Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
This was surprisingly lame, coming from no less a literary giant than Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote these stories as if they were intended for a second-rate boy's adventure magazine. The concept of a club for people who want to committ suicide is solid and reminiscient of something Hitchcock might have come up with, but Stevenson unfortunately does very little with it. The idea itself is ripe with potential moral conundrums and dramatic possibility, but Setevenson glazes over all of that, delivering instead a typical good guy vs. bad guy story every bit as one-dimensional as a battle between Dudley Do-right and Snidely Whiplash. The book is composed of three short stories, the second and third of which really have no good reason to exist. The characters are stiff and self-congratulatory, and even the good guys all go out of their way to find trouble, never even knowing what they're getting themselves into. The hero of the story is a prince who makes all kinds of bad decisions and is saved by his sidekick, though he remains the hero throughout due to his gentlemanly demeanor. I didn't know Stevenson was even capable of such shallow, unrealistic storytelling.
I must number in the few who enjoyed this short, dark book. This is not often numbered with Stevenson's top classic work. For me, however, this is a definite classic as I define one. My three criteria for a classic are: longevity (more than 50 years old), exceptional (in one subjective way), and the creation of a new paradigm. The short story collection was published in 1878 more than 140 years ago. The collection has been reprinted and retold by disparate media over 30 times, clearly an ordinary story would not be repeated so many times and would not have created its own paradigm of a suicide club. That must have been scandalous for the time period. This book, thematically, feels new. The book tells the story of a Prince who has an assistant that travels with him to dangerous places in London. Then in the second story, the prince helps someone get rid of a dead body. The third is the final come-uppance for an assassin. I find the thought of a Suicide Club, terrifying, so for me this book is on a par with "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Terrific, horrific, and really good. You might find these on YouTube audiobooks.
A trilogy of short stories based around the suicide club. The club is only really explored in the first tale and it a pretty interesting idea. One of those ideas you might see used in an episode of the Twilight Zone, Black Mirror etc.
It doesn't really get examined as much as i would of liked. The other two stories come across as more detective style fiction. The writing is good throughout but the perspectives from which the stories are told are both a good and bad thing.
Th problem is that if your paying attention then you can tell whats going on which removes a lot of the mystery on the other hand if you weren't paying attention then things are REALLY confusing. Overall an interesting set but not as good as i was hoping given the initial setup.
I have been wanting to read Robert Louis Stevenson for sometime and I decided on The Suicide Club first because hearing it adapted on OTR (old time radio) piqued my interest and the idea of a club is astounding especially in the the 19th century. I found the basic idea of men going to the club and the luck of being killed and by whose hand being a matter of chance but Stevenson goes beyond and tells the tales of a man determined to bring the proprietor to justice, so much more adventure but there is a lot left out for the reader's speculation. Looking forward to more of his stories in the future. I did not read this edition but a Delphi collection which had but one typo mistake.
O clube dos suicidas de Robert Louis Stevenson 茅 uma trilogia de contos onde nos 茅 apresentado o rico e correto Pr铆ncipe Florizel e seu ajudante , Coronel Geraldine, 听se infiltrando em uma sociedade secreta, onde pessoas desanimadas com a vida, endividadas, com problemas sentimentais, tem a possibilidade de por meio de um jogo de cartas cometer suic铆dio , fazendo parecer que as mortes foram apenas acidentes, tudo isso sob cuidado do terr铆vel presidente do clube dos suicidas. A dupla Florizel e Geraldine , far谩 de tudo, com a ajuda de outros, para prender esse presidente maligno que cobra quarenta libras de quem quiser entrar no clube, resumindo as pessoas t锚m que pagar para morrer.
S茫o tr锚s contos interligados, contados de forma deliciosa, com um humor negro impec谩vel, com v谩rios personagens carism谩ticos que nos prendem at茅 o fim.
Birbiriyle ba臒lant谋l谋 ama birbirinden farkl谋 眉莽 hikayeden olu艧an 陌ntihar Kul眉b眉, okumas谋 keyif veren kitaplardan. 陌ntihar Kul眉b眉 fikri ve karakterler kitab谋n 莽ok ho艧 bir atmosfere sahip olmas谋na neden olmu艧, be臒enerek okudu臒um bir kitap oldu. 3.5/5
Exactly a decade before Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, Robert Louis Stevenson (best known for Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) created two characters that could well have been Sherlock and Watson. This trilogy of short stories (that all form a single narrative) is so much like Sherlock Holmes that at times I forgot I was reading about different characters. It's an enjoyable little read and as my first foray into Stevenson I enjoyed it a lot. I do wish though that he would have done more with the concept of the suicide club, which was by far the most interesting aspect of the story. I would definitely recommend it to both Stevenson fans and Sherlock Holmes fans. It really does feel like a bonus Sherlock story.
