What I was not expecting, though, was that alongside the drawing-room wit runs a parallel theme of almost Gothic unease related to the wildness at large outside civilised society. This is the necessary counterpart to the witty banter, the other side of the coin — the strand of English paganism that crops up in so many writers. Other tales again range beyond England — dark parables about hunted men and night in the Carpathians. Saki can be very macabre, very unsettling — an effect that his humour only accentuates.
These are brilliant sketches of people swapping witty remarks in sparkling dining rooms: but outside the windows, the night is very dark, and when the laughter dies down you can hear noises coming from the woods…. View all 34 comments. Jun 26, Carol rated it it was amazing Shelves: short-stories , classics. It was a library book, so I thought I'd be a good citizen for a change and give someone else a chance to experience Saki's superlative writing.
I can't read more than 5 - 6 of Saki's stories in a row, but any day on which I read 5 - 6 of them sparkled a bit more for having done so. Representative of the times, as it were, and the upper classes from which his characters are drawn, but nonetheless abhorrent. I would prefer not to be surprised when I encounter them in literature, or surprise my friends, so consider yourself warned. In truth, though, these references are reasonably rare. View all 3 comments.
I do not know how popular Saki Hector Hugh Munro is nowadays. During my college days, short stories by him and O. Henry were mandatory in almost all college textbooks.
The difference between the two authors is that while O. Henry directly appeals to our emotions and the twist at the end strikes with the power of a jack-hammer, Saki is more subtle and his stories appeal to our I do not know how popular Saki Hector Hugh Munro is nowadays.
Henry directly appeals to our emotions and the twist at the end strikes with the power of a jack-hammer, Saki is more subtle and his stories appeal to our intellect. Henry can become jaded after a while. I believe it contains all of his work; I had read quite a few of them in my teens and twenties, and savouring them again along with many which were fresh to me was a rare treat.
I took this book very slowly, relishing the taste, like a single-malt whisky on a rainy evening: you get a pleasant high which stays with you for a long time.
Read the rest on my BLOG. View 1 comment. Feb 09, Lubinka Dimitrova rated it it was amazing Shelves: male-author , modern-classics , funny , life-s-too-short-for-novels , beautifully-written , the-narrator-nailed-it. Beautifully written Loved the delicate humor throughout the stories. Is there a writer mastering sarcasm as good as Saki? Watching every detail of peculiar or ordinary characters to bind them into his story telling.
The witty nature of his short stories is so enjoyable, I wish I was able to erasethem from my memory and read again and again.
This edition is like wine, enjoy in small sips, a slow and unforgettable taste of literature. Apr 11, Anthony Buckley rated it it was amazing Shelves: literature.
Cool, bitter, bitter humour. These tales belonging the genre called the "Butler's Revenge". Saki's favourite people, however, are children and domestic animals. These, like Saki himself, are imprisioned outsiders, who bite back at the dull, complacent people who control them. This was a follow-up bibliotherapy prescription for reading aloud with my husband. View 2 comments. I'm going to have to dissuade anyone from actually reading this gargantuan compendium front to back.
While it's well written, it's incredibly repetitive and the stories bleed into each other to create a dense and sludgy tread through Edwardian society as seen by a cynic. Recommended for completists and masochists only; casual readers may wish to opt for a Best Of selection instead. Oct 23, Jonathan Stroud rated it it was amazing Shelves: halloween-y-reads. Witty, elegant and twisted tales of many types. Nov 17, Tamizhmarai rated it it was amazing. Christopher Hitchens writes in an article on Saki "Wodehouse happily admitted to being influenced by Saki, and it would be interesting to know to what extent Saki was himself influenced by Wilde.
Since winning a prize for excellence in Scriptural knowledge at a preparatory school he had felt licensed to be a little more unscrupulous than the circle he moved in.
Much might surely be excused to one who in early life could give a list of seventeen trees mentioned in the Old Testament. And who else won a prize for excellence in Scripture knowledge at school? Bertie Wooster. Dec 31, Paul White rated it it was amazing. I am an Author who envies the ability of certain writers whose works tend to transcend the vagaries of time.
Here I am speaking purely from my own personal perspective with regards to books which have had a great impact on my life. One author has tickled my funny bone with such satirical wit that I cannot pass the opportunity to write this review. The author in question is He I am an Author who envies the ability of certain writers whose works tend to transcend the vagaries of time.
Munro's mother, the former Mary Frances Mercer, died in — she was killed by a runaway cow in an English country lane. Munro was killed by a sniper's bullet on November 14, in France, near Beaumont-Hamel, while sheltering in a shell crater. Among the writers involved in the Battle of the Somme were also Robert Graves, who was wounded, and A. Milne, who contacted trench fever and was sent home.
