A Tangled Web

Short Stories in the Oxford Bookworms Collection

Oxford University Press !""#$
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Thiscollection of tales takes its title from Sir Walter Scotts well-known quote: Oh what a tangled
web we weave, when first we ractise to deceive!, and is the most recent addition to a series that
surrisingl", considering the first ones aeared almost a decade ago, still numbers onl" si#$ A
Tangled Web consists of ten short stories b" well-known and mainl" %&-based authors such as 'oald
(ahl, )aeve *inch" and 'a" *radbur"$ +ach stor", in line with revious titles in the series, has a
thematic link$ Whereas earlier titles focused on crime, love and childhood, A Tangled Web looks at the
rickl" issue of decetion$ )ost of us are good at deceiving ourselves, but how much more
leasurable it is to read how others have been fooled, this title will be received and read with glee$
-s this and all other stories in the O#ford *ookworms collection are comletel" unabridged and
unsimlified, the intended reader of A Tangled Web will need to be at good intermediate level,
referabl" be"ond$ .enr" Widdowsons foreword needs careful unacking, though, if teachers and
readers are to areciate such rich material, as his comments both romote and defend the editors
reasoning behind titles that will, b" the nature of their content, limit sales$ Widdowson oints out that
no matter how noble the intentions are of ublishers who adat and simlif" literar" te#ts /sadl", he
fails to name names0 and however much we might alaud what he terms their commendable
edagogic uroses!, the significance and imact of the original te#t /Widdowson feels0 cannot be
areciated unless the reader is encouraged to adot the role of the intended reader$ With this in mind,
A Tangled Web would be slendid for grous of advanced readers$ .owever, since a large art of
man" stories consists of easil" followed dialogue /eseciall" in 1rederick 1ors"ths tale of chicaner"
at the card table, 2Shar 3ractise0 readers willing to e#end a bit of effort should be able to full"
areciate this title$
-lthough we are not informed as to the basis on which the" were selected, the editors have for the
most art chosen their stories well$ - good deal of language suort is at hand: culture-secific le#is is
e#lained and biograhical detail lus a brief lead-in to each stor" is rovided$ 4 was erle#ed,
though, as to wh" Therou#s ublic falling out with 5$S 6aiaul should be referred to in such a book$
)ost tales in A Tangled Web are taken from collections ublished in the ast thirt" "ears b" authors
who, aart from 'oald (ahl, Oscar Wilde and Somerset )augham are still living and, eseciall" in
the cases of 5$S 6aiaul and 3aul Therou#, still roducing e#cellent work$ -lthough Therou# is more
widel" known for his travel literature, 4 have alwa"s felt his short stor" outut in the 789:s contained
some of the finest in +nglish, so 4 was delighted to note the inclusion of his brief tale 26eighbours,
taken from 2The ;ondon +mbass" /789<0, which demonstrates how being tactless ma" encourage
decetion$
Of all the ten stories 2+dna, *ack from -merica b" =lare *o"lan, a tale of intended decetion, left the
most vivid images in m" mind: a suicidal +dna /or should that be 2>une?0 is firstl" offered a new life,
then discovers too late that material comfort will come at a high rice$ 4t seemed to me that the most
devious characters in the whole collection involved women seeking to get their own wa" and generall"
succeeding in doing so, often with with gullible males@ 'a" *radbur"s futuristic 2)arionettes, 4nc$,
e#lores artner-swaing, while )aeve *inch"s bride, in 2Telling Stories, surrises her husband-to-
be b" attending her own wedding$ Work that one out for "ourself@
Wayne Trotman is a teacher of EAP writing at Yksek Teknoloji Enstits, Izmir, Trkey!Email"
wayne#egenet!com!tr