Short collection of Celtic myth stories told in the form of a fireside tale. Includes well-known stuff like the one about Finn MacCooill and the salmoShort collection of Celtic myth stories told in the form of a fireside tale. Includes well-known stuff like the one about Finn MacCooill and the salmon....more
Mostly deals with the classics. Not much interest in or appreciation for genre fiction. Still, within its scope, this ain't bad for a short intro intoMostly deals with the classics. Not much interest in or appreciation for genre fiction. Still, within its scope, this ain't bad for a short intro into short stories. ...more
I'm not exactly shaking in my boots, but this was a solid collection of old-time spooky stories by the heavy-hitters of a bygone era: Poe, Bierce, IrvI'm not exactly shaking in my boots, but this was a solid collection of old-time spooky stories by the heavy-hitters of a bygone era: Poe, Bierce, Irving, Stevenson, Saki, and more....more
The Double Shadow is my first foray into Smith’s wonderfully ghastly fiction. I’m reviewing a collection of short Another successful Halloweeny read!
The Double Shadow is my first foray into Smith’s wonderfully ghastly fiction. I’m reviewing a collection of short stories that fall under this title because I can’t find an entry for the specific book I read.
The titular story was fantastic! Smith busts out his arcane thesaurus, so it was a bit stiff and a challenging read. But it was also rewarding, especially if you’re into demons. And who doesn’t love a demon? While not action-packed, the detailed descriptions are top-notch. Creepiness abounds in the best ways!
Wizards appear through the various stories, but almost always they're nothing but damn dirty necromancers! Whatever they touch with their stinking paws goes awry, the dabbling m.f.ers. Always gotta dabble...
The collection includes the long short story The Voyage of King Euvoran. This gloriously gilded tale would have been more successful if the main character wasn’t a repugnant, self-righteous lover of torture. That kinda made me not care if he succeeded in his quest. Still, it's beautifully detailed and marvelous, fantastical creatures....more
I didn't think I'd read this, so I started reading it. Then I got halfway through and realized I'd mostly likely read this. Probably it got slipped inI didn't think I'd read this, so I started reading it. Then I got halfway through and realized I'd mostly likely read this. Probably it got slipped into an anthology like a Canadian coin slips into the till. The story passed through my mind with the same import as that coin passing through your hands. You barely notice it and for all practical purposes, it's just as good as the other coins that end up jingling about in your pocket. If more closely examined and placed up against others, perhaps the value doesn't quite match up. But it's fine and hardly worth remarking upon....more
Two men kidnap a kid, but before they can ransom him the men are driven crazy by the boy's antics and adhd level of energy, and end up paying the boy'Two men kidnap a kid, but before they can ransom him the men are driven crazy by the boy's antics and adhd level of energy, and end up paying the boy's father to take him back. Good solid humor in the Twain vein. ...more
Once I got into it, I soon realized I'd read this before. Not specifically this book, but the stories within it. You see, It's deja vu all over again!
Once I got into it, I soon realized I'd read this before. Not specifically this book, but the stories within it. You see, Jeeves & the Song of Songs is also "Jeeves & the Song of Songs," which is to say it is the title of a book and the title of a story. It is also the first story in this collection, kicking off a bevy of solid stories in the Jeeves & Wooster line. Let's take a look at them!
"Jeeves & the Song of Songs" - Bertie Wooster is embroiled in an old chum's romance. Too much of the same song proves its undoing, perhaps for the best. This little number is a classic and was included in the Hugh Laurie/Stephen Fry tv version of Jeeves & Wooster.
"Indian Summer of an Uncle" - One of Bertie's uncles is about to make an ass of himself, matrimonially speaking, and Bertie's tasked with putting an end to it. This is one time where Wodehouse treads a bit rough on class distinction. It's not one of his best. Let's move on!
"The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy" - An old pal has no backbone, so Bertie hatches up a scheme to get him his just desserts. Bertie ought to know by now that it's best to let Jeeves come up with the schemes, but alas, all goes amiss and Jeeves must tidy it up in the end. I think this might be the only story in this collection which I hadn't read before. It's not bad!
"Jeeves and the Impending Doom" - One of Bertie's awful aunts covertly tries to hook him up with a job he doesn't want. A friend of Bertie's is trying to keep a job with Bertie's aunt that he doesn't like but needs to keep, and Bertie must help him keep it by keeping safe the unpleasant blighter who the aunt is trying to secure Bertie's job with. Make sense? No? Welcome to the world of Wodehouse!
"Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit" - Jeeves is looking forward to a trip to Monte Carlo. Bertie is thinking about marriage to that Wickham gal. Jeeves realizes how unsuitable the match would be well before Bertie figures it out, and goes to great lengths to make his master see the light. Jeeves inevitably saves the day in all these stories, but seldom does he long for any recompense for his extraneous efforts, aside perhaps for Bertie to dress more conservatively. It's nice to see a little personal desire out of the man.
