The Lesson of the Master: On Borges and His Work

by Norman Thomas di Giovanni

'The Lesson of the Master' - a memoir and essays - is an indispensable work for Borges readers of all kinds. Di Giovanni is the only translator to have had Borges to hand on a daily basis to contradict or authorize his work. He is not burdened with an over-reverence for his subject but is on the contrary playful, robust and witty. These translations of the stories that Borges generated himself, in collaboration with Norman Thomas di Giovanni, have been sidelined in the past as they were not included in the volumes of Borges' work previously published in English. 'The Lesson of the Master' is an essential illumination of one of the great masters of twentieth-century literature.

205 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2003

About the author

Norman Thomas di Giovanni was an American editor and translator best known for his collaboration with Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. After studying Romance languages at Antioch College, he worked with Spanish poet Jorge Guillén before meeting Borges in 1967. Their partnership led to English translations of several of Borges’s works, including The Book of Imaginary Beings and The Aleph and Other Stories. Borges praised di Giovanni’s translations, considering some superior to the originals. However, after Borges’s death, his widow revoked di Giovanni’s rights to the translations, replacing them with new versions. Di Giovanni also wrote Novecento, based on the film 1900, and lived in England for many years.

Reviews

[darío hereñú · Rating 3 out of 5]

Traductor... traidor!
Leerlo desde una versión en español, me obliga a pensar: ¿por qué, siendo el autor traductor, es traducido por otro traductor?
El libro es dispar: momentos íntimos y decisivos en la vida personal del bardo ciego, ciertas minucias en la trama de ciertos cuentos (!!!), las lagunas mentales y algún "secreto" secreto que tardó cuarenta años en ser descifrado; tantos más otros párrafos burocráticos.
Por momentos, sin haber leído el prólogo, sospeché que este libro era un rejunte de notas y apuntes que, el autor por su proximidad física y temporal con J.L.B. a un tiempo, había recolectado en sus "estancias" por tierras argentinas. Una vez leído el prólogo, se confirmó mi sospecha.
El libro descubre -o confirma- facetas y aristas del Borges en su lado humano.
Creo -sospecho- que el libro es honesto. No lo sitúa en el partenón ni a diez centímetros bajo tierra.
Para los borgeanos de este mundo, levanten sus copas...

[Mark Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

DiGiovanni grinds his axe a bit while providing insightful background on Borges’s later work. Especially good is the chapter “On Translating Borges.”

[St. Brieuc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otra pieza para resolver el puzzle de la vida personal de Borges

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second reading March 2019