Review: The build-up: the drunk Wilson shooting up and menacing the town. But when faced with a situation so unexpected—the marshal has no gun because he is returning with his wife from being married—marriage? Wilson cannot comprehend it. He holsters his gun and walks off, his rage depleted.
Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. RP Warren and A Erskine. New York: Dell Books. 1954.
Review: A bank holiday at the English footraces. George and Naboth compete. George thinks he has won third prize, a sovereign. But a different name is called. Exchanging his own hat for Naboth’s bowler, George sees that no one of the would-be winner’s name has responded and proceeds to go up and claim the third prize as Mr. Ballantyne. He is awarded the sovereign.
George then returns to Naboth, re-exchanges their hats and George goes off to claim his rightful third prize. After explaining to the judges that he is the rightful winner of the third prize and after much palavering among the judges, they agree that George is the rightful winner and award him another sovereign.
Now the scene shifts to a blind beggar and his wife. Jerry Chambers, a con-man, begs on their behalf and George donates his second sovereign to the pot. Everyone is happy. The beggars who are in league with Jerry Chambers have their pot, George has his sovereign, and the girls are impressed with George’s generosity.
Much cockney language. At times almost unintelligible. Local color.
Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. RP Warren and A Erskine. New York: Dell Books. 1954.
Review: An ironic title for this outpost in the heart of Africa. Should be called the outpost of darkness. Two white men are left by their supervisor, who departs on a steamer, to organize the trading post among black African tribes. Slowly an atmosphere of fear sets in. The workers are obedient, but they obviously have little respect for the white men and their ways.
When an outlaw tribe arrives on the scene carrying guns a native who is the whites’ third in command sells the workers into slavery for huge ivory tusks. The steamer that has left the white traders is late. Hunger, exasperation and fear take over. The two white men explode into irrational behavior, hurling insults at the top of their lungs. One shoots the other, and then hangs himself, as the steamer arrives.
The effects of isolation in the “heart of darkness.”
Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. RP Warren and A Erskine. New York: Dell Books. 1954.
Review: An American artist. The peasants cash one of his checks for 30,000. The rest of the checks are blank and worthless. The illusion that these blank checks can be written by anyone and money received. To the peasants these checks are money and they are exchanged for goods and property. A booming economy develops in the village based on the worthless checks. And then the trip to town to cash in all the worthless checks. The reader can guess the rest.
Rating: *** out of *****.
Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. RP Warren and A Erskine. New York: Dell Books. 1954.
Review: Joan’s lovers are the diseased, the dying, the unfortunate. She has nothing to do with Jack---until he also is diseased and dying. Carrion watch. The style of writing is as sterile as Joan’s love.
Rating: *** Out of *****
Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. RP Warren and A Erskine. New York: Dell Books. 1954.
Review: The narrator’s father was a loser. He failed as a farmhand. He failed in the restaurant business. And he failed as an entertainer in the restaurant business. One night he tries several tricks with eggs to entertain his lone customer, a young man who had come into town to meet his father on a train that is three hours late. The tricks with the eggs do not work. Exasperated his father flings the egg at the customer who escapes. Portrait of a failure. The complete and final triumph of the egg which does not cooperate in completing the tricks.
Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. RP Warren and A Erskine. New York: Dell Books. 1954.
Review: A Polish tough kid has been busted for killing a man whom he had robbed. He tries to maintain his toughness before the tough cops who are interrogating him, but every once in a while his tough façade cracks. Seems he has killed a man with a wife and children. He has a past in sports, boxing and baseball. He had gone to a Catholic school and tries to hide his belief in God.
All of a sudden, no one cares about his tough attitude. His sense of self-importance is shattered. His final words in his cell, “ ‘I knew I’d never get to be twenty-one anyhow,’ Lefty told himself softly at last.”
Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. RP Warren and A Erskine. New York: Dell Books. 1954.
Review: In fun, over his weekly card game and a few drinks, Michael’s friends tell about the impulse to steal something from a store. Michael offers to do it. Just for fun. On a bet.
He’s caught and his life is ruined. Everyone turns on him. His wife files for divorce. His friends will not vouch for the bet, fearing the publicity will cost them their jobs. He is left thinking of the little things that had happened to him as a child when life had been cheerful and bright.
Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. RP Warren and A Erskine. New York: Dell Books. 1954.
Review: A man discovers he can walk through walls. Then he discovers he can make all sorts of mischief by doing so. He bedevils the police when they try to constrain him in jail cells and even the governor. One day he discovers a beautiful blonde who is being held captive for love. He penetrates the walls of her captivity for two glorious nights of love. On his return the second night of his enchanting relationship, he encounters resistance in the walls and can not make it through the final wall where he is entombed to this day.
Great French Short Stories. Germaine Brée. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc. 1960.
Review: “The guest” is an Arab being turned over to the authorities by a policeman from the town below. He has been brought to the isolated school house over difficult terrain in the winter. The schoolmaster has been ordered to continue to take the Arab, who has killed his cousin, to the town where the authorities will hang him.
The teacher says he will not turn him over to the authorities. Balducci, the policeman, says he must, but Daru, the school master says he will not. After the policeman leaves, Daru takes the Arab, with food and money he has given him, and offers the Arab his choice. In one direction are the authorities. In the other direction lies the Arab’s freedom. Daru leaves. Returns to find the Arab going in the direction of the authorities.
When he returns to the school house, Daru finds inscribed on the blackboard, the words, “You handed over our brother. You will pay for this.” The inscrutability of this illogical, absurd world.
Great French Short Stories. Germaine Brée. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc. 1960.
Review: Her husband of three years is sinking into dementia. His wife is filled with fear at the signs of it. She tries to identify with his condition. She loves him very much, but he is moving farther and farther away from her and reality.
“But the anguish did not leave her: a year; a winter; a springtime; a summer, the beginning of another autumn. One day his features would grow confused, his jaw would hang loose, he would half open his weeping eyes. Eve bent over Pierre’s hand and pressed her lips against it. I’ll kill you before that.”
Great French Short Stories. Germaine Brée. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc. 1960.
Review: An island in the deep sea. An uninhabited village. A lone child of twelve lives there. All alone. When ships come within sight of the island, the child disappears. No one has seen the island. The child of twelve lives there in the abandoned town. She learns there. She studies her grammar book there.
One day a tugboat goes right through the island, but the tugboat is not aware that it is crossing the island. The child tries to call “Help” but cannot. A wave tries to bring the mercy of death to her, but it cannot kill her.
That is because a sailor remembering his own twelve-year-old daughter whom he had lost has imagined her and the village in the sea and has given life to this imaginary child and town in the middle of the sea.
Great French Short Stories. Germaine Brée. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc. 1960.
