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Indlæser... The Four Million (1906)af O. Henry
Indlæser...
Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. A collection of 25 O. Henry stories, including Gift of the Magi, set almost entirely among those barely surviving in the rooming houses of New York. Certain racist elements are noticeable, and some of the slang has not been broadcast to posterity, but for the most part these short stories reliably deliver the surprise endings for which O. Henry is best known. ( ) "The Four Million" is O. Henry's second collection of short stories, one published in 1906. It includes some of his best- known (and most widely- reprinted) works, including "Gift of the Magi" (arguably his best story), and "The Cop and the Anthem." The stories all focus on life in New York City at the previous turn of the century. They feature shop girls, hoboes, cops on the beat, cabbys, earnest young men, lonely young women, and other ordinary people making their way in the big city at a time when horse-drawn carriages were the main means of transportation. The collection's title is explained in the Preface: "Not long ago some one invented the assertion that there were only "Four Hundred" people in New York City who were really worth noticing. But a wiser man has arisen -- the census taker -- and his larger estimate of human interest has been preferred in marking out the field of these little stories of the "Four Million". I found these stories to be enchanting, despite the passing of more than a century. Many focus on young love -- or the absence thereof; others make evident the difficult lives of the young men and women who are but one step above poverty; and all treat their subjects with empathy and compassion. Some, but not all, have O' Henry's trademark ironic or surprising ending. A few will challenge the reader with local dialect that needs to be deciphered; and the characterization of ethnic Italians in two stories marks them as period pieces. In addition to "Gift of the Magi" and "The Cop and the Anthem," others that I found especially good include the following: "Mammon and the Archer," "The Coming-Out of Maggie," "The Love-Philtre of Ikey Schoenstein," "An Unfinished Story," "After Twenty Years," and "By Courier." A complete listing of the 25 stories follows. the numbers of asterisks represent ratings for those that (in my view)stood out: "Tobin's Palm" 5* "The Gift of the Magi" 2* "A Cosmopolite in a Cafe" "Between Rounds" "The Skylight Room' "A Service of Love" 3* "The Coming-Out of Maggie" "Man About Town" 4* "The Cop and the Anthem" "An Adjustment of Nature" "Memoirs of a Yellow Dog" 3* "The Love-Philtre of Ikey Schoenstein" 4* "Mammon and the Archer" "Springtime à la Carte" "The Green Door" "From the Cabby's Seat" 3* "An Unfinished Story" "The Caliph, Cupid and the Clock" "Sisters of the Golden Circle" "The Romance of a Busy Broker" 3* "After Twenty Years" 2* "Lost on Dress Parade" 3* "By Courier" "The Furnished Room" "The Brief Debut of Tildy" ingen anmeldelser | tilføj en anmeldelse
Tilhører ForlagsserienAirmont Classics (CL25) Amstelboeken (117-118) Pocket Books (65) Westvaco American Classics (1960)
Classic Literature.
Fiction.
Short Stories.
HTML: One of O. Henry's most critically lauded collections of short stories, The Four Million homes in on the inhabitants of New York City. While many authors of the era focused exclusively on the denizens of the upper classes, O. Henry set out to chronicle the lives of those at every point on the socioeconomic spectrum. Packed with stirring stories about salt-of-the-earth men and women, The Four Million is a richly rewarding read. .Ingen biblioteksbeskrivelser fundet. |
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Google Books — Indlæser... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.0108Literature English (North America) American fiction By type Short fictionLC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit:
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