With Borges

About the Book

In Buenos Aires, 1964, a blind writer in his sixties approaches a sixteen-year-old bookstore clerk and asking if he would be interested in a part-time job reading aloud.

The writer was Jorge Luis Borges, one of the world’s finest literary minds; the boy was Alberto Manguel, who was later to become an internationally acclaimed author and editor and bibliophile.

The young Manguel spent several years reading aloud and transcribing for the enigmatic Borges. Here he recalls this time with integrity and warmth, offering us an intimate and moving portrait of one of the great literary luminaries.

About the Author

Alberto Manguel is an internationally acclaimed anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist and editor, and is the author of several award-winning books including A Dictionary of Imaginary Places and A History of Reading. He was born in Buenos Aires, became a Canadian citizen in 1982 and now lives in France, where he was named Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Reviews

'This delightful book provides readers a key to more than one secret room of Borges's magical worlds.'
Mahmoud Darwish

'Entertaining, insightful, concise ... a generous overview of Argentina's most important literary son'
Ready Steady Book

'Alberto Manguel is to reading what Casanova was to sex.'
Scotland on Sunday

'A moving and marvelous journey ... the reader is left with a warm fuzzy feeling, a sense of satisfaction and happiness as if one has just been in the presence of one of the greatest literary minds of the last generation.'
Litpundit.com

'For those who enjoy the written word, and especially for those who enjoy the fantastic writing of Borges, Manguel's book is confirmation of the pleasure that words can bring, whether to one of the greatest readers and writers of the 20th century or to a young man who would become one of Canada's most acclaimed writers.
Straight.com