All in all, Jeeves & the Song of Songs cobbles together a very solid set of shorts. I'm a big Jeeves & Wooster fan, so I didn't mind the reread and was happy to find at least one new tale herein. Short and sweet, this would make a good primer for the newcomer!...more
I don't always read a Christmas story this time of year, but when I do, I like it to be gushingly heartwarming, perhaps naively innocent, and if you wI don't always read a Christmas story this time of year, but when I do, I like it to be gushingly heartwarming, perhaps naively innocent, and if you want to throw a moral in there for good measure, by all means!
Treasury for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales by the Author of All Creatures Great and Small has all that and more to spare! How can it not? I mean, just look at that title!
Does this shout "Christmas" to you? Perhaps not, but at least one of the stories happens during Christmas and others have a winter-time setting. And besides, stories don't have to be about Christmas to feel like it.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to digress...
Is this real life?
I often find myself asking that whenever I read a James Herriot book.
James Alfred "Alf" Wight, aka James Herriot, wrote some lovely stories based upon his career as an animal vet in the Yorkshire Dales up there in northern England. Not all of his stories are true. Clearly in this collection of shorts at least one is a complete fabrication of his own design. However, it's also clear (to me anyhow) that most of what happens in these charming tales quite likely could have happened to a country vet and quite likely did happen to Herriot.
Why is this important? Search me, but I guess it maybe has something to do with my need to attach significance to the subjects, the animals. In all of his books there is life and death, and it's important to me that these things contain all the weight and importance they deserve.
Digression Over!
In summary, if you're looking for an uplifting read this holiday season, you can't go wrong with this one, or honestly any of Herriot's books! Don't let the "...for Children" part of the title throw you. This book is for young and old...hell, it's even for us grumpy middle-aged farts! ...more
Wow! That first short story was fantastic! Too bad the rest of this story-cycle collection of five didn't maintain that same high standard in my firstWow! That first short story was fantastic! Too bad the rest of this story-cycle collection of five didn't maintain that same high standard in my first foray in reading Kazuo Ishiguro's work.
In case you're interested, here is Wikipedia's synopsis of each story:
"Crooner" - Set in Venice, a fading American singer co-opts a Polish cafe musician into accompanying him while he serenades his wife (whose relationship is disintegrating) from a gondola.
"Come Rain or Come Shine" - In London, an expatriate EFL teacher is invited to the home of a couple whom he knew whilst at university. However the couple's tensions affect the visitor, leading to a rather awkward situation.
"Malvern Hills" - A young guitarist flees London and lack of success in the rock world to the Malvern countryside cafe owned by his sister and brother-in-law. Whilst there he encounters Swiss tourists whose behavior causes him to reflect on his own situation.
"Nocturne" - A saxophonist recuperating after plastic surgery at a Beverly Hills hotel becomes involved with a wealthy American woman (the now ex-wife of the crooner in the first story) and ends up in a rather bizarre confrontation on stage of the hotel (involving an award statuette and a cooked turkey).
"Cellists" - A Hungarian cellist falls under the spell of a fellow cellist, an apparently virtuosic American older woman, who tutors him. He later realizes that she cannot play the cello as she was so convinced of her own musical genius, no teacher ever seemed equal to it, and so rather than tarnish her gift with imperfection, she chose never to realize it at all.
I LOVED "Crooner"! It was clear from the start that Ishiguro excels at setting a scene and quickly building fairly full-formed characters, at least as full as is needed for a short. He handles mood like it's putty in the hands of an accomplished sculptor.
Some reviewer for a UK paper, I think it was The Guardian or something, said "Nocturne" was the funniest story. What the heck was this person thinking? "Nocturne" had a brief moment of humor, but it was otherwise long and lame. "Come Rain or Come Shine" was the one I found funniest. Its main character is like someone Ricky Gervias would've created and is almost as put-upon as Bertie Wooster. In fact, this particular story is very Wodehousian and quintessentially British in its dry humor.
"Malvern Hills" and "Cellists" are pretty enough in their imagery and sadness, but they don't quite come up to the mark of "Crooner".
All in all, this wasn't the best introduction to a new writer for this particular reader, but its quantity of quality was enough for me to seek out another book by Kazuo Ishiguro for a second chance.
Starting out as great as it did, after the story story I was ready to give Nocturnes 5 stars. Reading a couple more, I felt like this was a solid 4 stars. Struggling through the forth story dropped the overall score down to 3. Finishing off the book with a story that struggled to keep my attention didn't improve my opinion enough to raise it up to 4, so I'll call it 3.5 stars....more
I don't need to read anymore about well-off, upper-middle class Russian intellectuals sitting about gardens going insane. This has filled my quota, thI don't need to read anymore about well-off, upper-middle class Russian intellectuals sitting about gardens going insane. This has filled my quota, thank you! ...more
One of P.G. Wodehouse's earliest short stories and not an overly exciting or hilarious one.
Apparently Providence and the Butler was rediscovered, postOne of P.G. Wodehouse's earliest short stories and not an overly exciting or hilarious one.
