Customer Reviews

The Complete Saki (Penguin Twentieth-century Classics)

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Saki (H.H. Munro, 1870-1916) is unique. His mise-en-scène is the world of P.G. Wodehouse, with its Edwardian country houses and formidable noblewomen. On the other hand, his septic view of human nature is closer to that of Ambrose Bierce, or Juvenal.

His protagonists - not really heroes - are typically youthful scapegraces, idlers, and dandies. Self-absorbed and perverse, they may come to bad ends, like Comus Bassington. Despite, or perhaps because, of their character defects, they make gorgeous epigrammatic observations, worldly beyond their years, on human nature: "You needn't tell me that a man who doesn't love oysters and asparagus and good wine has got a soul, or a stomach either. He's simply got the instinct for being unhappy highly developed." "People may say what they like about the decay of Christianity; the religious system that produced green Chartreuse can never really die." "Waldo is the sort of person who would be immensely improved by death."

Saki is politically incorrect. Like W.S. Gilbert, he lampooned suffragettes; this has led some to call him "misogynistic." His Jewish characters are not always portrayed in a flattering light; this has led some to call him "anti-Semitic." Earnest folk full of impractical good intentions for the uplift of humanity got the fullest dose of his venom. In "The Toys of Peace," children brought up by insufferably and sanctimoniously progressive parents who refuse to give them "warlike" playthings nonetheless improvise violent and destructive games. In "Filboid Studge" he describes a "health food" fad that succeeds wildly on the assumption that if it tastes disgusting, it must be good for you. Saki would have revelled in the gruesome irony of a recent news account about an "animal rights" protestor mauled at Yellowstone by a grizzly. He was no friend to the puritan, the do-gooder, and the reformer; critics accordingly tag him "reactionary."

Bizarre scenarios abound. Pet hyænas, werewolf boys, riotous young women mistaken for newly-hired governesses, exploding babies, and other violent plots and twisted themes are related in spare narrative, often with absurdity at the end. Evelyn Waugh followed Saki's lead in such novels as "Black Mischief" and "A Handful of Dust." But if these Waugh novels might be described as resembling minor Mozart symphonies, Saki's tales are more like Scarlatti sonatas: short, dense with information, virtuosic, and perfect things of their kind. The taste for them is perhaps an acquired one, but it is easy to acquire.

"Never," said Reginald, "be a pioneer. It's the early Christian that gets the fattest lion."

Saki, in his own way, was a pioneer.

I heard these stories while I was growing up, as one parent or the other was reading them. You keep finding delightful lines that you want to read out to anyone in the same room.

Like one of his characters, Saki can "say horrible things in a matter-of-fact way, and matter-of-fact things in a horrible way." His descriptions of Edwardian England are hilarious, and he is at his best when describing a child or young man who sees through, and punctures all the stuffiness with wit:

"After all," said the Duchess, "there are certain things you can't get away from. Right and wrong, good conduct and moral rectitude, have certain well-defined limits." "So, for the matter of that," replied Reginald, "has the Russian Empire. The trouble is that the limits are not always in the same place."

"Of course," she resumed combatively, "it's the prevailing fashion to believe in perpetual change and mutability, and all that sort of thing, and to say that we are all merely an improved form of primeval ape -- of course you subscribe to that doctrine?" "I think it decidedly premature; in most people I know the process is far from complete."

In "The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope", the gossipers are hilariously mistaken about his secret - which you will not guess. When Laura defends her husband, she is told, "That's different -- you've sworn to love, honour, and endure him. I haven't." The predicament of the Lost Sanjak, once it's pointed out to you, will seem dreadfully possible.

You will laugh out loud; you will re-read your favorite lines, and you will wear out this book. I'm on my third copy.

No one writes as Saki did. The only writers even vaguely similar are Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and such columnists as Russell Baker and Maureen Dowd. He is a true genius in compression, wild imagination, wicked humor. In virtually each line, there is a twist, an extraordinary turn of phrase. I imagine the Clovis and Reginald stories being read by John Gielgud or Rex Harrison in high dudgeon. His stories with surprise endings are simply better and more sophisticated than O. Henry. He is a true master of the extreme short story genre that he seems to have created (far superior to say, Bruce Jay Friedman whose work I do like). I haven't read A.J. Liebling or S.J. Perelman, but cannot imagine the exquisite touch of Saki. They are a true joy - each little story a gem of 3-7 pages. Have fun.

I never tire of Saki/HH Munro (1870-1916). His brilliant short stories pack so much in so few pages and usually have wonderful twists or surprises. They are timeless, but take no time to devour. The joy of this collection is that, with a glance at the Table of Contents (for length), you can pretty much find a tale you will be able read in one sitting, no matter how much or little time you might have available. Each time you pick up the book, you will be amused and entertained. Favorites will most likely change as you read new stories, novelettes and plays. And there are many great bedtime stories for young and old (but read them yourself before sharing with little ones -- some may seem rather scary and/or innapropriate for them, though many others are probably fine for anyone - let each care-giver decide for themselves!). I recall "The Open Window" was my introduction to Saki, and that was in my third grade reader (so I guess I was about eight or so), and I thereafter often took out his works from the library, at least until just after college. Nearly thirty years later, I now have the complete collection to enjoy, and even those tales I had read before, still remain as fresh as ever.

