Reviews

50 Great Short Stories by Virginia Woolf, Edmund Wilson, Arthur Schnitzler, Robert M. Coates, Ernest Hemingway, W. Somerset Maugham, O. Henry, Robert Louis Stevenson, Frank O'Connor, Carson McCullers, Alexander Sergeievitch Poushkin, William Saroryan, Stephen Vincent Benet, Wilbur Daniel Steele, E.B. White, Henry James, Irwin Shaw, Dorothy Parker, John O’Hara, Sylvia Townsend Warner, James Joyce, George Milburn, Harry Gideon Wells, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Milton Crane, V. S. Pritchett, Joseph Conrad, H.L. Mencken, John Steinbeck, Edgar Allan Poe, James Thurber, Francis Steegmuller, John Collier, H. H. Munro, Edith Wharton, Clarence Day, Katherine Anne Porter, Max Beerbohm, Rudyard Kipling, Aldous Huxley, Guy de Maupassant, E.M. Forster, Flannery O'Connor, Anton Chekhov, Anatole France, Shirley Jackson, William Faulkner, Katherine Mansfield, Ring Lardner, Lord Dunsany, Thomas Wolfe

shanviolinlove's review

4.0

Some of these stories were truly "great." I will be forever indebted to Milton Crane for introducing me to the expansive imaginations of Thomas Wolfe, John Collier, and Shirley Jackson, and for re-visiting old favorites like E.M. Forster and Alexander Pushkin.

This was the first book I purchased as a married woman. It has traveled with me to three different states and two different countries. I almost regretted finishing it, but I'll be happy to return to any given story some slow afternoon and just dive into Maupassant, Poe, or Woolf.

denidoriana's review

most of these stories are really boring and have no point or context.

wilde_read's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

3.0

I found some selections "unreadable", but overall it was a good book to have on my lunch breaks.

brutusbloch's review

slow-paced

2.75

It took a month for me to read this book. In other words it put me in a reading slump. Def. some good stories in there though

sapphirelain's review

The most vapid short story I’ve ever read. If that’s the one they chose for the beginning I can’t even imagine the rest

librophil's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

4.0

maryam_bookstitch's review

relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

zoes_human's review

4.0

What a wonderful collection of short stories!

While all the stories might be considered classics, there was quite a range. Stories to make you think about life and stories to make you laugh. There are tales of horror (Poe), alternate history, and speculative fiction (not sci-fi really, think along the lines of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery").

Among the classics I had previously read, I was delighted to find both unfamiliar stories by familiar authors and unfamiliar stories by unfamiliar authors that I intend to read more of.

While I enjoyed every story, my favorites were "The Other Side of the Hedge" by E.M Forster, "Putois" by Anatole France, "The Schartz-Metterklume Method" by "Saki" (H.H. Munro), and "The Chaser" by John Collier (the final story and a great way to end a book).

janeeyre8's review

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

necessarilyhanna's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

I really thorouhly enjoyed this collection of stories for the glimpse of classic literature it gave me. Did i over the top love all the stories? No. Did i find interesting characters, plot-twists and themes that made me think about society and thr human experience? Yes. And I found some strong favourites of whom i definetly want to check out the authors other work.