Launige Krimi-Groteske um einen allzu 眉berm眉tigen b枚hmischen F眉rsten, der sich zum Spa脽 mit seinem Adjutanten zu einem Spielklub Lebensm眉der keilen l盲sst, bei denen jeden Abend der Todeskandidat (Pik-As) und der Vollstrecker (Kreuz-As) ausgespielt werden. Am zweiten Abend zieht F眉rst Florisel die fatale Karte. Im Pariser Intermezzo wird ein Unschuldiger reingelegt, bzw. mit der Leiche des gescheiterten Liquidators des Selbstm枚rderklubs beschwert, die in einem riesigen Schrankkoffer als Diplomatengep盲ck den R眉ckweg 眉ber den Kanal antritt. Im Finale gibt es ein Duell zwischen dem Chef des Selbstm枚derklubs und dem R盲cher des Opfers des Mittelteils, ein als Sekundant ausgew盲hlter Held eines Indienfeldzugs fungiert als Erz盲hlperspektive. Den ersten beiden Erz盲hlungen h盲tte ich, trotz gewisser Oberfl盲chlichkeiten vier Sterne gegeben, weil das Erz盲hltempo stimmt und gewisse historische Verdienste nicht zu leugnen sind. Das Finale wirkt aber ziemlich hingehudelt und l盲sst mich absolut unbefriedigt. Kein Wunder, dass ich meine Erstlekt眉re vollkommen verdr盲ngt hatte.
What can I say, the Prince Florizel of Bohemia and Colonel Geraldine are the male duo I didn't know I needed or was going to love throughout the entire book, but I did. The foundation of the suicide's club seems good, it was interesting to me at all times, and I simply have to point out that if Stevenson published more books about these two majestic men I would be eternally happy... I've said it before and I'll say it again: I need a novel of 800 pages about the adventures of Florizel and Geraldine, it would be my favorite book of all times.
On the other hand, the book includes a short story by Stevenson as well called "The Body Snatcher" and I think if it had more background it would have been good, but it didn't entertain me at all, which is a shame because it showed potential馃檶馃徎
陌lk 枚yk眉 tad谋nda ilerlemese de kitab谋n b眉t眉n眉, okunas谋 bir hikaye. 脟eviri ile mi alakal谋 yoksa kitaptan m谋 kaynakl谋 bilmiyorum, biraz tutuk ilerleme var sanki. Belki de yazardan beklentimin 莽ok y眉ksek olmas谋ndan kaynakl谋d谋r. 脟眉nk眉 Define Adas谋 ve Dr. Jekyll ve Mr Hyde gibi eserlerden sonra ister istemez beklenti y眉kseliyor.
Well done me for finishing a classic in one sitting, even if it was a short story collection. But in all earnest; this was my first Stevenson book; it definitely won't be my last. A highly intriguing and enjoyable story; though I was slightly disturbed yet intrigued by it in places. Nevertheless, I look forward to reading this author once more in the future.
Is it a novel? Is it three stories? No, it's The Suicide Club! Catch it!
Prince Florizel of Behemia and Colonel Geraldine are hanging out in London when they encounter a young man with a load of tarts who wants to kill himself. They pretend they want to do the same and he introduces them to The Suicide Club. The strange menace of the club is that those who joined are too chicken to go through with it, so they draw cards each night to determine who will die and which one of them will kill them.
Our prince protagonist is incensed by the notion of the club and the way the nefarious 鈥減resident鈥� profits from misery and murder, so he determines find a way to put a stop to it all and ensure that none of the members shot web and became an hero. This task winds up complicated and our heroes pursue the president to Paris and back while his embarks on other murders.
The stories, 鈥淪tory of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts鈥�, 鈥淪tory of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk鈥�, and 鈥淭he Adventure of the Hansom Cab鈥�, each lead in with a different central character, introducing a peril which ends up leading back to our main plot. The result is not jarring and it's certainly never boring.
Florizel and Geraldine have a lot of the old world in them, immediately evidenced by the royal status and further fleshed by the concepts of debts of honor and such. They're on the side of right, and it seems they were born to it.
An odd thing about my personal experience with this story is that I'd been wanting to read it for over twenty years since I heard a radio adaptation of it when I was in high school (I'm not sure which version it was, there have been several). The radio drama actually compressed the events and included a different ending.