Ah, Saki. I am currently purchasing my third copy of this Complete Works edition, and I highly doubt this will be the last. Saki is the sort of author where, once you identify a person who would appreciate his humor, it's impossible to keep yourself from going out and getting them a collection of his stories, or giving them your current copy and having to go out and buying a new one.

At his best (his short stories) he is cutting, incisive, yet just compassionate enough with his subjects to keep them human. Whether he is deconstructing turn-of-the-century English foibles in "Tobermory" (the most frequently anthologized of his short stories), where a cat learns to speak and proceeds to spill the secrets of all members of the previously uneventful dinner party, or simply building up to a plot-twist conclusion that leaves you shaking your head and laughing (as in "The Open Window"), each of his stories is a quick read that you'll probably find yourself re-reading soon afterwards.

His novels (also included here) are worth reading if you love the short stories, but don't have quite the same verve. "The Unbearable Bassington" is the strongest, and basically takes the archetypal Saki male lead (other examples being Reginald and Clovis Sangrail) and develops him over a full short novel - the moments of greatness that are frequent in his short story are a bit more spread out here, probably a natural consequence of the greater length.

And finally, we have his plays. These are, in comparison to his short stories, quite weak - the characters aren't memorable, the dialogue isn't credible, and the conclusions aren't surprising and/or satisfying. Their inclusion here seems to be more for completeness than anything else.

Overall, this is (as the title says) pretty much all the Saki you could ask for, except perhaps his Russian history book published still under his real name (H. H. Munro) - hardly a glaring omission. Read a few of his stories online and, if they catch your attention, this book will become your new nightstand companion.

If I could imagine Saki writing for the present day, he'd probably be a sitcom writer for 'Frasier'. Oh, to make jolly good fun of the nobility, the upper-class, the 'idle' rich, is a delectable, sinful treat you'd indulge in time and time again. And the veiled insults his characters heap onto its hapless victims? They are meant to be quoted, appraised, and collected -- like jewels for its gem-like execution. My favorite story would have to be the "The Schartz-Metterklume Method" -- everything else comes a very close second.

The short stories of Saki are brilliantly written, exercises in prose art. Most stories are short and intricate pieces, and often _very_ humorous. The stories that feature Reginald and Clovis are among the funniest; other stories ('the mappined life') are almost gruesome in their ferosity and intensity. It is a real shame that the author did not make it through World War I, he could have written so many more fine stories. As it is, we will have to do with the 130+ stories in this book, which I can read over and over. Recommended to the extreme.

If you like your reading to be effervescent with a bit of vinegar thrown in for effect, look no further. Saki is hilarious at his best--which is most of the time. His stories of the misadventures of his alter-ego Reginald are unsurpassed.

"The Open Window" is here-it is considered by Saki aficionados to be his best story and who am I to argue. On first reading, it has the same effect as a pail of ice water - a shock to the system, but bracing!

And for the perfect practical joke, described deliciously, do read, "Reginald's Christmas Revel." You will never look at a paper bag in quite the same way, thereafter.

Sadly, his life was cut short by the Great War. One of his own bon mots will say it all: "To die before being painted by Sargent is to go to heaven prematurely." Amen.

Saki is good, you may not like his politics, but he is good. He is anti-altruistic, through and through, as he despises do gooders as self-serving and self-martyring and having no real good in mind. The "good" lays in good food, done by a good cook. Saki, interestingly, mocks futurism (the art form of Italian fascism) and Wagnerians and Nietzschians (the not unjustly adopted composer and unjustly misconstrued philosophical guru of the Nazis). He was also anti-suffragette and one of his stories is pathetic in his denounciations of them; but he was not misogynist as he has many smart female charaters in his stories. He is a joy to read, maybe the antithesis of Charles Dickens who one could claim is way too verbose and a dreamer on the virtues of strangers (although I like Dickens), Saki is concise and holds little value in the supposed goodness of strangers. One of the books one should read in their late teens. His novels are interesting and moderately entertaining but lack a sense of completion and posssibly nimbus a show at some limit to his depth. Of his plays only the last in the book was decent.

The collected works of Saki should be required reading for any P.G. Wodehouse fan who might like a little savory to go with the sweet. Both authors are masters at precise, witty writing that captures spirit of the age in which they wrote. Saki is like Wodehouse's evil twin brother; or is Wodehouse Saki's softer side?
I 'discovered' Saki's writing when I was very young and before I 'discovered' P.G. Wodehouse. Somehow, they have always seemed to be two sides of the same coin. I can only be saddened that Saki's output was not as voluminous. Unfortunately, H.H. Munro did not survive World War I.
Owning this collection would be the best possible way to add immeasurably to your library. Being able to give copies to friends, so that they may enjoy this somewhat forgotten writer, is one of the joys in life.