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Beasts and Super-Beasts
Beasts and Superbeasts is a collection of short stories, written by Saki (the literary pseudonym of Hector Hugh Munro) and first published in 1914. The title parodies that of George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman.
Along with The Chronicles of Clovis, Beasts and Superbeasts is one of Saki's best-known works. It was his final collection of stories before his death in World War I, and several of its stories, in particular "The Open Window", are reprinted frequently in anthologies.
The book contains the following stories:
"The She-Wolf"
"Laura"
"The Boar-Pig"
"The Brogue"
"The Hen"
"The Open Window"
"The Treasure-Ship"
"The Cobweb"
"The Lull"
"The Unkindest Blow"
"The Romancers"
"The Schartz-Metterklume Method"
"The Seventh Pullet"
"The Blind Spot"
"Dusk"
"A Touch of Realism"
"Cousin Teresa"
"The Yarkand Manner"
"The Byzantine Omelette"
"The Feast of Nemesis"
"The Dreamer"
"The Quince Tree"
"The Forbidden Buzzards"
"The Stake"
"Clovis on Parental Responsibilities"
"A Holiday Task"
"The Stalled Ox"
"The Story-Teller"
"A Defensive Diamond"
"The Elk"
"Down Pens"
"The Name-Day"
"The Lumber Room"
"Fur"
"The Philanthropist and the Happy Cat"
"On Approval"
The majority of the volume's stories deal in some fashion with animals, providing the source for its title. The character of Clovis Sangrail, featured in earlier works by Saki, appears in several stories. Most of the stories appeared previously in periodicals.
Stylistically, Beasts and Superbeasts displays the simple language, cynicism and wry humor that characterize Saki's earlier literary output. (Wikipedia)
Along with The Chronicles of Clovis, Beasts and Superbeasts is one of Saki's best-known works. It was his final collection of stories before his death in World War I, and several of its stories, in particular "The Open Window", are reprinted frequently in anthologies.
The book contains the following stories:
"The She-Wolf"
"Laura"
"The Boar-Pig"
"The Brogue"
"The Hen"
"The Open Window"
"The Treasure-Ship"
"The Cobweb"
"The Lull"
"The Unkindest Blow"
"The Romancers"
"The Schartz-Metterklume Method"
"The Seventh Pullet"
"The Blind Spot"
"Dusk"
"A Touch of Realism"
"Cousin Teresa"
"The Yarkand Manner"
"The Byzantine Omelette"
"The Feast of Nemesis"
"The Dreamer"
"The Quince Tree"
"The Forbidden Buzzards"
"The Stake"
"Clovis on Parental Responsibilities"
"A Holiday Task"
"The Stalled Ox"
"The Story-Teller"
"A Defensive Diamond"
"The Elk"
"Down Pens"
"The Name-Day"
"The Lumber Room"
"Fur"
"The Philanthropist and the Happy Cat"
"On Approval"
The majority of the volume's stories deal in some fashion with animals, providing the source for its title. The character of Clovis Sangrail, featured in earlier works by Saki, appears in several stories. Most of the stories appeared previously in periodicals.
Stylistically, Beasts and Superbeasts displays the simple language, cynicism and wry humor that characterize Saki's earlier literary output. (Wikipedia)
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1914
110 people are currently reading
670 people want to read
About the author
Saki
1,553 books580 followersBritish writer Hector Hugh Munro under pen name Saki published his witty and sometimes bitter short stories in collections, such as
The Chronicles of Clovis
(1911).
His sometimes macabre satirized Edwardian society and culture. People consider him a master and often compare him to William Sydney Porter and Dorothy Rothschild Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window," perhaps his most famous, closes with the line, "Romance at short notice was her specialty," which thus entered the lexicon. Newspapers first and then several volumes published him as the custom of the time.
His works include
* a full-length play, The Watched Pot , in collaboration with Charles Maude;
* two one-act plays;
* a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire , the only book under his own name;
* a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington ;
* the episodic The Westminster Alice , a parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland ;
* and When William Came: A Story of London under the Hohenzollerns , an early alternate history.
Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Joseph Rudyard Kipling, influenced Munro, who in turn influenced A. A. Milne, and Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.
His sometimes macabre satirized Edwardian society and culture. People consider him a master and often compare him to William Sydney Porter and Dorothy Rothschild Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window," perhaps his most famous, closes with the line, "Romance at short notice was her specialty," which thus entered the lexicon. Newspapers first and then several volumes published him as the custom of the time.
His works include
* a full-length play, The Watched Pot , in collaboration with Charles Maude;
* two one-act plays;
* a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire , the only book under his own name;
* a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington ;
* the episodic The Westminster Alice , a parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland ;
* and When William Came: A Story of London under the Hohenzollerns , an early alternate history.
Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Joseph Rudyard Kipling, influenced Munro, who in turn influenced A. A. Milne, and Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
March 24, 2023
A Mixed Bag!
A mixed bag, indeed!
Most of the stories in this collection are good. A few of them are great. Most notably are: The Open Window and The Storyteller. They’ve always been my favorites.
The stories in this collection are on a variety of subjects and themes and each around five to ten pages.
If you haven’t read Saki before, I recommend that you try him. All of his work should be found on Amazon for free. It’s in the public domain.
Four stars.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A mixed bag, indeed!
Most of the stories in this collection are good. A few of them are great. Most notably are: The Open Window and The Storyteller. They’ve always been my favorites.
The stories in this collection are on a variety of subjects and themes and each around five to ten pages.
If you haven’t read Saki before, I recommend that you try him. All of his work should be found on Amazon for free. It’s in the public domain.
Four stars.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
September 8, 2025
Rereading some of his short stories.
January 20, 2022
“‘I believe I once considerably scandalized her by declaring that clear soup was a more important factor in life than a clear conscience. She had very little sense of proportion. […]’”
In fact, few people have, as the beginning of the 21st century may have already shown you in case you were in doubt. And fewer even have a sense of humour, which is why I am really glad to have come across a writer like Saki, of whom a lot can be said but not that he lacked that finest of all senses. Beasts and Super-Beasts is the second collection of his tales I have read, and like The Chronicles of Clovis, this was an utter bull’s-eye-experience for me because Saki’s humour, rather wry, with a nice little streak of wickedness, is right up my alley.
If you don’t know how to get rid of an unwelcome guest with a lot of sitzfleisch, the indomitable Clovis will show you how to proceed. Likewise will he be of service when it comes to finding a way of how to upstage a rival in the quest of a fair maiden’s hand. There are also nice little stories that show you how to balk a scrounger and yet have a good time while doing so, or how to hinder a bore from pouring his monotonous rigmarole all over you, and this story is so good and readily applicable in an emergency that I wish I had known it already on the occasion when someone at a party was trying to prove her infallible memory for numbers to me – it was before the days of mobile phones – by telling me the phone numbers of all her friends and acquaintances, which were surprisingly many in number given the tediousness of her talk, before she went on to tell me minutely about how exactly she stored her victuals and kitchen utensils in her cupboards. Had I known the Saki story before, I would not have had to try and drink myself towards a state of alcohol poisoning, which I felt quite guilty about afterwards but which, at the time being, I saw as my last resort for ending that unavailing conversation with a sense of dignity for both sides.
Not all the stories in Beasts and Super-Beasts actually do involve animals, but nearly all of them are remarkably funny. Some of them rely, for their effect, on extremely mischievous children, who were probably more frequent in Edwardian society than today as a result of the rather suppressive education style of that period as opposed to our day and age, where there is neither style nor education in our interaction with children.
To conclude my review, here are some gems from a few of the tales:
”Leonard Bilsiter was one of those people who have failed to find this world attractive and interesting, and who have sought compensation in an ‘unseen world’ of their own experience or imagination – or invention. Children do that sort of thing successfully, but children are content to convince themselves, and do not vulgarise their beliefs by trying to convince other people. Leonard Bilsiter’s beliefs were for ‘the few,’ that is to say, anyone who would listen to him.”
“’I should not like to think of you as a deliberate liar,’ he observed coldly, ‘but one occasionally has to do things one does not like.’”
“’Nowadays there is no demand for marvellous things that have really happened,’ said Crosby discouragingly; ‘the professional writers of fiction turn these things out so much better. For instance, my neighbours tell me wonderful, incredible things that their Aberdeens and chows and borzois have done; I never listen to them. On the other hand, I have read ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ three times.’”
“’Mrs. Teep is quite the most irritating bridge player that I have ever sat down with; her leads and declarations would condone a certain amount of brutality in her partner, but to souse her with the contents of the only soda-water syphon in the house on a Sunday afternoon, when one couldn’t get another, argues an indifference to the comfort of others which I cannot altogether overlook. […]’”
“In the course of the next few days Blenkingthorpe discovered how little the loss of one’s self-respect affects one when one has gained the esteem of the world.”
“When she inveighed eloquently against the evils of capitalism at drawing-room meetings and Fabian conferences she was conscious of a comfortable feeling that the system, with all its inequalities and iniquities, would probably last her time. It is one of the consolations of middle-aged reformers that the good they inculcate must live after them if it is to live at all.”
Especially the last two quotations bring to my mind figures on the political stage of my own country but nevertheless even this nauseating effect does not tone down my enjoyment of Saki’s stories a bit.
