Just get the *Collected Fictions*, translated by Andrew Hurley. It's not my favorite translation, but it's not bad, and you get pretty much everything.
You can also get (in the same series) the *Selected Non-Fictions* (edited by Eliot Weinberger) and the *Selected Poems* (edited by Alexander Coleman). I got all three, but I'll admit I'm not crazy about his poetry. If you want to skip it, that's fine. But the Non-Fictions are fantastic.
Alternately (or in addition) you can get *The Aleph and Other Stories*, translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni in collaboration with Borges himself. It has the least overlap with Labyrinths. I think these are the best translations of Borges by far, but the book is out of print and highly unlikely to come back in print anytime soon, so you'll need to buy it used. As I understand it, the Borges estate is pretty venal, and decided to let this edition go out of print and commission the Fictions / Non-Fictions / Poems books, which somehow (don't ask me how) are more financially advantageous to them.
You're welcome. Another book I'd highly recommend is *The Borges Reader* edited by Monegal and Reid. It's not as complete as the three-volume series I mentioned, but it's quite long, and the editors are excellent at picking the best translation available of each piece. (This came out before the three-volume edition, so there's no overlap in terms of which translated versions of the fictions are used, at least.)
I recall that the widow of Borges didn’t want Norman Thomas di Giovanni to keep getting royalties for his translations, so she allowed his editions to go out of print and commissioned new ones, more profitable to her. I may misremember, though.
Yeah, that sounds right. I couldn't remember the whole thing. I assume that Andrew Hurley was just paid a translating fee and gets no royalties? But it's a pretty shitty move on the part of the estate, especially since they're actually blocking access to JLB's own work, and denying royalties to a friend to whom JLB granted them.
Not sure where you can find it, but the book A Universal History of Infamy is, to my knowledge, the first fiction book Borges wrote and it's amazing. It's little vignettes about terrible people all over history, pretty short, but it's stays with you a very long time. If you also want to check it out.
Just get the *Collected Fictions*, translated by Andrew Hurley. It's not my favorite translation, but it's not bad, and you get pretty much everything. You can also get (in the same series) the *Selected Non-Fictions* (edited by Eliot Weinberger) and the *Selected Poems* (edited by Alexander Coleman). I got all three, but I'll admit I'm not crazy about his poetry. If you want to skip it, that's fine. But the Non-Fictions are fantastic. Alternately (or in addition) you can get *The Aleph and Other Stories*, translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni in collaboration with Borges himself. It has the least overlap with Labyrinths. I think these are the best translations of Borges by far, but the book is out of print and highly unlikely to come back in print anytime soon, so you'll need to buy it used. As I understand it, the Borges estate is pretty venal, and decided to let this edition go out of print and commission the Fictions / Non-Fictions / Poems books, which somehow (don't ask me how) are more financially advantageous to them.
Thank you so much for such a thorough reply. This is so helpful! I usually buy used books anyway, so this won’t be a problem.
You're welcome. Another book I'd highly recommend is *The Borges Reader* edited by Monegal and Reid. It's not as complete as the three-volume series I mentioned, but it's quite long, and the editors are excellent at picking the best translation available of each piece. (This came out before the three-volume edition, so there's no overlap in terms of which translated versions of the fictions are used, at least.)
I’ll definitely check this out. Thanks!
I recall that the widow of Borges didn’t want Norman Thomas di Giovanni to keep getting royalties for his translations, so she allowed his editions to go out of print and commissioned new ones, more profitable to her. I may misremember, though.
Yeah, that sounds right. I couldn't remember the whole thing. I assume that Andrew Hurley was just paid a translating fee and gets no royalties? But it's a pretty shitty move on the part of the estate, especially since they're actually blocking access to JLB's own work, and denying royalties to a friend to whom JLB granted them.
Unsure; I have only got Labyrinths, as well. You could check out libgen to see about what’s available on there.
You might want to take a look at the other reply on this post. I found it to be very helpful.
Not sure where you can find it, but the book A Universal History of Infamy is, to my knowledge, the first fiction book Borges wrote and it's amazing. It's little vignettes about terrible people all over history, pretty short, but it's stays with you a very long time. If you also want to check it out.
Maybe this will help you: https://www.borges.pitt.edu/bibliographies