This book contains a great deal, if not all of his works. This book contains more than one hundred short stories. Many would possibly classed as flash fiction nowadays! As is the case with most Englishmen, Saki revelled in ridiculing the hypocrisies of his fellow countrymen — notably those of the well-heeled, aristocrats.
Possibly a little too dark for many Edwardian tastes. But the world changed, possibly into one which may have suited Saki better. It takes a special gift to make a reader feel the way Saki manages to do. Maybe only I really understand his warped sense of humour? The was a very enjoyable read. I really liked the writing, the form, and the characters - especially Clovis, he's basically the turn-of-the-last-century Sheldon from Big Bang Theory.
What I did not like as much were the novellas and the repetitiveness of the story structures - the 'turns' at the end became predictable, and there was often little differentiation in the types of characters he made fun of. Definitely of the same literary line as Thackery and Wilde though.
Jun 14, Lorelei rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction , short-stories. I really love this book, but it took me so long to read it Something about the stories generally made me unable to finish one and just launch into the next one, and there are a lot of stories. Some of them are so funny it hurt. I would recommend this book, but if you are like me, be sure you aren't expecting to finish it quickly. Jun 11, Isaac rated it really liked it.
At the time my mother gave this as a gift, she may or may not have seen how like this volume's central character I had already become a snippy queer , but I thank her just the same.
Saki's stories chronicle Clovis as he dishes out pre-Roald Dahl, sitcomesque lesson-teaching to the pompous elite. Aug 31, Afhb rated it it was amazing. The best stories in this collection are master-works: perfectly paced with strong characterisation and decidedly anti-establishment themes. Brilliant book which you can pick up on a whim and jump immediately into a bygone age. Dec 12, Graziano rated it really liked it Shelves: edmonton-library , my-library , audiobooks.
I merely told her with engaging simplicity that the art of life was the avoidance of the unattainable. No, thank you. I love Americans, but not when they try to talk French.
What a blessing it is that they never try to talk English. But no licence is allowed in the opposite direction. Feb 02, Priyank Chauhan rated it really liked it Shelves: fantasy-and-fiction , humour. It took me a while to read all of the stories in this collection and I think that is how they were meant to be read, four to five stories at a time. Most of the stories were humorous as they satirized the British society of their time.
Some stories were distinctly macabre. It's easy to see how these stories would later influence Wodehouse. As it is, many if Saki's stories are like a Wodehouse novel condensed into the length of a short story.
Overall, a witty and pretty humorous collection that sh It took me a while to read all of the stories in this collection and I think that is how they were meant to be read, four to five stories at a time.
Overall, a witty and pretty humorous collection that short story lovers would love. Feb 08, SK rated it it was amazing. If there is one book I want with me on that forsaken lost island, then it's this one.
I have read it cover to cover thrice already, but I find myself visiting the individual stories ever so often, they soothe my pain, bring me to laugh and feel like I have viewed something keenly fantastic that resonates so well with my sense of humour. His satire, his attention to detail and disdain for the tenets of "good" society make him a personal favourite, he's part of the trifecta of Wilde and Wodehouse s If there is one book I want with me on that forsaken lost island, then it's this one.
His satire, his attention to detail and disdain for the tenets of "good" society make him a personal favourite, he's part of the trifecta of Wilde and Wodehouse style of subversive humour. Dec 25, Maria Park rated it it was amazing Shelves: fiction. Beautiful stories that touch the soul.
Filled with Eastern mysticism, each story is a little shining light. I was given this book by an English professor at a college in Minnesota where I spent a winter. He and I shared our mutual love of poetry and prose. He gave me an old copy of this book, dedicated to "The one who came to visit and stayed. Tell me a story," said the Baroness, staring out despairingly at the rain; it was that light, apologetic sort of rain that looks as if it was going to leave off every minute and goes on for the greater part of the afternoon.
Clovis rearranged several cushions to his personal solace and satisfaction; he k Tell me a story," said the Baroness, staring out despairingly at the rain; it was that light, apologetic sort of rain that looks as if it was going to leave off every minute and goes on for the greater part of the afternoon.
Clovis rearranged several cushions to his personal solace and satisfaction; he knew that the Baroness liked her guests to be comfortable, and he thought it right to respect her wishes in that particular.
My parents had a copy of his stories so I read them when I was quite young and bought my own copy when I moved out. I found the story 'Gabriel-Ernest' incredibly scary when I first read it as a child, even though nothing much actually happens. It's all down to the atmosphere and what is implied.
The other one that really scared me, was 'The Music on the Hill' where Sylvia goes to live in the country and unfortunately manages to upset the Great God Pan.
Most of the stories however, are humorous, and are set in the upper class world of Britain before the Great War, with a lot of them featuring quite cruel practical jokes.
Saki had a dark sense of humour and a hatred of Aunts, due to being brought up by two of his aunts while his father was serving in the East. This book included some very funny tales that hadn't made it into the 'best of' collections that I have read in the past, as well as a few duds. I love Saki and it was a huge pleasure and relief to sink into these stories during a time when real life has been intruding unpleasantly and stressfully on my love of reading.
