I found this to be an interesting short volume by Borges, but that it did not hold the nature of the rest of his writings. I am a large fan, but I felt this was a tad scattered and whimsical (as opposed to many of his other pieces in the majority of his works.) Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile read.

3 stars. ( )

Of the five short pieces collected here, the title one – which they put up front – seemed the least interesting to me; it was a bit "so what?"
The best was "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", but with a title like that, I can see why they didn't use it as the overarching name for the book. ( )

A 2011 publication containing five shorts by Jorge Luis Borges, The Widow Ching-Pirate covers some of the author's most influential works. These translated stories come from two of his early 20th century works: Historia Universal de la Infamia and Ficciones . The current edition (translated by Andrew Hurley) includes "The Widow Ching-Pirate," "Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities," and "The Uncivil Teacher of Court Etiquette Kotsuke no Suke" from A Universal History of Iniquity, as well as "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" and "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" from Fictions.

The first three shorts tell the tales of historically infamous characters that we find in today's popular culture:
In "The Widow Ching-Pirate," Borges tells the tale of the 19th century lady-pirate who controlled a fleet of dangerous pirates in the Pacific. Ching Shih is portrayed as a pirate lord in Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World's End.
The author establishes New York's toughs as a unique class of thug in "Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities." Monk Eastman has his varied past told in this 1930's short and is the basis for Brendan Gleeson's character in Gangs of New York
The story of the revenge of the 47 Ronin is the third tale from this Penguin Mini Modern Classic. After their leader is compelled to perform Hara-Kiri, 47 samurai seek vengeance against "The Uncivil Teacher of Court Etiquette." This tale is a pop culture favorite and is the basis of 2013's 47 Ronin
The first of Borges' unique stories from Fictions is a thought-provoking first person narrative that should be read at least twice:
After discussing an epigram with the narrator, a man seeks out the source of the quote, revealing a discrepancy between two otherwise identical reference books. A previous discussion about base number systems (specifically duodecimal) with an acquaintance sparks an interest in Vol XI of an encyclopedia at his estate. Part magical realism, part conspiracy, "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" is an interesting, enjoyable, and highly recommended read.
A transliterator himself, Jorge Luis Borges writes a somewhat accusatory tale in "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote." Pointing at the disfigurement of an author's original work during transliteration, Borges speaks as a sort of peer-reviewer of a fictitious author.

This book brings together some seriously worthwhile reads from Borges. The great thing is that you can Google most of the stories to find and read them; no purchase necessary. ( )

One of the Penguin Mini Modern Classics series, this is like a little collection of curios - five stories displaying different aspects of Borges's writing. Fittingly, there are examples of fantasy recounted with the gravity of history, and history told with the elaboration of fantasy. Three studies focus on lesser-known figures from history: the 'doughty' Widow Ching, who ran a formidable pirate fleet in the seas around China; the New York gang boss Monk Eastman, with his unexpected affection for cats; and the Japanese etiquette master whose arrogance led to the sworn vengeance of the 47 Ronin. The collection rounds off with two more fanciful tales: the story of an encyclopedia which describes an entirely invented world, which threatens to become more real than reality itself; and the story of a man who sets out to rewrite Don Quixote in the original words. For me, the first three stories in this collection were the most enjoyable: I found the last, on the 'Author of the Quixote', rather baffling because I simply couldn't see the point. Is Borges is making a point about the folly of modernist literary criticism and the arrogance of modern writers? Or, as I always fear with Borges, am I just too daft to understand?!

This is a very short taster of Borges - 75 pages in total - but if you haven't read him before, it will introduce you to his erudite and playful approach to the short story. If you are a newcomer, hopefully you'll be tempted to seek out some of his other books, because while this is a fair introduction it doesn't do justice to his imagination. I have to say that I didn't enjoy it as much as Penguin's collections of his longer, more elaborate stories - Labyrinths, for example - but it was at least an introduction to some unfamiliar, but intriguing historical figures. ( )