William Sydney Porter (1862–1910), better known as O. Henry, led a life similar to those of his own fictional characters. Convicted of embezzlement, he drew inspiration from his prison experiences. This volume includes "The Ransom of Red Chief," "The Last Leaf," the classic, "The Gift of the Magi" and 13 more.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Master of irony,
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This review is from: Best Short Stories (Dover Large Print Classics) (Paperback)
This presents 16 of O. Henry's hundreds of stories from 1903-1910. The lynchpin of this collection is the 1906 The Gift of the Magi, where a couple realizes what the most valuable gifts are. The story (Like the Three Magi of the bible) centers on three valuables: Jim's gold watch, Della's hair, and the love Jim and Della share. O. Henry's stories are remarkable I that they are both set clearly set in the early 1900's and cities but seem timeless. Perhaps no story represents more than "The Last Leaf", when Pneumonia might take a child's life, but the resolution is timeless. One of the most fun stories us the 1910 The Ransom of Red Chief, about the kidnap of a little hellion. The "Retrieved Reformation", is perhaps the story with the happiest ending, about a reformed bank robber. If I were to teach a class on Irony, it would include this collection, some Kierkegaard, and perhaps some game theory.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For the stories, terrific. For the footnotes, awful.,
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This review is from: Best Short Stories (Dover Large Print Classics) (Paperback)
This edition contains a subset of O. Henry's massive collection of short stories, organized loosely around genres and settings (New York City, the untamed West, grifters and con men, etc.) The stories offer delight on a few levels: O Henry can just flat-out tell a story, and even if you anticipate the ending, he can often fool you; his work is set in a time long since past, so the historical elements give the reader a glimpse into society and environs of his era; his stories are short, so you've not invested a large amount of time here, and you can grab a few good stories while the kids play for awhile (in my case).
Where this book falls down is the footnotes and editorial comments in the back. I am not a fan of appendices and back matter content; I despise flipping through a book and would rather read marginalia or footnotes. However, the footnoting is usually condescendingly simple. If you're even somewhat college-educated, you'll be insulted by what the compilation editor feels the average reader would not know. In some cases, what might have been assisted by a footnote goes largely unexplained. To add some semblance of value to a compilation, either treat the reader to insights they would not ordinarily have -- explaining the origin of some turn-of-the-century songs is a good example of this -- or put together a nice "Related Reading" list to explore the continuum. Instead, the compilation editor feels that I might not know who Sisyphus is, or what persona non grata means. Ineffectual help that smacks of condescension or ignorance. So, four stars for the story content. Minus a star for the non-help. --#
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Forgotten Pleasures,
By Toni Mulholland (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Best Short Stories (Dover Large Print Classics) (Paperback)
Patrick here:
I'd forgotten how tasty O Henry is. I've dropped the book in front of my wife a half-dozen times. Heh. Just after she bought it for me!
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