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The Book of Imaginary Beings

Brief Description
Experience a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Jorge Luis Borges, master of metaphysical invention, in this playful bestiary of creatures real and unreal. A dazzling catalogue of beings drawn from the dreamworlds of myth, folklore, and imagination. From ancient myths to obscure legends, a strange menagerie takes shape:... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2400
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Releases 20th October 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "The Book of Imaginary Beings" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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Experience a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Jorge Luis Borges, master of metaphysical invention, in this playful bestiary of creatures real and unreal.

A dazzling catalogue of beings drawn from the dreamworlds of myth, folklore, and imagination.

From ancient myths to obscure legends, a strange menagerie takes shape: creatures part real, part invented, drawn from cultures across the world. Each is described with care, as if it might exist just beyond the edge of belief. The Book of Imaginary Beings is Jorge Luis Borges's playful, erudite bestiary of the fantastic. Curious and endlessly inventive, it explores the power of imagination to create entire worlds.

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days.

Series: Brief Encounters

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529986372

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 July 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Contributors:

  • Translated by Andrew Hurley

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 13.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 160g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Jorge Luis Borges (Author) Jorge Luis Borges was born in Buenos Aires in 1899 and was educated in Europe. One of the most widely acclaimed writers of our time, he published many collections of poems, essays and short stories before his death in Geneva in 1986. He was director of the Argentine National Library from 1955 until 1973. Mario Vargas Llosa, in a tribute to Borges, has written: 'His is a world of clear, pure, and at the same time unusual ideas expressed in words of great directness and restraint. He was a superb storyteller. One reads most of Borges' tales with the hypnotic interest usually reserved for reading detective fiction...'

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