Annette U. Flynn is Lecturer in Spanish and Portuguese at University College Dublin, Ireland.

In this lucid and absorbing book, Annette Flynn addresses a subject that has only recently aroused critical interest - Borges's engagement with religious and mystical questions in a search for a spiritual core to existence. Opposing standard views of the Argentine master as a cerebral writer of playful, nihilistic texts, she traces a development from initial explorations of philosophical and theological themes in the essays and stories towards a more intensely personal struggle to find a form of spiritual salvation, as evinced in the later poetry. This is a challenging and perceptive study which deserves the close attention of all serious readers of Borges's work.

• AcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroduction1. Preludes to Mysticism2. From Essay to Ficción3. The Long QuestConclusionAppendixBibliographyIndex

Annette U. Flynn is Lecturer in Spanish and Portuguese at University College Dublin, Ireland.

In this lucid and absorbing book, Annette Flynn addresses a subject that has only recently aroused critical interest - Borges's engagement with religious and mystical questions in a search for a spiritual core to existence. Opposing standard views of the Argentine master as a cerebral writer of playful, nihilistic texts, she traces a development from initial explorations of philosophical and theological themes in the essays and stories towards a more intensely personal struggle to find a form of spiritual salvation, as evinced in the later poetry. This is a challenging and perceptive study which deserves the close attention of all serious readers of Borges's work.

• AcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroduction1. Preludes to Mysticism2. From Essay to Ficción3. The Long QuestConclusionAppendixBibliographyIndex

Annette U. Flynn is Lecturer in Spanish and Portuguese at University College Dublin, Ireland.

In this lucid and absorbing book, Annette Flynn addresses a subject that has only recently aroused critical interest - Borges's engagement with religious and mystical questions in a search for a spiritual core to existence. Opposing standard views of the Argentine master as a cerebral writer of playful, nihilistic texts, she traces a development from initial explorations of philosophical and theological themes in the essays and stories towards a more intensely personal struggle to find a form of spiritual salvation, as evinced in the later poetry. This is a challenging and perceptive study which deserves the close attention of all serious readers of Borges's work.

• AcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroduction1. Preludes to Mysticism2. From Essay to Ficción3. The Long QuestConclusionAppendixBibliographyIndex