complex web that seems to follow a Kabbalistic pattern. The story was taken to the cinema in the American film, shot in Mexico, Death and the Compass (1996), directed by the British Alex Cox.

My Take: Although I wrote about Death and the Compass in a previous post on this blog, honestly, it was just a mere reference to this short story that, in my view, deserves a more detailed analysis. Its relevance came to mind while reading the chapter dedicated to ‘Detection and Literary Fiction’ by Laura Marcus in The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction. My post entry about the latter will be ready soon. You can find some spoilers in my summary, but I suggest you read the story first, if you’re interested. I’m sure you will find a free copy on the Internet, either in Spanish or in English.

Death and the Compass revolves around a series of murders in an unnamed city, although there are well-founded indications that the city is Buenos Aires. The first murder took place at Hotel du Nord on 3 December. The victim was the delegate from Podolsk to the Third Talmudic Congress, Doctor Marcel Yarmolinsky. Police superintended Treviranus and police inspector Lonnrot discussed the issue with equanimity. Treviranus was of the opinion that there was no need to investigate further.

“We all know that the Tetrarch of Galilee is the possessor of the finest sapphires in the world. Someone, intending to steal them, came in here by mistake. Yarmolinsky got up; the robber had to kill him. What do you think?”
“It’s possible, but not interesting,” Lonnrot answered.

However, it was clear to Lonnrot. There a rabbi lay dead and he preferred a purely rabbinical explanation. His suspicion was confirmed when one of the agents found a typed note with the following sentence: ‘The first letter of the Name has been spoken.’  Shortly after a newspaper published that the investigator Erik Lonnrot had devoted himself to studying the names of God in order to “come up with” the name of the assassin.

The second crime occurred on the night of the third of January, in the most deserted and empty corner of the capital’s western suburbs, on the threshold of an old paints shop. The dead man was identified as Daniel Simon Azevedo, the last of bandits who knew how to handle a dagger, but not a revolver. Next to him there was a message scrawled in chalk saying: ‘The second letter of the Name has been spoken.’

The third crime occurred on the night of the third of February. A man, who identified himself as Ginzberg or Ginsburg, telephoned to say that, for a reasonable price, he was in a position to offer an explanation to the two previous deaths. The police could learn that the call came from Liverpool House, a tavern on the Rue de Toulon. At the tavern, Treviranus discovers that the last person to use the phone was a certain Gryphius, a lodger who had just left with two men dressed as harlequins. One of them scrawled the following sentence in chalk along with an obscene figure on one of the slates at the entrance: ‘The last of the letters of the Name has been spoken.’

After examining the room occupied by the aforementioned Ginzberg/Ginsburg/Gryphius, Treviranus shows Lonnrot a book in Latin with an underlined sentence whose translation comes to say that the Hebrew day begins at sundown and lasts until the following sundown.

On the first of March first, the police superintended receives a sealed envelope containing a letter, signed Baruj Spinoza, stating that there would be no fourth crime on the third of March. In fact the paints shop in the West, the Tavern on the Rue de Toulon and the Hotel du Nord were the “perfect vertices of an equilateral and mystic triangle”. The next day, Treviranus shows the letter to Lonnrot, who tells him that this letter has allowed him to solve the enigma. Tomorrow, Friday, the criminals will rest in jail; we can all sleep quietly.

Though this narration can be classified as fantastic, it clearly has the structure of a classic detective story. The two plots concern both the account of the crime and the detection of the perpetrator. For my taste it is a real gem of detective fiction that lives up to the best short stories by Borges. Borges uses the said structure to amaze the reader and give a new turn to the same own principles of detective fiction. And that is precisely the interest that, for my taste, has this short tale. Judge by yourselves, and let me know your opinion. Highly recommended. 

To conclude I would like to point out that Borges pays homage to Chesterton when he considers Lonnrot in the mould of Auguste Dupin and it seems clear that Death and the Compass (1942) bears some similarity to Chesterton’s story The Wrong Shape (1911). Besides, I’m quite sure that Borges short story served as inspiration to Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose (1980).

My rating: A+ (Don’t delay, get your hands on a copy of this book)

About the Author: Jorge Luis Borges (Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 24, 1899 – Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 1986), was an Argentine poet, essayist and short-story writer whose works have become classics of 20th century world literature. After 1961, when he and Samuel Beckett shared the Formentor Prize, the stories and poems of Borges began to be increasingly acclaimed all over the world. Until then, Borges was little known, even in his native Buenos Aires. By the time of his death, the nightmare world of his “fictions” had come to be compared to the world of Franz Kafka and to be praised for condensing the common language into its most enduring form. Through his work, Latin American literature emerged from the academic realm into the field of generally educated readers. Among his incursions in the field of detective fiction it can be mentioned, besides Death and the Compass, Six Problems for Don Isidro Parodi, written together with Adolfo Bioy Casares.