When I was in middle school we read The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. I'm sure it was right around Christmas. This was a charming short story so different from the Shakespeare and Poe that we had been working on. First and foremost it was funny, and secondly it was written for people like me. This was simple story, told well. it told about real people, struggling to make a living, and about love in a way that wasn't preachy. A couple years later I picked up my parent's illustrated copy of The Ransom of Red Chief and laughed along at the two bumbling kidnappers and their "boisterous" charge. (at the time Red Chief seemed cute. Now he seems more demon spawn) But these two short stories were refreshingly fun and wonderful stories.
But I never pushed on with O. Henry (actually named William Sydney Porter). I stopped with those up until now. Lately I've been bad about bringing a book to work. I just don't think about it in the mornings. So when I'm in the office for lunch I have nothing to read. And lately I haven't been writing. So I have been going to one of my favorite websites, Literature Network, for some light reading. This great site includes short stories and novels done by any author whose work is now public domain. And that I was happy to see included O. Henry.
I thought I had read the best of his stuff but I was very wrong. All of his short stories are wonderful. They all have the same charm and humor that his most famous two have. I have been treated to Cupid Ala Carte, The Third Ingredient, To Him Who Waits, The Princess and the Puma, among others. Most of his stories have a fun twist at the end that the reader can't see coming. And all of them are so well written. Now O. Henry was a southerner, writing right after the Civil War, so some of his ideas are dated. But the themes of his stories are all about regular people, living regular lives. They are rich with love stories and bank robberies and cowhands and city life. These, along with PG Wodehouse, are some of my favorite stories recently. For a quick read, there is simply nothing better.
But I never pushed on with O. Henry (actually named William Sydney Porter). I stopped with those up until now. Lately I've been bad about bringing a book to work. I just don't think about it in the mornings. So when I'm in the office for lunch I have nothing to read. And lately I haven't been writing. So I have been going to one of my favorite websites, Literature Network, for some light reading. This great site includes short stories and novels done by any author whose work is now public domain. And that I was happy to see included O. Henry.
I thought I had read the best of his stuff but I was very wrong. All of his short stories are wonderful. They all have the same charm and humor that his most famous two have. I have been treated to Cupid Ala Carte, The Third Ingredient, To Him Who Waits, The Princess and the Puma, among others. Most of his stories have a fun twist at the end that the reader can't see coming. And all of them are so well written. Now O. Henry was a southerner, writing right after the Civil War, so some of his ideas are dated. But the themes of his stories are all about regular people, living regular lives. They are rich with love stories and bank robberies and cowhands and city life. These, along with PG Wodehouse, are some of my favorite stories recently. For a quick read, there is simply nothing better.
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