The Book of Imaginary Beings (Classics Deluxe Edition) (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

by Borges, Jorge Luis; Hurley, Andrew; Sis, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780143039938
• ISBN10: 0143039938
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-26
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

In a perfect pairing of talent, this volume blends twenty illustrations by Peter Sís with Jorge Luis Borges’s 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’s The Time Machine. A lavish feast of exotica brought vividly to life with art commissioned specifically for this volume, The Book of Imaginary Beingswill delight readers of classic fantasy as well as Borges’s many admirers.

Author Biography

Jorge Luis Borges (1899-û1986), born in Buenos Aires and educated in Europe, was one of the most widely acclaimed writers of our time.

Andrew Hurley is professor of English at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan.

Peter S+¡s, an internationally acclaimed illustrator, author, and filmmaker, is a five-time winner of the New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the First Edition: An Anthology of Fantastic Zoology	p. xi
Foreword to the 1967 Edition	p. xv
The A Bao A Qu	p. 1
Abtu and Anet	p. 4
The Monster Acheron	p. 5
The Amphisbaena	p. 7
Swedenborg's Angels	p. 8
An Animal Dreamed	p. 10
An Animal Dreamed	p. 11
The Animal Dreamed	p. 13
Two Metaphysical Animals	p. 15
Animals That Live in the Mirror	p. 18
Spherical Animals	p. 20
Six-Legged Antelopes	p. 22
The Three-Legged Ass	p. 23
The Bahamut	p. 25
The Baldanders	p. 27
Banshees	p. 29
The Basilisk	p. 30
The Behemoth	p. 33
The Bird That Makes the Rain	p. 36
The Borametz	p. 38
The Brownies	p. 39
Buraq	p. 40
The Cheshire Cat and Kilkenny Cats	p. 42
The Catoblepas	p. 43
The Centaur	p. 45
Cerberus	p. 49
The Chimaera	p. 51
The Celestial Cock	p. 53
The Crocotta and the Leucrocotta	p. 54
A Crossbreed	p. 55
The Demons of Judaism	p. 58
Swedenborg's Demons	p. 59
The Devourer of the Dead	p. 60
The Double	p. 62
The Dragon	p. 64
The Chinese Dragon	p. 66
The Western Dragon	p. 68
The Elephant That Prefigured the Birth of Buddha	p. 72
The Eloi and the Morlocks	p. 73
Elves	p. 74
Fairies	p. 75
The Fastitocalon	p. 77
Fauna of China	p. 81
Fauna of the United States	p. 83
The Chinese Fox	p. 85
The Garuda	p. 88
Gnomes	p. 89
The Golem	p. 90
The Gryphon	p. 93
The Hairy Beast of La Ferte-Bernard	p. 97
Haniel Kafziel, Azriel, and Aniel	p. 98
Haokah, God of Thunder	p. 100
The Hare in the Moon	p. 101
The Harpies	p. 103
The Hippogriff	p. 104
Hochigan	p. 106
Humbaba	p. 107
The Hundred-Heads	p. 109
The Hydra	p. 110
Ichthyocentaurs	p. 111
The Jinn	p. 112
The Kami	p. 114
A King of Fire and His Steed	p. 116
The Kraken	p. 118
Kronos or Herakles	p. 120
The Lamed Wufniks	p. 122
The Lamia	p. 123
The Lemuri	p. 124
The Leveler	p. 125
The Offspring of Leviathan	p. 127
Lilith	p. 128
The Mandrake	p. 129
The Mantichora, or Manticore	p. 131
The Minotaur	p. 132
The Ink Monkey	p. 134
The Mother of Tortoises	p. 135
The Myrmecoleon	p. 136
The Nagas	p. 137
The Nisnas	p. 139
The Norns	p. 140
Nymphs	p. 142
Odradek	p. 143
One-Eyed Beings	p. 145
The Ouroboros	p. 147
The Panther	p. 149
The Pelican	p. 151
The Perytion	p. 153
The Phoenix	p. 157
The Chinese Phoenix	p. 160
Pygmies	p. 162
Quyata	p. 164
Remora	p. 165
A Reptile Dreamed	p. 167
The Roc	p. 168
The Salamander	p. 171
Satyrs	p. 176
Scylla	p. 177
The Sea Horse	p. 178
The Eight-Forked-Serpent	p. 180
The Simurgh	p. 183
Sirens	p. 185
The Sow in Chains	p. 187
The Sphinx	p. 188
The Squonk	p. 190
The Celestial Stag	p. 191
Sylphs	p. 192
Talos	p. 193
The T'ao-T'ieh	p. 194
Thermal Beings	p. 195
The Tigers of Annam	p. 197
Trolls	p. 199
The Unicorn	p. 200
The Chinese Unicorn	p. 202
Valkyries	p. 205
Youwarkee	p. 206
The Zaratan	p. 207
Translator's Note	p. 211
Notes	p. 219
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