A Universal History of Iniquity

This is Borges' first collection of stories (1935). In his writing, Borges always combined high seriousness with a wicked sense of fun. Here, he reveals his delight in re-creating (or making up) colorful stories from the Orient, the Islamic world, and the Wild West, as well as his horrified fascination with knife fights, political and personal betrayal, and bloodthirsty revenge. Spark-ling with the sheer exuberant pleasure of story-telling, this collection marked the emergence of an utterly distinctive literary voice.

ISBN	0141183853	Weight (grammes)	91
ISBN13	9780141183855 (What's this?)	Language	English
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd	Published in	London
Imprint	Penguin Classics	Series editor	Phillips, Adam, Phillips, Adam, Phillips, Adam
Format	Paperback	Series title	Penguin Modern Classics
Publication date	05 Apr 2001	Height (mm)	198
Translator	Andrew Hurley	Width (mm)	129
DEWEY	863	Spine width (mm)	6
DEWEY edition	DC21	Academic level	General
Pages	112

		A Universal History of Iniquity (1935)		1
		Preface to the First Edition		3
		Preface to the 1954 Edition		4
		The Cruel Redeemer Lazarus Morell		7
		The Improbable Impostor Tom Castro		16
		The Widow Ching - Pirate		23
		Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities		30
		The Disinterested Killer Bill Harrigan		37
		The Uncivil Teacher of Court Etiquette Kotsuke no Suke		42
		Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv		48
		Man on Pink Corner		55
		Et cetera		65
		Index of sources		79
		Afterword by Andrew Hurley		80
		A Note on the Translation		86
		Acknowledgments		94
		Notes to the Fictions		96

Hurley's efforts at retranslating Borges are not anything but heroic. His versions are clear, elegant, crystalline. (Ilan Stavans, "The Times Literary Supplement") [Borges?s] stories often take the outer form of some genre from popular literature, a form proved by long usage, which creates almost mythical structures. (Italo Calvino)

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