Very rough week
The past several days were extremely trying. Haven't been so happy to see the end of it in a while. Don't want to get into detail here but I'm looking to Monday with considerable trepidation. Sigh.
Will stick to book reviews for the most part, so as to not fall behind. Mostly O. Henry, plus an excellent book about Edgar Allan Poe.
116. Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe, by Mark Dawidziak. I remember reading a lot of Poe's works in middle and high school, and have even read several of his stories and poems for my online readings. But until I read this excellent book, I didn't realize how little I knew about Poe himself. Really, I knew next to nothing about this mysterious and often misunderstood author of such tales as "Fall of the House of Usher" and "William Williams." I would recommend this book for any Edgar Allan Poe fan. What's more, it should be offered in middle and high schools for a couple of reasons. One, to teach about an author preteens and teens usually like. But another reason is Dawidziak's book goes through many of the erroneous beliefs about Poe and dissects them, laying out the fallacies and how critical it is to evaluate source materials for bias. The author especially concentrates on the mysterious circumstances of Poe's death, a mystery that remains unsolved even now and will probably remain unknown. There are many, many (many) speculations and theories about how Poe met his end at age 40, with some ideas more credible than others. Dawidziak - and his many sources - go through several, ranging from almost certainly NOT the cause of death (rabies) to the most likely (which I'd never heard or read anyone else mention but honestly makes a lot of sense. Read the book for what that is). The book doesn't just focus on Poe's death, but his vibrant and active life. A lot of myths get exploded in "Mystery of Mysteries." Only quibble is sometimes the way the book is setup-- with alternating chapters between the time shortly before his death and his life leading up to that point - was a bit jarring, especially towards the end. But this is a minor nit. I highly recommend this not just for the incredible research on Poe, but as an example of the importance of evaluating and considering sources.
The other stories here are all by O. Henry:
117. Tictocq. A silly short story that is obviously a spoof on Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Here, Tictocq, who is in Austin on business from the French government, is asked to intercede in the theft of what is considered to be a critical item from a political candidate. Far more barbed than the Shamrock Jolnes stories.
118. The Whirligig of Life. An OK short story, not one of O. Henry's best. Here, in a remote Tennessee town, a married couple asks a local judge to divorce them. The following actions are predictable but sort-of sweet.
119. The Voice of the City. The theme of "trying to catch the character of a place" is a common one for O. Henry, but each story goes about it in a different way, and so far each take I've read is masterfully done, including this one. Here, a young man tries to ask various residents of New York City what this metropolis would sound like if it could speak. The answers he gets vary wildly. Didn't see his conclusion coming but it was satisfying.
120. The Unknown Quantity. For the most part, I really liked this short story, arguably one of O. Henry's most thought-provoking. Only thing that really didn't fit was the beginning paragraphs about Algebra, that was a bit clunky. But the rest follows two young men: a man from a wealthy family and a man from a working class family. When the rich man's father dies and he realizes how his dad got his fortune, the son wants to make amends. He asks his dear friend, who comes from a family of watch-makers and repairers, how he can repair the past damage done by his father's underhandedness and greed. The friend, indulging in a bit of schadenfreude, goes into why his young and rich friend can't undo the harm. However, O. Henry not only hints at a bit of hypocrisy in the watch-maker, but in trying to prove his point the working class friend winds up helping his rich friend accomplish his goal in an unexpected way.
121. The Thing's The Play. A man is invited by a writer friend to see a concert. During the intermission the writer complains about the difficulty of a recent assignment to find the humor in the situation he had encountered as his editor had requested. The man listens and proceeds to tell his writer friend how the story could have been written with a humorous bent- and is surprised when the writer fails to see the laughs. A good illustration on how humor is relative.
122. The Theory and the Hound. A law official is sent to a remote town to arrest a man. There are several problems: He has never seen this man, only heard a description, which fits two men in this town. Also, the suspect - wanted in murdering his wife - is going by another name. He tests out a theory to great success to make the arrest. I actually liked the story until the very end, which uncovered the theory in question. Ugh. It didn't sit well with me, especially since real life indicates otherwise.
123. The Tale of a Tainted Tenner. I remember reading this in high school and enjoying it. Enjoyed the re-read but couldn't help thinking the ending fell a bit flat, as if O. Henry wasn't sure how it should end. Still, aside from that, it's still an entertaining short story from the point of view of a 10-dollar bill.
124. The Sparrows in Madison Square. Definitely one of O. Henry's darker comedies. This twisted tale follows the adventures of a young man who wants to make his mark as a writer, and he's sure he has the recipe for instant success and easy cash. The story takes a dark turn when his dream doesn't materialize and he blames his former inspiration - the little sparrows in the park. It gets really dark from there. The ending is funny in a macabre sort of way.
125. The Song and the Sergeant. A half dozen people find themselves kicked out of a fancy restaurant and before a desk sergeant after quarreling too loudly in the high-class eatery. The sergeant is determined to figure out the story behind the squabbling and accusations. The story's ending is predictable but the tale is still sweet.
126. The Social Triangle. The general overall story is predictable but still enjoyable. Here, a man from the lower rungs of society finds the courage to shake hands with his hero, a successful district leader. The leader, himself inspired by the encounter, finds the courage to approach a wealthy businessman about helping out the neighborhood. The wealthy man, looking for purpose, tours the neighborhood in question and finds new life for himself as he realizes the good he can do, including to one man he talks to- the first man the reader meets.