In fact, few people have, as the beginning of the 21st century may have already shown you in case you were in doubt. And fewer even have a sense of humour, which is why I am really glad to have come across a writer like Saki, of whom a lot can be said but not that he lacked that finest of all senses. Beasts and Super-Beasts is the second collection of his tales I have read, and like The Chronicles of Clovis, this was an utter bull’s-eye-experience for me because Saki’s humour, rather wry, with a nice little streak of wickedness, is right up my alley.
If you don’t know how to get rid of an unwelcome guest with a lot of sitzfleisch, the indomitable Clovis will show you how to proceed. Likewise will he be of service when it comes to finding a way of how to upstage a rival in the quest of a fair maiden’s hand. There are also nice little stories that show you how to balk a scrounger and yet have a good time while doing so, or how to hinder a bore from pouring his monotonous rigmarole all over you, and this story is so good and readily applicable in an emergency that I wish I had known it already on the occasion when someone at a party was trying to prove her infallible memory for numbers to me – it was before the days of mobile phones – by telling me the phone numbers of all her friends and acquaintances, which were surprisingly many in number given the tediousness of her talk, before she went on to tell me minutely about how exactly she stored her victuals and kitchen utensils in her cupboards. Had I known the Saki story before, I would not have had to try and drink myself towards a state of alcohol poisoning, which I felt quite guilty about afterwards but which, at the time being, I saw as my last resort for ending that unavailing conversation with a sense of dignity for both sides.
Not all the stories in Beasts and Super-Beasts actually do involve animals, but nearly all of them are remarkably funny. Some of them rely, for their effect, on extremely mischievous children, who were probably more frequent in Edwardian society than today as a result of the rather suppressive education style of that period as opposed to our day and age, where there is neither style nor education in our interaction with children.
To conclude my review, here are some gems from a few of the tales:
”Leonard Bilsiter was one of those people who have failed to find this world attractive and interesting, and who have sought compensation in an ‘unseen world’ of their own experience or imagination – or invention. Children do that sort of thing successfully, but children are content to convince themselves, and do not vulgarise their beliefs by trying to convince other people. Leonard Bilsiter’s beliefs were for ‘the few,’ that is to say, anyone who would listen to him.”
“’I should not like to think of you as a deliberate liar,’ he observed coldly, ‘but one occasionally has to do things one does not like.’”
“’Nowadays there is no demand for marvellous things that have really happened,’ said Crosby discouragingly; ‘the professional writers of fiction turn these things out so much better. For instance, my neighbours tell me wonderful, incredible things that their Aberdeens and chows and borzois have done; I never listen to them. On the other hand, I have read ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ three times.’”
“’Mrs. Teep is quite the most irritating bridge player that I have ever sat down with; her leads and declarations would condone a certain amount of brutality in her partner, but to souse her with the contents of the only soda-water syphon in the house on a Sunday afternoon, when one couldn’t get another, argues an indifference to the comfort of others which I cannot altogether overlook. […]’”
“In the course of the next few days Blenkingthorpe discovered how little the loss of one’s self-respect affects one when one has gained the esteem of the world.”
“When she inveighed eloquently against the evils of capitalism at drawing-room meetings and Fabian conferences she was conscious of a comfortable feeling that the system, with all its inequalities and iniquities, would probably last her time. It is one of the consolations of middle-aged reformers that the good they inculcate must live after them if it is to live at all.”
Especially the last two quotations bring to my mind figures on the political stage of my own country but nevertheless even this nauseating effect does not tone down my enjoyment of Saki’s stories a bit.
June 20, 2022
Definitely was surprised in this short stories collection. Was expecting more of a dry writing but was far from that? Very interesting stories and would definitely read something else by Saki in the future
September 18, 2019
Saki had a unique way of satirising the society of the late 1800s/early 1900s. His stories poke fun of the rich, the naive, the snobs and wannabes. A hundred years later they are still (mainly) humorous.
Read
May 21, 2016I came across a story from this collection via GR friend Tadiana. While I have not read the entire set of stories, (available here), I did skip through a sampling.
One of my favorites was The Hen, about a delicious bit of trickery foisted on an unwanted guest.
Saki - from Biography.com
Saki is, of course, the nom de plume of Scottish writer Hector Hugh Munro, born in 1870, but soon bereft of parents, and placed under the care of aunts the evil stepmother sort. He is known for his devilish twists, and dark satiric humor. Have a look at the collection. There are plenty more of this sort in the book, sure to make you smile.
One of my favorites was The Hen, about a delicious bit of trickery foisted on an unwanted guest.
Saki - from Biography.com
Saki is, of course, the nom de plume of Scottish writer Hector Hugh Munro, born in 1870, but soon bereft of parents, and placed under the care of aunts the evil stepmother sort. He is known for his devilish twists, and dark satiric humor. Have a look at the collection. There are plenty more of this sort in the book, sure to make you smile.
