Last Tales [Paperback]

Isak Dinesen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 3, 1991

Last Tales is a collection of twelve of the last tales that Isak Dinesen wrote before her death in 1962. They include seven tales from Albondocani, a projected novel that was never completed; "The Caryatids," an unfinished Gothic tale of a couple bedeviled by an old letter and a gypsy's spell; and three tales of winter, including "Converse at Night in Copenhagen," a drunken, all-night conversation between a boy-king, a prostitute, and a poor young poet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The dozen stories in this...collection may be the literary testament of one of the most skilled but least prolific writers of the twentieth century.... The characters are large, heroic figures and they are brought to earth with a resounding crash. Such men and women are rare in contemporary fiction: the art to make them live vitally...as Dinesen does...is rarer still." -- Time

"A writer with a powerful imagination and a shrewd intelligence."

-- The New York Times Book Review

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Danish

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (December 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679736409
• ISBN-13: 978-0679736400
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Last works of a master writer, October 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Last Tales (Paperback)

More fictional than Out of Africa, more along the lines of Babette's Feast. Stories are set throughout Europe, sometimes in locales only hinted at through the character's names. Dinesen reminds me of the sudden twists in Borges or Edith Wharton's short stories. 340 pages, 12 stories.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Tales By A Great Storyteller, May 28, 2008

By 

Mr. Nowhere (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Last Tales (Paperback)

Old-fashioned, elegant entertainment and first-rate literature in the bargain. These stories have the magic of fairytales (for grown-ups) and the wisdom of great art.