Reviews

This book has taken me months; in fact, I'm still not quite done with it. But that's how it's meant to be read, I think. A few pages at a time, and then weeks to dream of the beasts you've met. It's written like an encyclopedia for imaginary beings. Every entry is a new creature of fancy, beautiful or terrifying, religious or secular, philosophical of entirely whimsical. The book is written beautifully and simply, although "simple" here means not one word too many- the contents are certainly not simple. A brief sampling of the Table of Contents:
The Borametz
The Bird that Makes the Rain
Animals that Live in the Mirror
Haokah, God of Thunder
Haniel, Kafziel, Azriel, and Aniel
Hochigan
Youwarkee
The Zaratan

And an excerpt, the entire entry for "Hochigan":
"Descartes tells us that monkeys could talk if they wanted to, but they have decided to keep silent so that humans will not force them to work. The Bushmen of South Africa believe that there was a time when all animals could talk. Hochigan hated animals; one day it disappeared, taking the gift of speech with it." (106)

j0ana_'s review against another edition

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4.0

This was a hilarious read

bwbookshelf's review against another edition

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informative

2.0

pyreghost's review against another edition

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informative lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

jcovey's review against another edition

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5.0

A perfect showcase for Borges' mesmerizing, concise story telling and superhuman erudition. No entry here is more than a few pages in length and in each Borges manages to craft a small wonder, alternately educational and haunting. In one entry we learn the hippogriff began as a joke by Virgil about the impossibility of mating griffons and horses, only for his joke to be envisioned more than a millinea later in popular romances, where the creature served as the noble steed of the knight Orlando and so became entrenched in popular imagination. On the other hand we have Borges' taut, unsettling description of the inhabitants who live in the depths of mirrors, and the day to come when they will awaken and begin their invasion.

colleenf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

korol_rezni's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5.
Asıl sebep aslında çeviri ki mutlu etmediğinden daha önce de bahsetmiştim. Açıkçası kitapta anlatılan yaratıklarla ilgili daha çok efsane okumayı bekliyordum ama çok azının hikayesi vardı geri kalanlar ise dış görünüşleriyle ilgili betimlemelerle doluydu. Daha çok hmm bu yaratık ilginçmiş diyip daha çok araştırma yapmaya yöneltecek bir kitap olduğunu söyleyebilirim. İçlerinde efsaneleri ve hikayeleri olanları gerçekten sevdim. Ayrıca tasvirlerin hangi kaynaklardaki bilgiye dayandırılarak yapıldığıyla ilgili sıklıkla kaynak da belirtilmişti ki bu da araştırma yapmak için güzel başlangıç noktaları sağlıyor. Bence şans verilebilir.

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