October 31, 2016
Çok eğlenceli ve zeki, mizah dolu bir yazar Saki. Babil kitaplığı serisinden tanımış ve dahasını da okumak istemiştim. Çok eğlenceli bir okuma sunuyor. Yazar hakkındaki Fatih Özgüven kısa yazısı da kitaba uygun olmuş, kitabın sonunda yer alması da ayrıca güzel :)
April 22, 2014
Beasts and Super Beasts is a collection filled with precocious, somewhat bloodthirsty children, sarcastic bachelors, assorted birds, pigs, dogs, and an elk. Saki treats readers to biting wit and brilliant observations. I suggest these be read one at a time and savored.
March 7, 2013
When I was young I discovered Saki and read all his stories. Over the years, of course, one comes across a few very popular stories repeatedly. Now I've come across a wonderful podcast, The Clovis Stories by Saki which is working its way through all the Saki stories. I am now catching up with the readings of Beasts and Super-Beasts., listening to a story a day (or so). As with The Chronicles of Clovis, I vastly enjoy rediscovering stories I forgot or only vaguely remember. The is no one like Saki for blending wicked humor with a tinge of superiority ... like P.G. Wodehouse if he'd had a bit more maliciousness sarcasm in his writing.
This book intersperses Clovis' chronicles with horror stories, both of which fascinate even while you can see the inevitable uncomfortable conclusion coming. Saki's powers of expression are those which will fascinate anyone who enjoys a well told tale.
UPDATE
The reviewer who said, "Saki writes like a very charming sociopath (who you find yourself liking, despite your better judgment)." was spot on. The sheer perversity of the situations and people involved is brilliant and also highly amusing.
This book intersperses Clovis' chronicles with horror stories, both of which fascinate even while you can see the inevitable uncomfortable conclusion coming. Saki's powers of expression are those which will fascinate anyone who enjoys a well told tale.
UPDATE
The reviewer who said, "Saki writes like a very charming sociopath (who you find yourself liking, despite your better judgment)." was spot on. The sheer perversity of the situations and people involved is brilliant and also highly amusing.
June 28, 2016
Saki influenced one of my favorite humor writer, P.G. Wodehouse. Their works have different feel, but there are some similarities between the two. Both write about the British upper class in a comic way, stories where aunts wield too much power at times, and so on. The difference is that Saki is has a stringer bite. I'm not saying his stories are better. They are more satirical, and on occasion they border on meanness, while stories by Wodehouse are much lighter, and more playful in tone.
Beasts and Super-Beasts is a good collection of short stories. For anyone interested in Saki, I think this is a good place to start as it has stories that are among the best he did. My favorites in this collection include stories such as The She-Wolf, The Open Window, The Holiday Task, The Name-Day, The Story Teller, and On Approval. This list may change the next time I read it, yes there will probably be a next time, but this time around these stories got to me the strongest.
Beasts and Super-Beasts is a good collection of short stories. For anyone interested in Saki, I think this is a good place to start as it has stories that are among the best he did. My favorites in this collection include stories such as The She-Wolf, The Open Window, The Holiday Task, The Name-Day, The Story Teller, and On Approval. This list may change the next time I read it, yes there will probably be a next time, but this time around these stories got to me the strongest.
May 31, 2017
Dark, charming and funny social satires of Edwardian England. In this collection the stories all involve animals. I just adore The Open Window.
August 11, 2016
A dying woman talks about reincarnation, with the certainty that she will come back—as an otter, or a dark little Nubian boy. An Englishman finds himself stranded in the middle of heavily snowed-under European countryside, wolves prowling a few feet away. A man, come to recuperate in the country, visits someone he does not know, and is told, by a teenaged girl, of a tragic tale that lives on…
This collection of some of the finest (and best-known) short stories by Hector Hugh Munro ‘Saki’ is eclectic, to say the least. There are sunny, hilarious stories like The Lumber-Room and The Hen; there are stories that are slightly more serious (like Dusk) but still evoke a smile and an admiration for Saki’s wit, his ingenuity, and his absolutely brilliant storytelling. And there are those, like Laura and The Elk, which are downright macabre, dealing in a somewhat chillingly flippant way with death (the flippancy tends to make it even more macabre). There are stories set in the comfort of rural England. Stories about young men in clubs (several of these reminded me, in many ways, of the books of PG Wodehouse). Stories about children—and these revealing a superb insight into how children think and act. Stories about revenge and anger, about pranks and jokes and ambition. Each one thoroughly entertaining.
All the stories are short, five-minute reads, so this is a great book if you don't have a huge chunk of time to devote to a novel. Plus, each of these stories has something to recommend it: a fine twist in the tale, the very Saki brand of humour, characters that don't mind being underhand in order to put someone in their place, or to get their way. As black humour goes, Beasts and Superbeasts is a classic.
