The Universal Library

Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most famous writers of the 20th century, who largely defined the face of modern literature. Much of the great Argentine's legacy consists of non-fiction prose: over a thousand pages of essays, reviews, sketches,... prefaces, lectures, and various notes on a wide range of topics. These works ("intellectual adventures," in the author's words) are no less captivating to read than Borges' fiction. Like the Aleph in his famous story — a magical point from which everything happening in the world can be seen — Borges' texts try to encompass the entire universe: Dante and Shakespeare, Kabbalah and Buddhism, the history of angels and the history of tango, the mystery of time and fascism, film reviews and the biography of Swedenborg... In a sense, it is here that the true face of the writer appears, resonating with his unique, slightly ironic voice of a bibliophile and sage. This edition includes texts by Borges that span the entire creative life of the author; in addition to the classic, well-known works, the reader will find many reviews, notes, reflections, and essays that have never before been published in Russian. The texts are accompanied by annotations and a brief biography of Borges.