The Book of Sand and Shakespeares Memory

Translated with an Afterword by Andrew HurleyHis stories - concise, playful, brimming with ideas - are among the centurys supreme literary achievementsINDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYWhile Borges remained fascinated by books, doubles, strange heresies, magic and the occult, his last two collections broke new ground in their astonishing range of themes. By the 1970s, Borges was frail, blind and bereft, and The Book of Sand is deeply concerned with loss, approaching death, identities rooted in past events and recollected sexual passion. Yet these painful issues are treated with bemused acceptance as well as characteristic inventiveness and wit. Equally haunting is the tale of the scholar who mysteriously acquires Shakespeares memory and the other evocative parables which make up his final work. To the last, Borges retained a unique ability to shock and surprise.