The Other, the Same
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Summary
Editor's review
Compared with his earlier work, the emotional tone here is more introspective and personal. Readers can discern the street corners of Buenos Aires, fragments of family history, meditations on encroaching blindness, and homage to literary traditions (with references to the Bible, Norse mythology, and Dante). Borges folds vast philosophical inquiry into everyday moments, using polished verse to explore the interweaving of time, eternity, dream, and reality. The poetic forms are distinctive as well, ranging from traditional sonnets to seemingly prose-like free verse, yet all are highly condensed and refined.
For Chinese readers, this Shanghai Translation Publishing House edition is translated by veteran Spanish-language translator Wang Yongnian and others, striving to preserve the intellectual density of the original while maintaining poetic fluency. Reading this collection is not only an intellectual challenge but a journey into the labyrinth Borges builds with words, seeking the connection between the self and the infinite. It is not meant to be skimmed quickly; each poem is like a miniature universe, worth pausing over and pondering again and again.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Deep readers with a strong interest in Latin American literature and modern poetry
- Readers who enjoy philosophical speculation and the search for meaning in textual labyrinths
- Literature lovers who want to understand Borges's poetry, not only his fiction
- Writers and poets who can learn from how abstract ideas are transformed into condensed imagery
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light entertainment or a linear narrative experience
- Readers with little patience for or interest in metaphysics and literary intertextuality
Reading tips
- No need to read straight through in order; open to any page and give yourself time to savor it repeatedly
- Keep paper and pen handy while reading to note associations, questions, or images that come to mind
- If confused by the many cultural or literary references, first immerse yourself in the rhythm and imagery of the poems themselves, and look things up afterward
About the publisher
Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序言
- 失眠
- 英文诗两首 献给贝阿特丽斯·比维洛尼·韦伯斯特·德布尔里奇
- 循环的夜 献给西尔维娜·布尔里奇
- 关于地狱和天国
- 猜测的诗
- 第四元素的诗
- 致诗选中的一位小诗人
- 纪念胡宁战役的胜利者苏亚雷斯上校的诗篇
- 《马太福音》第二十五章第三十节
- 罗盘 献给埃斯特·森博拉因·德托雷斯
- 萨洛尼卡的钥匙
- 一位十三世纪的诗人
- 乌尔比纳的一名士兵
- 界限
- 巴尔塔萨·格拉西安
- 一个撒克逊人（公元四四九年）
- 假人
- 探戈
- 另一个
- 玫瑰与弥尔顿
- 读者
- 《约翰福音》第一章第十四节
- 觉醒
- 致不再年轻的人
- 亚历山大·塞尔扣克
- 《奥德赛》第二十三卷
- 他
- 萨缅托
- 致一位一八九九年的小诗人
- 得克萨斯
- 写在一册《贝奥武甫》上的诗
- 亨吉斯特国王
- 片断
- 约克大教堂的一把剑
- 致一位撒克逊诗人
- 斯诺里·斯图鲁松
- 致卡尔十二世
- 伊曼纽尔·斯维登堡
- 乔纳森·爱德华兹
- 爱默生
- 埃德加·爱伦·坡
- 卡姆登，一八九二年
- 巴黎，一八五六年
- 拉斐尔·坎西诺斯-阿森斯
- 谜
- 瞬息
- 致酒
- 酒的十四行诗
- 一九六四年
- 饥饿
- 外地人
- 致读者
- 炼金术士
- 某人
- 永恒（一）
- 永恒（二）
- 俄狄浦斯与谜语
- 斯宾诺莎
- 西班牙
- 挽歌
- 亚当被逐
- 致一枚钱币
- 关于天赐的诗（另一首）
- 一九六六年写的颂歌
- 梦
- 胡宁
- 李将军的一名士兵（一八六二年）
- 海洋
- 一六四九年的一个早晨
- 致一位撒克逊诗人
- 布宜诺斯艾利斯
- 布宜诺斯艾利斯（另一首）
- 致儿子
- 匕首 献给玛加丽塔·本赫
- 死去的痞子
FAQ
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About the author
Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentine poet, fiction writer, essayist and translator. Born in Buenos Aires in 1899 and died in Geneva in 1986, he served as director of the National Library and held a post at the University of Buenos Aires. His short stories, notably those collected in The Garden of Forking Paths, The Aleph and The Book of Sand, often explore labyrinths, infinity, dreams and metaphysical themes, with intricate structures and a strong speculative bent. He was also a master of essays and criticism, writing in a concise, intellectually charged style. His works are widely classified as foreign literature and modern classics, and 53 titles are available in this collection.
Wang Yongnian is a translator known to Chinese readers chiefly for his renderings of Borges's works. Public information about him is limited, and his dates of birth and death and educational background are not clearly documented. The collection includes twenty-three works associated with him, centered mainly on the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, such as Ficciones: The Garden of Forking Paths and Artifices, The Complete Works of Borges, Series One (16 volumes), The Garden of Forking Paths, The Aleph, A Universal History of Iniquity, The Book of Sand, Borges Interviews, and Shakespeare's Memory. These translations span short stories, essays, interviews, and lectures, and fall under the categories of foreign literature and classic works. His translations strive to preserve the labyrinthine narrative structures and philosophical density of Borges's texts, with concise yet fluent language that gives Chinese readers comparatively full access to the writer's imaginative world and speculative style.
