Customer Reviews

ShrinkLits: Seventy of the World's Towering Classics Cut Down to Size

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I can only add to what others have written. Each of these "ShrinkLits" (Shrunken Literature) is unbelievably clever, but without being formulaic.

Another reviewer mentioned Beowulf. Sure, I liked the couple Danish but I laughed out loud at, "Later on as King of Geats, He performed prodigious feats. Till he met a foe too tough (Non-Beodegradable stuff)."

Or how about The Count of Monte Cristo, which ends "Tremendous wealth helps one compete. Persistence pays, revenge is sweet. The combination's hard to beat."

The Bridge of San Luis Rey - a terrible book and a worse movie - in its ShrinkLit form comes out a beautiful poem.

I don't know why Maurice Sagoff never made a bigger splash, but this one book is a winner.

A shrinklit is a short piece of humorous prose that is a very brief synopsis of a major literary piece. They were defined by the Sagoff and fifty shrinklets appear in this book. Two of the smaller examples are:

"The Communist Manifesto", by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Workers, unite!
Workers, you knight-harassed, feudal lord-ridden serfs in an earlier day;
Workers, you night-toiling vassals of bourgeois exploiters of today;
Workers, you nigh-to-death victims of class war, arise - grab the power away!
Workers, unite!

"The Raven", by Edgar Allan Poe

Raven lurches
In, perches
Over door.
Poet's bleary
Query -
"Where's Lenore?"
Creepy bird
Knows one word:
"Nevermore."

While I found the poems fun to read, if you aren't familiar with the work being referenced, then it is quite likely that the humor will be lost on you. I am not saying that you need to have read the work, but you must know the basics of the work to appreciate the references. For example, without knowing the story of Don Quixote, the poem that makes reference to windmill monsters will be incomprehensible.

This truly amusing book will take you back to your days of required reading and give you a new appreciation of these works. While not at all a replacement for these classics. Students should read these too in an effort to 'not hate' what they are reading. The cover art is funny too. Check out the picture for "Antigone"

I found an earlier version of this at a Bed and Breakfast, and had to have it when I got home. This version has 20 more shrinklits, all of which reveal a man who clearly understood both the content and the style of each of the works. Nothing like it. I bought one for every lover of literature I know.

My wife purchased a copy of this book a couple of decades ago and since then it has been used to entertain friends at parties, served as a gift for holidays and birthdays, and as audition material for the theater (the casting director nearly fell out of his chair at my recitation of Beowulf). The rhymes are consistently witty and frequently in the style of the original work which only adds to the humor. At less than $10 each, buy two since the one you loan out will most likely not come back.

ShrinkLits indeed tells the stories of literature
classics in, mostly, less than one page each of
poetry. It made me laugh many times and some of
rhymes live on in my memory. Don't miss the
LOLITA or the HOBBIT! I love this book.

My junior English teacher had us do this assignment, and I loved it. I was so thrilled to find the original book that she used to create the assignment. And since "music intelligence" is one way people learn, putting classic lit into poetry form helps a lot of students to remember the works.

I wish I had had this about forty years ago when I was a high-school student! Just kidding, but this strictly-for-fun little volume does not disappoint by cutting the chaff to get to the kernel at the heart of the matter.

This book is FUN!

Here's a test:

"Monster Grendel's taste is plainish.
Breakfast? Just a couple Danish"

If you got the joke in the rhymed couplet above, you will thoroughly enjoy this small book. It will surely amuse anyone who has both love for the classics and a sense of humor.

Its condensed and witty renditions ofttimes shine new light on old works. It's a fine little gift for the person who has read everything!

The author is more concerned with the cute little rhyme than in being true to the story. Poor quality printing leaves the colours smeared. Very bad value...