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    Reviews of Stories By H. H. Munro, or Saki
    Reviews of Stories By H. H. Munro, or Saki
    Reviews of Stories By H. H. Munro, or Saki
    Ebook76 pages46 minutes

    Reviews of Stories By H. H. Munro, or Saki

    By Daniel Zimmermann

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    About this ebook

    This e-book is an excellent introduction to the works of Saki. This second edition treats considerably more stories than the first edition. Included are The Interlopers, Dusk, The She-Wolf, The Hounds of Fate, The Wolves of Cernogratz, The Square Egg, The Lost Soul, Reginald, The Mouse, A Matter of Sentiment, The Lost Sanjak, A Young Turkish Catastrophe, Tobermory, Herman the Irascible, The Quest, The Easter Egg, The Forbidden Buzzard, The Blind Spot, The Elk, Quail Seed, etc. Each review includes a fairly detailed summary of the story treated plus occasional helpful comments.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLulu.com
    Release dateAug 4, 2014
    ISBN9781312408531
    Reviews of Stories By H. H. Munro, or Saki

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      Reviews of Stories By H. H. Munro, or Saki - Daniel Zimmermann

      Reviews of Stories By H. H. Munro, or Saki

      Reviews of Stories of H. H. Munro, or Saki

      By Daniel Zimmermann

      Chapter I: Introduction and an Overview of Saki’s Humor

      Introduction

      This e-book is an excellent introduction to the works of Saki. It contains a general introduction to Saki’s works, reviews of nine interesting tales, and a number of articles treating his social satire.. Each review gives all the essentials of the plot of the tale plus appropriate comments. Some of Saki’s ironic satire has been reproduced, but to fully appreciate it, you will have to read his work.

      My comments are based on a hardcover volume entitled The Collected Stories of Saki. You probably might be able to find some of his works on the Internet.

      The Humor of Saki

      In the United States, Saki is probably best known as the author of a short story entitled The Open Window. In this tale, an imaginative young girl scares the daylights out of a nervous visitor by skillfully inducing him to think that her father and two uncles are ghosts.

      This is the plot of the story in a nutshell. If you have not read Saki's story, you might not think that it is very interesting. However, in Saki's hands this unpromising material becomes a masterpiece. As he develops the tale, he leads you to believe in all that the girl is saying. Then Saki surprises you as the story draws to a close.

      The tale is worthy to be compared with the best stories of O. Henry. In fact, the first time that I read the story, I had to look twice at the author's name to make sure that it was not O. Henry.

      For a long time, this was the only work by Hector Hugh Monroe (Saki's real name) that I had read. Recently, however, I ran across The Collected Short Stories of Saki in a bookstore. I had hoped that all his stories would all be as good as The Open Window, but I was somewhat disappointed. The chief characteristic of Saki's short stories is not surprise, but satire. In a clever fashion, he exposes the prevailing English social customs to ridicule.

      It is interesting to compare the satire of Saki with that of Washington Irving. The latter makes fun of people in a kindly fashion. For example, in The Student of Salamanca, he genially points out the uselessness of the pursuits of the alchemist, but his comments do not really sting. They are more like a kindly grandfather’s analysis of the foibles of a foolish grandson.

      In contrast, the satire of Saki is often bitter. However, its bitterness is disguised. He treats a broad gamut of social idiosyncrasies, from harmless foibles to scandalous conduct, but he does so in an indirect manner.

      To illustrate this point, I shall give a summary and analysis of a tale entitled The Treasure-Ship.

      Long ago, a large galleon had sunk in an unnamed bay. It was rumored that the ship was carrying a rich treasure when it sank. Some people believed these rumors; others did not.

      Lulu, Duchess of Dulverton, firmly believed that there was indeed a treasure in the silt on the bottom of the bay, and she thought that she knew how it could be found. She had learned of an invention designed to study the depths of the sea. The invention included an electric suction dredge that could suck up objects of interest and value. With this invention, she thought that she could gain possession of the treasure.

      Since the duchess was wealthy, she was able to buy the machine. Vasco Honiton, her nephew, was called upon to operate it. She did not really like her nephew, and she usually avoided him. Now, however, she thought that he would be useful. She did not trust him, so she decided that he needed supervision as he searched for the treasure.

      Before looking for the treasure, she wanted to

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