The best short story writer in American history

books:

	• The Best Short Stories of O. Henry (Modern Library) O. Henry Modern Library, 1994 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Stories with a Twist

My father recently sent me some of his books after my parents moved to a smaller home in Oregon. Included in the mostly newer books were a few old ones from his college days. Among them was the original 1945 version of "Best Stories of O. Henry". Anyone familiar with American Literature knows of William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry. He is famous for his short stories that lead you down a path which swerves, at the end, in a direction you hadn't anticipated. Along the way are many colorful characters out of American life around the Turn of the Century (That's the Turn of the Century BEFORE this latest one). Not only are his characters a worthwhile part of every story, his settings often give another interesting view of life 100 years ago. All this evolves in stories that often are no more than 4-5 pages in length. These snapshots almost always conclude with an ironic and/or surprise ending. His best known story, which is the opening selection in this collection, is "The Gift of the Magi". The other story of his that I always recalled, "The Ransom of Red Chief", is also in this book. It's one of the handful of longer stories and runs a whole 12 pages. Among my favorites "discoveries" in this collection are "The Cop and the Anthem", "A Blackjack Bargainer", "Squaring the Circle", "The Pendulum", "The Last Leaf", and "The Count and the Wedding Guest". There are 30 other stories in addition to the ones I've cited. Some went a bit long which sounds strange to say about a short story. However, one gets used to the rhythim of O. Henry and certain stories take you out of that rhythim. Some stories may not conclude in as surprising a manner as others but they are still worth a look at life and customs a century ago.

According to the Editorial Review shown above, O. Henry wrote over 600 stories in his life. I'm not interested in reading that much of his work. However, I'm glad I read these 38.

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Life's ups and downs

These are clever stories that don't skip over the blue side of life.

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Good Collection

This is a very good collection of my favorite short story author.

It's hard to imagine anyone who hasn't read and loved O. Henry, but if for some reason you have discovered this work yet, this collection is a great place to begin.

A wonderfully funny group of stories

I couldn't find the edition that I read, so will review here. I read O'Henry's "heart of the West", his group of stories about Texas. O. Henry (or William Porter) actually lived in Texas just before the turn of the century, and these stories therefore reflect what life was actually like for the rough and ready cowboys and their women. His characters are real, and his stories are true little gems. O. Henry's love for this place (Texas) at this time comes through over and over. O. Henry wrote for the common people, and because of that they loved him. They could see themselves in each one of these stories. These stories are all wonderful, but my personal favourite was "The Handbook of Hymen". It is so wryly funny, that I laugh about it still when I think of Sanderson Pratt and his little book of facts and how that book helped him successfully court a rich widow lady. Idaho Green's little book of poetry written by "Homer K.M." did not stand him in good stead with the good widow lady. Hilarious!

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The best short story writer in American history

O. Henry wrote delightful short stories, always with surprising and often humorous endings. He is a great American literary treasure.

reviews: page 1, 2

The more than 600 stories written by O. Henry provided an embarrassment of riches for the compilers of this volume. The final selection of the thirty-eight stories in this collection offers for the reader's delight those tales honored almost unanimously by anthologists and those that represent, in variety and balance, the best work of America's favorite storyteller. They are tales in his most mellow, humorous, and ironic moods. They give the full range and flavor of the man born William Sydney Porter but known throughout the world as O. Henry, one of the great masters of the short story.

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