An original collection of irreverent fables that have unfortunately become rather dated, Richard Garnett's The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales relies on the nuances of a Classical education that people today just won't have. His stories here – written initially for his own amusement rather than for publication – roll around happily in a mythical mud-pile of Greek myths, Middle Eastern and ecclesiastical motifs, and Eastern theology. From these, Garnett produces a series of his own tales each about 10 pages long, most of which deliver a didactic moral with a fable-like delivery. Think Aesop's Fables with a target audience of Oxford dons.

Normally I would be all for this (though I'm no Oxford don) but, while they're capable enough, Garnett's tales failed to really charm me. It might be the writing, which is very pendulous and conservative; a Victorian style which comes across as quite dull to a modern reader. It might be the storytelling, which is limited; Garnett relies on that stale archetypal delivery of a classic myth rather than a lighter touch that would better bring out his evident humour and mischievous iconoclasm. The result is a hard-baked book that frustrates rather than excites; a book of quality and erudition that can provoke genuine admiration but, for this reader at least, little love. ( )

Se trata de una serie de cuentos fantásticos a la manera de los apólogos de Luciano donde el apacible erudito victoriano, el «ratón de biblioteca en el buen sentido del término» (como le definió T. E. Lawrence), se destapa con un humor corrosivo y una crueldad deliciosamente implacable para ofrecer una nueva y sorprendente interpretación de ciertos episodios históricos o mitológicos que dejan abundante margen a la especulación y se prestan a un tratamiento paródico cargado de ironía y mordacidad.

Erudite and humorous! Good read. ( )

Wonderful witty tales of the post-classical and medieval world by Dr Garnett of the British Museum Reading Room; foreword by TE Lawrence (of Arabia).

Read about ¾ of the book ( )