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| "Death and the Compass" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Jorge Luis Borges | |
| Original title | La muerte y la brújula |
| Country | Argentina |
| Language | Spanish |
| Genre(s) | Mystery short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | sur |
| Publisher | Editorial Sur |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | May 1942 |
| Published in English | 1954 |
"Death and the Compass" (original Spanish title: "La muerte y la brújula") is a short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). Published in Sur in May 1942, it was included in the 1944 collection Ficciones. It was translated into English by Anthony Kerrigan and published in New Mexico Quarterly (Autumn 1954). A new translation, by Donald A. Yates, was published in Labyrinths (short story collection), New Directions, 1962.
In the story, a detective, Erik Lönnrot, attempts to solve a mysterious series of murders which seem to follow a kabbalistic pattern. Appearances are misleading, however. By following what seem to be clues, the detective falls victim to his belief in abstract reason and to the man whom he presumes to be a criminal mastermind. In this way, "Death and the Compass" both observes and inverts the conventions of detective fiction.[1] Literary critic Harold Bloom named it his favorite story by Borges.[2]
- ^ David A. Boruchoff, "In Pursuit of the Detective Genre: La muerte y la brújula of Jorge Luis Borges," Inti: Revista de Literatura Hispánica, no. 21 (1985), pp. 13-26.
- ^ Bloom, Harold. (1995). The Western canon : the books and school of the ages (1st Riverhead ed.). New York: Riverhead Books. ISBN 1-57322-514-2. OCLC 32013000.