The Devastating Boys and Other Stories [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 1972

From the VIRAGO MODERN CLASSICS series, a collection of short stories from this author, first published in 1972.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 179 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1st American edition (April 28, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670270679
• ISBN-13: 978-0670270675
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,459,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars short stories from modern English novelist, October 11, 2001

By 

Pamela (Dubuque, IA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devastating Boys (Virago Modern Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Elizabeth Taylor (1912-1975) was an English novelist whose work was popular but of uneven quality. I think that her absolutely best novel is _Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont_, a touching portrait of an elderly woman in shrinking circumstances.

Taylor had a wry and sometimes morbid and menacing sense of humor. The title story from this collection is about an English couple who take in two little underprivileged black boys for a few weeks in the summer. They wreak havoc on the house, but when they leave, the house has become empty and listless.

Taylor's stories are created out of ordinary situations turned haunting. "Crepes Flambees" is set in an exotic locale and touches upon the integration of two cultures. The character Habib lives a life of pretense in order to gain acceptance from his two English acquaintances. His real self/life/home remains hidden, its existence uncertain.

Like many of the stories here, the ending is modern and inconclusive. Some readers may enjoy the indecisive endings. Without dramatic action, these stories tend to be more subtle capture of moments in time.