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A review by zachlittrell
The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges
3.0
Borges is right, don't read this cover to cover, but just poke and prod around and have fun. I would've been overjoyed back in middle school to have gotten my paws on something like this, where the authors take these imaginary creatures far more seriously than even some past and ancient writers.
It's a bit scattershot, and sometimes a little suspiciously dryer than I'd want from Borges. I wonder what on earth made him, or his co-author, hold back. I can't imagine he could in good conscience repeat the following description:
And not point out that it actually sounds...nothing like an owl.
Siren: a supposed marine animal, we read in a brutally frank dictionary.
It's a bit scattershot, and sometimes a little suspiciously dryer than I'd want from Borges. I wonder what on earth made him, or his co-author, hold back. I can't imagine he could in good conscience repeat the following description:
The Hsiao is similar to the owl but has a man's face, an ape's body, and a dog's tail.
And not point out that it actually sounds...nothing like an owl.