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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Book For Short Story Lovers,
By
This review is from: The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories (Paperback)
As someone who writes short stories all I can say is that I wish I could write like O. Henry! This wonderful little book cannot be beaten for value and O. Henry cannot be beaten for his narrative skill. There are some truly wonderful stories in this Dover Thrift Edition, including some favourites of mine: "The Green Door", "After Twenty Years", "The Last Leaf", "The Voice of the City", "While the Auto Waits", "A Municipal Report", "The Ransom of Red Chief" and "Makes the Whole World Kin".O. Henry, born William Sidney Porter in North Carolina in 1862, had a mastery of the English language but he does not flaunt his lexicon as some great and not-so-great authors are wont to do, instead O. Henry writes with his tongue firmly in cheek and every now and then he throws you a curve ball that sends you running for your dictionary. His words, his humour and his insight into human nature all combine to produce stories that are concise illustrations of the quirkiness of life. His stories will leave you laughing, they will leave you shaking your head and they will leave you in awe of his skill as a wordsmith. If you are a fan of short stories, you can't go wrong with this gem of a book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sixteen gems from a master storyteller,
By
This review is from: The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories (Paperback)
"The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories" brings together 16 pieces by O. Henry. The stories in this collection are taken from 8 of O. Henry's books; the original volumes have publication dates ranging from 1906 to 1911. This book includes a short introductory note on the colorful life and career of the author, who lived from 1862 to 1910.I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. O. Henry writes about criminals, dreamers, artists, lovers, and lost souls. Many of these stories have a New York City setting--he really captures the energy and color of the city. There are also a Western story ("The Pimienta Pancakes"), a Southern Gothic tale ("A Municipal Report"), a story set primarily in a small town in Arkansas ("A Retrieved Reformation"), and a story set in rural Alabama ("The Ransom of Red Chief"). If you like stories with "twist" endings, you will probably like this collection. The book as a whole is a lot of fun--full of life and charm. Some of the stories may strike contemporary readers as corny, but I found each tale to be an enjoyable gem of storytelling. The book is rich in irony, with some really funny scenes. O. Henry tells stories of love, justice, deception, sacrifice, and heroism. He makes some intriguing creative choices; this is clearly the work of a master in total command of the short story genre. His prose style is very readable and engaging, with touches of baroque elegance.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Introductory Compilation,
By Craig Clarke "Somebody Dies" (New England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories (Paperback)
For my money, this Dover edition is the perfect introduction to the works of O. Henry. It contains several of his best stories in an order that is not jarring, considering they come from different collections.I am a writer of short stories, and there is no better practitioner of the art than O. Henry. Perhaps in today's world, with the New Yorker style being touted as *the* way to write short stories, O. Henry is scoffed at. But, if you look close, Henry's stories have one thing those don't--an ending. In fact, O. Henry stories are famous for their endings. Often called "twist" endings, they show the inherent unpredictability of life. What is often missed, however, is Henry's knack for characterization, his evocative use of setting and description, and his readability. I put O. Henry up there with other short story writers like Flannery O'Connor and John Updike. So, start with the Dover edition and if you find that you, too, love the work of O. Henry then graduate to a more comprehensive collection. And if not, hey, you're not out much money, right?
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