Collection of Fictitious Works

Artificios

Douban

NeoDB

This collection of short stories, consisting of nine short stories, was published in 1944 alongside "The Garden of Forking Paths" as "Fictions," continuing the theme of fictional legends. "The South," which the author claimed was his "most proud story," is considered a turning point in Borges's writing. The protagonist, Dahlmann, a secretary at the Buenos Aires Municipal Library, inexplicably scratches his forehead while ascending a staircase. This leads to a high fever and recurring nightmares, leading to his admission to a sanatorium. After his condition improves, he decides to return to his ancestral estate in the South to recuperate. He travels by cab, train, and foot, finally, on a whim, stopping at a grocery store for lunch, where he becomes embroiled in a duel and dies at the hands of his opponent. Within Borges's linguistic labyrinth, this story offers a different interpretation: Dahlmann never died; his journey back to the South was a dream he had while lying in his hospital bed, where he died in a duel. A man living an ordinary life, in his dream, chooses the spectacular death he longed for.

2015-06-01

上海译文出版社

92

9787532762903