This collection of some of the finest (and best-known) short stories by Hector Hugh Munro ‘Saki’ is eclectic, to say the least. There are sunny, hilarious stories like The Lumber-Room and The Hen; there are stories that are slightly more serious (like Dusk) but still evoke a smile and an admiration for Saki’s wit, his ingenuity, and his absolutely brilliant storytelling. And there are those, like Laura and The Elk, which are downright macabre, dealing in a somewhat chillingly flippant way with death (the flippancy tends to make it even more macabre). There are stories set in the comfort of rural England. Stories about young men in clubs (several of these reminded me, in many ways, of the books of PG Wodehouse). Stories about children—and these revealing a superb insight into how children think and act. Stories about revenge and anger, about pranks and jokes and ambition. Each one thoroughly entertaining.
All the stories are short, five-minute reads, so this is a great book if you don't have a huge chunk of time to devote to a novel. Plus, each of these stories has something to recommend it: a fine twist in the tale, the very Saki brand of humour, characters that don't mind being underhand in order to put someone in their place, or to get their way. As black humour goes, Beasts and Superbeasts is a classic.
February 22, 2017
This book is another collection of Saki's stories. The old and familiar "The Open Window" is among them, as it is in every collection of his, but I don't mind. There can't be too many Saki stories and I don't mind rereading some of them. I forget who introduced me to Saki but I think it may have been my father, who had a twisted sense of humor much like the author's. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys Kipling, Wodehouse or O. Henry.
December 16, 2015
Ingiltere insaninin kara mizahini yansitan bircok oykuyu icinde barindiran guzel bir kitap. Kitabin sonunda yazar hakkinda bilgi veren bolum ile birlikte taslar daha da yerine oturuyor cunku bu kitap yazarinin ruh dunyasini cok guzel yansitmis. Sikilmadan eglenerek okudugum bir kitapti.
April 21, 2020
Üçte birini okuduktan sonra bıraktım. Hikayeler nedense birbirinin aynısı gibi gelmeye başladı bir noktadan sonra. Kötü degil asla. Hatta normal şartlarda çok sevdiğim dark (kasvetli? kötümser?) İngiliz komedisinin çok nadide örnekleri. Dolayısıyla sev(e)memiş olmam şaşırtıcı. Belki hikayelerde inşa edilmeye çalışılan gerilimi yorucu buldum. Her hikaye yavaş yavaş yukarı tırmanıyor, sonra fıkralarda olduğu gibi bir patlama noktası var. Fakat bu bana yorucu geldi ve o bir anlık sürprizi yaşamak için tüm hikayeyi okumaya üşendim. İleride tekrar dönebilirim. Ama en azından şimdilik kenara koydum.
November 26, 2017
Kitapta konu, diyalog ve karakterler açısından özgün öyküler var.
November 20, 2017
I still really like the writing style, but the stories are so repetitive that it's hard to fit in a whole book. Saki is good for leafing through, not reading front to back.
As for this book in particular, there's some really good stories (mostly the famous ones like "The Open Window" and "The Story-Teller"), but Chronicles of Clovis was much better overall.
Read via Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/269
As for this book in particular, there's some really good stories (mostly the famous ones like "The Open Window" and "The Story-Teller"), but Chronicles of Clovis was much better overall.
Read via Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/269
June 18, 2014
I delighted in these very short short stories, but others may find Saki's humor a bit dated at times. This collection had a lot of animal stories (I guess the people must the "super-beasts" in the few that didn't have any animal aspect), such as the one in which a painter of rural cows manages to shoo a bull not only into his neighbor's house, but up the stairs!
January 14, 2018
1. Πολλά διηγήματα και με κουράζουν και τα λίγα γενικά...
2. Τα αγγλικά μου τελικά είναι πιο πολύ της πίατσας και όχι τόσο φιλολογικά
3. Είναι αλήθεια οτι το διάβαζα στο μετρό και δεν έδινα πολύ σημασία...
Γενικά είχε κάποιες ενδιαφέρουσες και έξυπνες ιστορίες.
Ίσως αν βγει στα ελληνικά,καλύτερα...
2. Τα αγγλικά μου τελικά είναι πιο πολύ της πίατσας και όχι τόσο φιλολογικά
3. Είναι αλήθεια οτι το διάβαζα στο μετρό και δεν έδινα πολύ σημασία...
Γενικά είχε κάποιες ενδιαφέρουσες και έξυπνες ιστορίες.
Ίσως αν βγει στα ελληνικά,καλύτερα...