Apparently Providence and the Butler was rediscovered, posthumously perhaps, in a magazine, I believe. Yes, my information on this story is sketchy, but by opinion of it is clear. It is not one of Wodehouse's best. Rather straightforward, it tells of a lord who's lost his way and a butler who remembers which way the family's backbone once twisted. The lord goes off, the butler gets uppity and makes a speech, and everything ends sort of happily ever after. Very few twists and turns. Almost no hilarity. This is a story anyone could've written.
All the same, I'm glad I read it. Why wouldn't I want to? I mean, I've read everything else of Wodehouse's I could get my hands on, so of course I'd want to read an early, unearthed work. If for no other reason, it provided a nice glimpse into the first stages of his writing career, before he'd honed his plots, characters and humor. This story is a framework, like looking at a building that's just steel girders, and some people find that interesting....more
There's deja vu and there are actual repeats. I started reading Jeeves Takes Charge and Other Stories and it felt very familiar. That happens almost eThere's deja vu and there are actual repeats. I started reading Jeeves Takes Charge and Other Stories and it felt very familiar. That happens almost every time I read a Wodehouse, so I didn't think much of it. But by the second or third stories I realized I actually had read most, if not all, of what this collection has to offer.
And what does this collection have to offer? Well, for starters it includes one of my favorite Wodehouse lines: "She fitted into my biggest armchair as if it had been built around her by someone who knew they were wearing armchairs tight about the hips that season." There are plenty such gems. Here are the contents in summary with my two cents:
"Jeeves Takes Charge" was first published magazines in the United States in 1916 and in the UK in 1923. Odd that. After all, Wodehouse was English. Its first book publication was in 1925 in Carry on, Jeeves, a good solid starter in the Jeeves/Wooster line. Anywhoodle, this particular story is the one that introduces us to the amazing Jeeves, who swoops in, revives Wooster with one of his restorative pick-me-ups and is immediately hired as Wooster's gentleman's personal gentleman. It's a great mini version of nearly all the best stories that were to come involving this dynamic duo.
"Without the Option" is the story of how Wooster and a friend get done for misdemeanors, and Wooster feels bad enough for the position he's put his friend in that he goes to great lengths and personal embarrassment to right the situation...sort of. This is an excellent example of Wodehouse's oft used masquerade plots in which a character poses as someone else with the innocent intention of doing some good. Little good ever comes of it for the character. However, it usually comes with plenty of laughs for us readers.
"The Artistic Career of Corky" is one of Wodehouse's New York-based stories in which Wooster's struggling artist friend is in love with a chorus girl and at odds with his uncle. Never a fan of the NY stories and having read and seen a tv version this one numerous times, I skipped it this time.
"The Aunt and the Sluggard" is similar to the above story, in which an artistic friend (poet this time) named Rocky, who wishes nothing more than to live a lazy life, is forced into an unpleasant labor (unpleasant to him) and Wooster takes the burden upon himself. Everything seems shipshape until.... Another NY based story I really didn't enjoy as much as Wodehouse's England-based stories.
"Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest" is about a blighted manchild being dropped into Wooster's life. It contains some excellent descriptives, especially at the start, which showcases the reason Wodehouse is much better read than seen. You don't want to miss out on Wooster's narration. This story makes me want to enter rooms with the greeting, "Hel-lo, allo-allo-allo-ALLO! What?"
"Jeeves and the Hard Boiled Egg" tells of the predicament one of Wooster's NY chums finds himself in and the clever scheme Jeeves cooks up to settle the matter. Knowing this one all too well, I skipped through it, but I can recommend it well enough. Short as it is, it packs some good punches, especially the jabs at Americans.
Once I figured out these were stories taken from another source I was ready to give it up. However, this was an audiobook (very well narrated by Alexander Spencer) and I was doing a longish drive, so why not speed down memory lane once more with some good old friends?
No One Writes to the Colonel is a prototypical nothing-happens short story in which the reader is swept up in the gorgeous writing and is more than wiNo One Writes to the Colonel is a prototypical nothing-happens short story in which the reader is swept up in the gorgeous writing and is more than willing to overlook the nothingness.
It's the same kind of beautiful nothingness as the Grand Canyon. You walk up to the edge of this magnificent hole and marvel at the void and all its intricacies, the jagged edges, the visible layers of time, and the certainty that although all you see right now is inertia, you know that at one time something of great importance flowed through here. ...more
Poe had excellent timing in the pace for The Tell-Tale Heart, setting it to the quickening beat of a increasingly nervous heartA short story classic!
Poe had excellent timing in the pace for The Tell-Tale Heart, setting it to the quickening beat of a increasingly nervous heart. (Don't you dare comment below about how "the heart" mentioned in the story is the victim's, not the narrator's!)
Countless future writers, especially tv writers needing to tie things up within a half hour, would use this story as a framework for how to wring a confession out of a perpetrator.
Unfortunately, this story might not capture the terrified hearts of readers as it once did, because today this sort of homicide is fairly common place. We've been there, done that and seen it a hundred times on the morning news. It's almost as if The Tell-Tale Heart has become a valuable suggested template on what to do if you're annoyed by your roommate. ...more
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