There are some lovely bits to this story, a good supply of intrigue, and a lovestruck American in Paris coming back to his room to find a dead body. Check it out.
The story's premise sounds better than actually reading it. The possibilities that the story's premise should explore are not so much as touched. The characters are beforehand decidedly good or evil no matter the events of the story, which I think pulls the story down more than it helps. Each of the short stories in this trilogy stands on it's own but when strung together feels more like a plot of convenience than the telling of a story- but I suppose that is the purpose of Victorian novels... Not the best story I've ever read :/
陌lk hikaye g眉zeldi. Hayattan bir 艧ekilde b谋km谋艧 ki艧iler 枚zel bir kul眉be kat谋l谋r. Kumar oynay谋p ma莽a as谋 kalan o g眉n 枚lecek ki艧i olarak se莽ilir. Hikaye b枚yle devam etse 5 y谋ld谋z verirdim. Ama sonraki ba臒lant谋l谋 iki hikaye beni bo臒du. Hi莽 de g眉zel de臒ildi.
Creo que esta antolog铆a podr铆a haber dado para mucho m谩s. El primer relato es el mejor, me gust贸 mucho, los otros dos son consecuencia de lo que pas贸 en el primero. Son entretenidos y ya est谩.
"D眉nya 眉zerinde hi莽bir 艧ey s枚z verilmi艧 bir itaat kadar edilgen ya da s枚z veren ki艧inin kendini mahk没m etti臒i 艧artlar kadar bask谋c谋 olamazd谋."
Kitab谋n arka kapa臒谋nda: "Hayattan ger莽ekten b谋kt谋ysan谋z sizi bu gece bir bulu艧maya g枚t眉rece臒im." yaz谋yordu. Bu s枚z ger莽ekten ilgi 莽ekiciydi kitab谋 sat谋n almak i莽in;)
Kitab谋n konusu ise k谋saca 艧枚yle: Prens Florizel ve Albay Geraldine farkl谋 deneyimler ya艧amak i莽in k谋l谋k de臒i艧tirmeye, halk谋n i莽ine kar谋艧arak, onlar谋n hikayelerini 枚臒renmeye karar verirler. Bir g眉n ilgin莽 bir adamla kar艧谋la艧谋rlar.Bu adam onlar谋 gizemli bir kul眉b眉n binas谋na g枚t眉r眉r. Bu kul眉b眉n 眉yeleri hayattan ve ya艧ad谋klar谋ndan usanm谋艧, 枚lmeyi istemektedirler. Kul眉b眉n kurulu艧 amac谋 ise onlar谋n bu dileklerini ger莽ekle艧tirmektir. Bunun i莽in de bir kart oyunu oynarlar ve o gece kimin 枚lece臒i , kimin ise, o 枚lmek isteyen ki艧iyi 枚ld眉rece臒i saptanmaktad谋r.
Sonra bu oyunda de臒i艧ik maceralarda kendilerini buluverirler karakterler.
Kitab谋 okudum ama beklentimin alt谋nda 莽谋kt谋 biraz. Bilemiyorum kitab谋 okurken, hayal etti臒im 莽ok heyecanl谋 bir yolculukta bulamad谋m kendimi san谋r谋m.
Kitab谋 b眉y眉k bir merakla okudum; binbir gece masallar谋nda tebdili k谋yafet gezen halife Harun Re艧id ve veziri Cafer el Belmeki'nin maceralar谋na benzer ve birbiri ile ba臒lant谋l谋 眉莽 hikaye var kitapta. Harun Re艧id yerine Bohemya Prensi Florizel, veziri yerine ise Albay Geraldine var.
Binbir Gece masallar谋ndan 枚nce okusayd谋m, daha 莽ok etkilenirdim diye d眉艧眉n眉yorum. 脺莽 hikayenin de merkezinde yer alan ana hikaye, intihar kulub眉, bana 莽ok orjinal geldi. Jack London'谋n Suikast B眉rosu kitab谋n谋 da yak谋n bir zamanda okumu艧 olmam, g眉zel ve ilgin莽 bir tesad眉f oldu benim i莽in.
Kitap okunmaya de臒er bir kitap. Herkese iyi okumalar
This is made up of three stories linked together by the main characters. The titles of the three stories are "Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts," "Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk," and "The Adventure of the Hansom Cab" These titles alone are to cool enough to read the story. This is a great story idea about a Suicide Club. Members pay their dues in order to commit suicide. The method used I found to be interesting, even if In some ways I picked apart the plot, this is a good story and worth the time.