July 18, 2024
Bu hekayələr kitabının əvvəlcə üz qapağı, sonra adı diqqətimi çəkdi və hakəza Hector Hugh Munro, yəni 'Nam-ı Diğer' SAKİ qələmi ilə tanış olmaq şərəfinə nail oldum. Tanışlığıma şad oldum və davam edəcəm :)
August 20, 2020
Pel meu gust, els contes són massa dispersos i alhora massa espessos; m'ha costat retindre tants personatges nous. Cada conte té la seva gràcia, m'han agradat molt La gran ventana (aquest és molt divertit) i també l'últim (per l'inesperat de tot plegat).
Want to read
November 20, 2023Contains the stories:
The She-Wolf -
Laura - 4/5 - otter nonsense
The Boar-Pig -
The Brogue -
The Hen -
The Open Window -
The Treasure-Ship -
The Cobweb -
The Lull -
The Unkindest Blow -
The Romancers -
The Schartz-Metterklume Method -
The Seventh Pullet -
The Blind Spot -
Dusk -
A Touch of Realism -
Cousin Teresa -
The Yarkand Manner -
The Byzantine Omelette -
The Feast of Nemesis -
The Dreamer -
The Quince Tree -
The Forbidden Buzzards -
The Stake -
Clovis on Parental Responsibilities -
A Holiday Task -
The Stalled Ox -
The Story-Teller -
A Defensive Diamond -
The Elk -
“Down Pens” -
The Name-Day -
The Lumber Room -
Fur -
The Philanthropist and the Happy Cat -
On Approval -
The She-Wolf -
Laura - 4/5 - otter nonsense
The Boar-Pig -
The Brogue -
The Hen -
The Open Window -
The Treasure-Ship -
The Cobweb -
The Lull -
The Unkindest Blow -
The Romancers -
The Schartz-Metterklume Method -
The Seventh Pullet -
The Blind Spot -
Dusk -
A Touch of Realism -
Cousin Teresa -
The Yarkand Manner -
The Byzantine Omelette -
The Feast of Nemesis -
The Dreamer -
The Quince Tree -
The Forbidden Buzzards -
The Stake -
Clovis on Parental Responsibilities -
A Holiday Task -
The Stalled Ox -
The Story-Teller -
A Defensive Diamond -
The Elk -
“Down Pens” -
The Name-Day -
The Lumber Room -
Fur -
The Philanthropist and the Happy Cat -
On Approval -
Read
September 8, 2009This book is not as funny as I remember it being, and it is a lot more British than I'd imagined any book could ever be. It's another book I've returned to recently and discovered I'd remembered it very differently. There are a bunch of high points in it. It is a number of short (very short) stories and some are excellent. But many are only worth reading for the dry tone and deeply understated humor involved. Like a lot of Mark Twain's short stories, the actual stories themselves often feel like shaggy dog stories where the humor of the premise is exhausted by the time the punchline arrives.
July 1, 2011
At first I thought that this was rather flipant piece of liturature. However, I am now chocking that up to the fact that I had just finished reading the complete works of Anotn Chekhov, and the humorous shorts by Saki didn't seem to compare. BUT! After a few of them I think that my brain was able to switch gears and I became enthralled.
The stories are quite silly and often poking fun at the British people of the time. Saki has an amazing way of giving the punchline with the last sentence, sometimes even the last word, that is really very impressive.
The humor is somewhat dark, but always hilarious.
The stories are quite silly and often poking fun at the British people of the time. Saki has an amazing way of giving the punchline with the last sentence, sometimes even the last word, that is really very impressive.
The humor is somewhat dark, but always hilarious.
June 23, 2012
Man 1: I've just finished reading a collection of short stories by Hector Hugh Munro.
Man 2: Saki?
Man 1: Yes, they were.
Such a reliable collection of pithy and fun stories that at times are verging on simply being elaborately set up one-liners. Each one follows on with metronomic regularity of pitch-perfect tone and style: a real pleasure to read. Perfect for easy consumption on a smartphone or e-reader as each one is basically five minutes of playful and wicked diversion.
Man 2: Saki?
Man 1: Yes, they were.
Such a reliable collection of pithy and fun stories that at times are verging on simply being elaborately set up one-liners. Each one follows on with metronomic regularity of pitch-perfect tone and style: a real pleasure to read. Perfect for easy consumption on a smartphone or e-reader as each one is basically five minutes of playful and wicked diversion.
October 15, 2020
Cuentos cortos con fina ironía inglesa. Una joya.
March 7, 2021
İşte aradığım mizah.
March 23, 2023
"El crepúsculo era para él la hora de los derrotados. Hombres y mujeres que habían luchado y perdido, que ocultaban sus malas fortunas y esperanzas muertas lo más posible del escrutinio de los curiosos, aparecían a esta hora del anochecer, cuando sus ropas gastadas y sus hombros caídos y ojos melancólicos podían pasar inadvertidos o, al menos, no ser reconocidos."
