boris's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
anxiousreader's review against another edition
3.5
some stories I adored, others i didn't really care for. my favourite must be the fisherman and his soul!
trashpigeon's review against another edition
4.0
The shortstorys and tales at the beginning were amazing!!!😍 but at the second half of the book, the storys became longer and I sometimes struggled to follow them..
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
So great to re-read (or in this case, re-listen largely to Derek Jacobi) to these great stories, it is painful that he did not write more of them.
5/15/2011
The striking thing about Oscar Wilde's fairy tales is that they are timeless, universal, and yet completely original. In contrast, his other stories perfectly capture a particular segment of English society at a particular point in time as observed by Oscar Wilde. I don't remember reading the prose poems before, they might not have been in the collection I had previously read, but they are also outstanding. Overall, a perfect delight to read from beginning to end.
5/15/2011
The striking thing about Oscar Wilde's fairy tales is that they are timeless, universal, and yet completely original. In contrast, his other stories perfectly capture a particular segment of English society at a particular point in time as observed by Oscar Wilde. I don't remember reading the prose poems before, they might not have been in the collection I had previously read, but they are also outstanding. Overall, a perfect delight to read from beginning to end.
krystalllllllllllll's review against another edition
3.0
(3.5 stars) after the almost ten months that have passed since i began reading this collection i think i finally need to mark it as one that i won’t finish.
it’s definitely a personal issue that i couldn’t, my attention span is terrible and i can’t focus on one thing for too long, and this collection is VERY much the same thing over and over again. but that thing is great!!! these stories are fantastic. beautiful and pure and self-indulgent and magical and lovely. “the happy prince” made me literally put down the book for a minute after reading because it was so wonderful and i needed time to recover. the stories that i did read were so much fun, the fact that i didn’t finish it is absolutely not a testament to the writing itself but simply the volume of stories and the time each one took to read.
i loved the way wilde didn’t choose humans to be the focal point of most of the stories, instead writing about nature and animals, creating these adorable characters and storylines with the purest voice ever.
oscar wilde is just so wonderful, i don’t think it’s possible for me to dislike anything he writes. the intertextuality between this collection and his other work was fascinating, being able to see the particular morals and ideas that remain consistent across them really speak volumes about wilde’s character and opinions himself.
i wish i could have finished the entire thing, but short stories are already sort of “not my thing” and a 320 page book of short stories with almost identical themes and an extremely flowery writing style is just not for me. if you’re a casual reader who would be able to read one short story at a time, slowly, whenever you felt the urge, then you’d probably love working your way through this collection. god i wish that were me.
it’s definitely a personal issue that i couldn’t, my attention span is terrible and i can’t focus on one thing for too long, and this collection is VERY much the same thing over and over again. but that thing is great!!! these stories are fantastic. beautiful and pure and self-indulgent and magical and lovely. “the happy prince” made me literally put down the book for a minute after reading because it was so wonderful and i needed time to recover. the stories that i did read were so much fun, the fact that i didn’t finish it is absolutely not a testament to the writing itself but simply the volume of stories and the time each one took to read.
i loved the way wilde didn’t choose humans to be the focal point of most of the stories, instead writing about nature and animals, creating these adorable characters and storylines with the purest voice ever.
oscar wilde is just so wonderful, i don’t think it’s possible for me to dislike anything he writes. the intertextuality between this collection and his other work was fascinating, being able to see the particular morals and ideas that remain consistent across them really speak volumes about wilde’s character and opinions himself.
i wish i could have finished the entire thing, but short stories are already sort of “not my thing” and a 320 page book of short stories with almost identical themes and an extremely flowery writing style is just not for me. if you’re a casual reader who would be able to read one short story at a time, slowly, whenever you felt the urge, then you’d probably love working your way through this collection. god i wish that were me.
kieralesley's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful!
All of these felt like classics reading them, like old fables that you learn by heart so you've got a story up your sleeve when you're asked to tell one. They're all well crafted and often fun, with strong moral commentary and a sense of irony. The culture is old and different, but I didn't find myself needing to look at the explanatory notes at all, because the stories were about people and attitudes which don't get lost over time.
I liked all everything here except The Portrait of Mr W.H. - because I've never really gotten the obsession with Shakespeare's sonnets conspiracies - and the prose poems at the end didn't do much for me. A really wonderful read.
All of these felt like classics reading them, like old fables that you learn by heart so you've got a story up your sleeve when you're asked to tell one. They're all well crafted and often fun, with strong moral commentary and a sense of irony. The culture is old and different, but I didn't find myself needing to look at the explanatory notes at all, because the stories were about people and attitudes which don't get lost over time.
I liked all everything here except The Portrait of Mr W.H. - because I've never really gotten the obsession with Shakespeare's sonnets conspiracies - and the prose poems at the end didn't do much for me. A really wonderful read.
seaweedbrains's review against another edition
i haven't read all of the short stories tbh but ive read a fair share and i didnt want to dnf the book sooooo
milksop's review against another edition
4.0
Some great ones, and some that were just okay. Lord Arthur Saville's Crime was my personal favourite!