Saki was, of course, cruel, snobbish, right wing, and homosexual, so hardly a poster child for our times. But I love the way his beautifully polished prose can amuse and entertain in perfectly constructed little tales which often run to scarcely more than two or three pages. His artistry is brilliant.
My favourites are I love Saki and it was a huge pleasure and relief to sink into these stories during a time when real life has been intruding unpleasantly and stressfully on my love of reading.
In the first, a small child is eaten by a teenage werewolf, and in the second the local Anglican bishop is alleged to be conducting a pogrom against the Jews. You may ask what is so funny about a small child being eaten or the planning of a religiously inspired massacre, in which case you should read the tales and see if you laugh.
I know I did. I think Saki is funnier than P G Wodehouse because he is darker, and I think he is better than Evelyn Waugh because he is not such a shit. Chapter Decision 14, Dec Chapter Partner 10, Dec Chapter Reason 10, Nov Chapter Ready to Fight 12, Oct Chapter World-shaking 13, Sep Chapter Dragon God 14, Aug Chapter Evolution 15, Jul Chapter Sharp 38, Jun Chapter Divine Wind 18, Jun Chapter Sword of Justice 18, May Chapter Cooperation 23, Mar Chapter Open 21, Feb Chapter Hard Fighting 17, Feb Chapter Awe 21, Dec Chapter Defense 19, Dec Chapter Growth 20, Nov Chapter Wholehearted 20, Nov Chapter 22, Oct Chapter 27, Aug Chapter 24, Jul Chapter Tenhou 28, Jun Chapter 27, May Chapter 20, Apr Chapter Resolution 13, Nov Chapter 18, Mar Chapter 17, Feb Chapter 16, Jan Chapter 16, Dec Chapter 18, Dec Chapter 16, Oct Chapter 17, Oct Chapter 17, Sep Chapter 17, Jul Chapter 16, Jun Chapter 15, Jun Chapter 16, May Chapter : Rivals 17, May Chapter : Fairness 17, Mar Chapter : Encounter 17, Dec Chapter : Foresight 14, Jul Chapter : Comrades In Arms 15, Jun Chapter : Match For 5Th 15, Jun Chapter : Preparations 14, May Chapter : The Night Before 15, May Chapter : Report 15, Apr Chapter : Parents 16, Mar Chapter 15, Feb Chapter : Flash 16, Jan Chapter : Petals 16, Jan Chapter : Style 15, Jan Chapter : Chase 15, Jan Chapter 14, Jan Chapter : Going Against 15, Jan Chapter : Raging Fire 14, Jan Chapter : Appropriate Response 14, Jan Chapter : Relay 14, Jan Chapter : Darkness 14, Jan Chapter : Offense And Defense 13, Jan Chapter : Cornered Rat 13, Jan Chapter : Opportunity 13, Jan Chapter : Endurance 13, Jan Chapter : Conviction 13, Jan Chapter : Offensive 13, Jan Chapter : Countermeasure 13, Jan Chapter : Duel 13, Jan Chapter : Obligation 13, Jan Chapter : Takedown 14, Jan Chapter : Valuation 13, Jan Chapter : Cool Breeze 14, Jan Chapter 13, Jan Chapter : Majestic Air 13, Jan Chapter : Squall 13, Jan Chapter : Resistance 13, Jan Chapter : Crisis Fixed 13, Jan Chapter : Destiny 14, Jan Chapter : Swimsuits 14, Jan Chapter : Experience 13, Jan Chapter : Chinese Mahjong 13, Jan Chapter : Adjustment 13, Jan Chapter : Explosion 14, Jan Chapter : Global 14, Jan Chapter : Start 14, Jan Chapter : Dark Clouds 13, Jan Chapter 99 13, Jan Chapter 98 13, Jan Chapter 97 12, Jan Chapter 96 12, Jan Chapter 95 : Absorbing 13, Jan Chapter 94 12, Jan Chapter 93 : Welcome 13, Jan Chapter 92 12, Jan Chapter 91 12, Jan Chapter 90 12, Jan Chapter 89 12, Jan Chapter 88 12, Jan Chapter 87 12, Jan Chapter 86 12, Jan Chapter 85 12, Jan Chapter 84 12, Jan Chapter 83 12, Jan Chapter 82 12, Jan Chapter 81 12, Jan Chapter 80 : Fixed 12, Jan Chapter 79 : Fixed 12, Jan Chapter 78 12, Jan Chapter 77 12, Jan Chapter 76 12, Jan Chapter 75 12, Jan Chapter 74 12, Jan Chapter 73 12, Jan Chapter 72 12, Jan Chapter 71 12, Jan Chapter 70 13, Jan Chapter 69 13, Jan
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