Gran libro de cuentos de H. H. Munro (mejor conocido como Saki). Fue un gran humorista sin ninguna duda. Su humor es inteligente y satírico, le pega bastante duro a la sociedad más conservadora y pudiente de Inglaterra del siglo XX e incluso deja espacio para que también nos podamos reír de aquella parte de la sociedad que no era tan conservadora ni tan rica. El libro tiene como hilo conductor diversos animales, a veces explícitos y a veces no tanto, que juegan con los diversos personajes de los cuentos, todos bizarros, excéntricos y curiosos a su manera, a veces exagerados pero perfectamente creíbles en el universo que nos plantea el autor. Se juega mucho con la trampa, el engaño, la venganza y la inocencia, a veces repitiendo un patrón que a partir de cierto momento se ve venir a medida que vamos leyendo, pero no molesta para nada. De hecho es una virtud, porque Saki nos muestra muchos personajes curiosos que viven situaciones curiosas y divierte mucho saber con qué te vas a encontrar en el siguiente cuento, por más que ya sepas que alguien va a ser engañado/humillado/derrotado.
Son muchos cuentos. A veces puede pasar que eso agobie un toque, porque son todos cortos, lo que hace que constantemente tengamos que empezar y cerrar la historia que nos cuenta, pensar que nos dejó e incorporar a nuestra mente las preguntas abiertas que deja. Eso hace que el ritmo, a veces, cueste y agote. Pero no lo veo como algo malo, en sí todo libro hay que disfrutarlo de forma lenta si vamos al caso; exige que nos riamos pero que no tomemos tan a la ligera lo que sucede. Nos obliga a detenernos para pensar y eso lo convierte en un gran libro. Pero es cierto que después de un par de cuentos esa dinámica ya se vuelve un poco más densa. Sin embargo el hecho de que todos los cuentos sean dinámicos, con mucho diálogo, mucha acción y muchas risas, hace que podamos pasar por alto el agobio que a veces se puede sentir.
Los cuentos que más me gustaron fueron: "Laura", "La gallina", "La ventana abierta", "La tregua", "Los fabuladores", "La séptima polilla", "El punto ciego", "Crepúsculo", "La tortilla bizantina", "Una tarea de vacaciones", "El buey en el establo", "El narrador", "El alce", "El día del Santo" y "El cuarto de los trastos".
Como punto negativo puedo señalar solo dos cosas. Primero la elección de algunos cuentos. Ya dije, más arriba, que sean muchos puede resultar agobiante. Por lo que no entiendo la inclusión de algunos. Primero que no siguen tan bien el hilo conductor de los animales, al punto de que incluso aparece solo algún animalito dando vueltas y eso ya es excusa para contar cualquier otra cosa (como en el cuento "El estilo Yarkand", para mí el peor del libro y que tiene mucha implicancia política -que aquellos que desconocemos la historia de Inglaterra nos quedamos confundidos-) por lo que algunos cuentos yo los hubiera omitido. Y como segundo punto, que seguro es más de la época, tiene diálogos excesivamente largos muchas veces, haciendo que nos perdamos. Pero ninguno de los dos detalles arruinan la experiencia del libro.
De lo mejor que voy leyendo en el año.
Gran libro de cuentos de H. H. Munro (mejor conocido como Saki). Fue un gran humorista sin ninguna duda. Su humor es inteligente y satírico, le pega bastante duro a la sociedad más conservadora y pudiente de Inglaterra del siglo XX e incluso deja espacio para que también nos podamos reír de aquella parte de la sociedad que no era tan conservadora ni tan rica. El libro tiene como hilo conductor diversos animales, a veces explícitos y a veces no tanto, que juegan con los diversos personajes de los cuentos, todos bizarros, excéntricos y curiosos a su manera, a veces exagerados pero perfectamente creíbles en el universo que nos plantea el autor. Se juega mucho con la trampa, el engaño, la venganza y la inocencia, a veces repitiendo un patrón que a partir de cierto momento se ve venir a medida que vamos leyendo, pero no molesta para nada. De hecho es una virtud, porque Saki nos muestra muchos personajes curiosos que viven situaciones curiosas y divierte mucho saber con qué te vas a encontrar en el siguiente cuento, por más que ya sepas que alguien va a ser engañado/humillado/derrotado.
Son muchos cuentos. A veces puede pasar que eso agobie un toque, porque son todos cortos, lo que hace que constantemente tengamos que empezar y cerrar la historia que nos cuenta, pensar que nos dejó e incorporar a nuestra mente las preguntas abiertas que deja. Eso hace que el ritmo, a veces, cueste y agote. Pero no lo veo como algo malo, en sí todo libro hay que disfrutarlo de forma lenta si vamos al caso; exige que nos riamos pero que no tomemos tan a la ligera lo que sucede. Nos obliga a detenernos para pensar y eso lo convierte en un gran libro. Pero es cierto que después de un par de cuentos esa dinámica ya se vuelve un poco más densa. Sin embargo el hecho de que todos los cuentos sean dinámicos, con mucho diálogo, mucha acción y muchas risas, hace que podamos pasar por alto el agobio que a veces se puede sentir.
Los cuentos que más me gustaron fueron: "Laura", "La gallina", "La ventana abierta", "La tregua", "Los fabuladores", "La séptima polilla", "El punto ciego", "Crepúsculo", "La tortilla bizantina", "Una tarea de vacaciones", "El buey en el establo", "El narrador", "El alce", "El día del Santo" y "El cuarto de los trastos".
Como punto negativo puedo señalar solo dos cosas. Primero la elección de algunos cuentos. Ya dije, más arriba, que sean muchos puede resultar agobiante. Por lo que no entiendo la inclusión de algunos. Primero que no siguen tan bien el hilo conductor de los animales, al punto de que incluso aparece solo algún animalito dando vueltas y eso ya es excusa para contar cualquier otra cosa (como en el cuento "El estilo Yarkand", para mí el peor del libro y que tiene mucha implicancia política -que aquellos que desconocemos la historia de Inglaterra nos quedamos confundidos-) por lo que algunos cuentos yo los hubiera omitido. Y como segundo punto, que seguro es más de la época, tiene diálogos excesivamente largos muchas veces, haciendo que nos perdamos. Pero ninguno de los dos detalles arruinan la experiencia del libro.
De lo mejor que voy leyendo en el año.
October 26, 2020
Beasts and Super-Beasts is my first experience with the writings of Saki and I had a wonderful time. Every single story in this collection is well-written and entertaining, clever and inventive. Some of the the tales are exceptional, ingenious, and laugh-out-loud delightful. My particular favorite tales, those that made me laugh or gasp with pleasure at their language and their pure ingeniousness are:
"Laura," a deftly clever story of reincarnation.
"The Open Window," which is a sort of a ghost story.
"The Lull"; this story is my favorite of the collection; the story is very inventive and I laughed aloud.
"The Schartz-Metterklume Method," which is about a particularly interesting style of teaching.
"The Feast of Nemesis," which, in a way, reminded my of the "Festivus" episode of Seinfeld.
"A Defensive Diamond," which involves a great contest of one-upmanship; my second-favorite.
"The Lumber Room," which evokes some of the wonders of childhood and also contains a bit of come-uppance for a scolding aunt.
Although these are my favorites, I enjoyed each story in the book. I will most assuredly be reading more Saki. Pairs well with Wodehouse.
"Laura," a deftly clever story of reincarnation.
"The Open Window," which is a sort of a ghost story.
"The Lull"; this story is my favorite of the collection; the story is very inventive and I laughed aloud.
"The Schartz-Metterklume Method," which is about a particularly interesting style of teaching.
"The Feast of Nemesis," which, in a way, reminded my of the "Festivus" episode of Seinfeld.
"A Defensive Diamond," which involves a great contest of one-upmanship; my second-favorite.
"The Lumber Room," which evokes some of the wonders of childhood and also contains a bit of come-uppance for a scolding aunt.
Although these are my favorites, I enjoyed each story in the book. I will most assuredly be reading more Saki. Pairs well with Wodehouse.
January 31, 2019
"Sketches" heten ze in het Engels, wij zouden het "cursiefjes" noemen, en Saki is er heel bedreven in. De titel van deze bundel is wel enigszins misleidend, want er komen heel weinig "beesten" of "superbeesten" in voor. Het gaat over mensen en hun onhebbelijke neiging anderen een hak te zetten... Er wordt gelogen en bedrogen, maar dan wel op zo'n manier dat het heel normaal en zelfs verantwoord overkomt. Leugentjes om bestwil zouden we kunnen zeggen. Saki heeft grote invloed gehad op P.G. Wodehouse en dat is in deze bundel goed te merken... Clovis zou model kunnen staan voor een personage van Wodehouse.
Het enige negatieve puntje is, dat sommige verhalen niet echt af lijken, of dat ze zomaar afbreken zonder een degelijke pointe... Een en ander zal wel te maken hebben met de beperkte ruimte die voorzien was voor hun publicatie, maar toch... Hoe dan ook, laat dat de pret niet bederven; cursiefjes van Saki zijn als gezonde snoepjes, à consommer sans modération.
Het enige negatieve puntje is, dat sommige verhalen niet echt af lijken, of dat ze zomaar afbreken zonder een degelijke pointe... Een en ander zal wel te maken hebben met de beperkte ruimte die voorzien was voor hun publicatie, maar toch... Hoe dan ook, laat dat de pret niet bederven; cursiefjes van Saki zijn als gezonde snoepjes, à consommer sans modération.
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