Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: London (England); World War, 1914-1918; ... Read more

Product Description
Saki (Hector Hugo Munroe) is perhaps the most graceful spokesman for England's "golden afternoon" - the slow and peaceful years before World War I. This volume contains the whole of Saki's work - all the short stories, his three novels and three plays. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Edwardian society and magic
I'm a huge fan of short stories and always read about as many short story collections per year as I do novels, by authors as diverse as Helen Simpson, David Sedaris, TC Boyle, Roald Dahl, Michel Faber, and Wells Tower, to the literary journal McSweeney's. I've heard of Hector Hugh Munro or Saki for a number of years but is one of those classic authors I'd never read that I decided to tackle this year. So how do his stories measure up a century after publication? Not bad, there were a few stories I enjoyed but on the whole they're unfortunately quite mundane.

The ones I enjoyed showed Saki introducing macabre and mystical elements into his tales. "Gabriel-Ernest" is a great baroque story about a boy werewolf while "Sredni Vashtar" is about a boy who befriends a ferret only to create a pagan religion around it, then when his cousin gets rid of the ferret from the house he prays for the ferret-god to get rid of his cousin... then his cousin disappears! "The Peace of Mowsle Barton" is a story of a peaceful village of warring witches while the pagan theme continues in "The Music on the Hill" where an offering to the pagan god Pan is spoiled by an unwitting young woman who is then gored by a stag's antlers. There are also stories of hyenas in the English countryside ("Esme" and "The Quest") as well as talking cats ("Tobermory") all of which I really enjoyed.

Then there are the bulk of the stories which are mostly about young people or children outwitting their elders. These stories are often about slight things like misunderstandings, like a gent who writes rhyming couplets about women, a pet monkey stealing lozenges, a woman transformed into a she-wolf (but not really). They're readable in that they're well written but they're not very compelling and I often found myself sighing at the almost punchline type ending to a story.

Saki comes across as a very smart, self-aware writer of then-modern stories, but the stories don't measure up as well as they once did and as such don't have the same effect on the readers of today. Don't get me wrong, there are some good stories here but there are a number of stories here that don't sustain the level of storytelling or interest. Shame too as I really wanted to like Saki. I guess I just expected more to his work.

The King of the Short Story
When I was a soldier, I was lucky enough to be introduced to the pleasures of Saki by a kindly American lady at some NATO barracks, who in her free time tried to bring the pleasures of English literature to our ignorant soldierly souls. I darkly remember that it was the cat Tobermory who acquainted me with Sakis perfidious wit, his devilish epigrammes and his poisonous flatteries. Here you meet Ambrose Bierce if he would have been a better writer. A deeply mysogynistic worldview, which holds that everything is or can be made ridiculous except good food and wine, brings forth the most outrageous epigrammes you will ever read. Read Saki!
(and afterwards, refrain from quoting him all the time to your friends)

The short stories are top drawer.
This is a great book for the loo. Endings are often surprising but often in a similar way. Thus, although the stories are short and exceptionally well written, they are best in small doses. I managed to get through one of the novels (alternative history), but it was preachy. Found nothing beyond the stories of much interest.

. . . AND I THOUGHT ALL 19TH-CENTURY WRITERS WERE STUFFY
Okay, Oscar Wilde was an exception. But looking at Saki I thought he'd be the fop of fops. Not at all so. His short stories, typically only several pages long are all unique to every other story of his and versus the field. His novels, surprisingly quick and bright, almost right for our age of 30-second mentalities. His short stories, perfect.

He give great openings; I just flipped to an opening page. Yes, it was good: "In an age when it was become increasingly difficult to accomplish anything new or original, Bavton Bidderdale interested his generation by dying of a new disease." Quick, bright and paid off in the following few pages with never a boring, unoriginal platitude or easy, expected sentence.

Today H.H. Monroe (aka Saki) would make a good copywriter or do okay writing for SNL. For me, he's a nice writer to read in a nightly after-bed before-sleep ritual. A safe promise to make: You'll be delighted and may even happily dance to his word plays. And you will never be not surprised. Enjoy.

very funny book
The writing in this book may well be described as a cross between PG Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh.If you enjoy those authors you will enjoy Saki. ... Read more

Product Description
'All decent people live beyond their incomes nowadays, and those who aren't respectable live beyond other peoples'Saki (H.H. Munro) stands alongside Anton Chekhov and O Henry as a master of the short story. His extraordinary stories are a mixture of humorous satire, irony and the macabre, in which the stupidities and hypocrisy of conventional society are viciously pilloried. This collection includes Sredni Vastor and The Unrest Cure.'We all know that Prime Ministers are wedded to the truth, but like other married couples they sometimes live apart' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

AN INSIDIOUS ADDICTION
The stories of H.H.Munro - better known by his pen-name of Saki - have scarcely been out of print since they were first published a hundred years ago.Yet it often seems that their particular delights are reserved for the private pleasures of his coterie of admirers.

It has to be admitted that a taste for Saki is something of an addiction.And, like all addictions, once acquired it is hard to give up.In the years since his wastefully tragic early death in the trenches of World War I at the hands of a German sniper, fellow addicts have included Graham Greene, Noel Coward and Tom Sharpe.All of us take a slightly wicked satisfaction from his biting wit and the subversive way in which he undermines the staid Edwardian society he purports to merely observe.

But, to a much greater extent than his near-contemporaries, Wilde and Kipling, there is something dark and menacing at the heart of Saki's writing.Behind the refined tinkle of teacups on an Edwardian lawn can be heard the distant howling of a wolf.Hidden among the shrubbery in a carefully manicured garden lurk all kinds of Beasts and Superbeasts, ready to wreak Nature's revenge on an uncaring mankind with its arrogant belief in materialism, progress and the innate respectability of middle-class values.Where Kipling's Jungle Book menagerie tends to simple analogies of human types, Saki's animals can rise up with the full power of Pan himself.

This is not to ignore Saki's ability to turn an aphorism with all the facility and wit of the divine Oscar at his best.Nor does it forget his ability to prick the inflated egos of louche young men with too much time and money on their hands or deliciously dotty aunts and duchesses with their minds firmly fixed on Empire and their Imperial responsibilities.

It would be easy to argue that Munro foresaw the imminent collapse of the society into the cataclysm of the Great War.With his experience as a political journalist in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, he was probably more aware than most of the storm that was about to break over Europe.

But essentially he was an observer of his fellow man.And it is for the humour of his observations, for the dazzling twists and turns his tales take and for the fact that he makes us laugh inordinately that he is to be treasured and why we addicts are prepared to share our secret vice with those who have not yet acquired the habit.

A Wicked Sense of the Absurd
Saki was one of the funniest, wickedest, evilest senses of humor to ever pick up a pen! While the stories sometimes seem dated [they were written before World War I], which may make them a little strange to someone who is unfamiliar with the era, the stories are completely worth it! I highly recommend Shock Tactics, The Unrest Cure, Gabriel Ernest, and Sredni Vastar. Saki was sharper than a knife and had a great grasp not only of the absurd but the eerie. What a pity he died in the trenches!

Hopelessly modern wit, hopelessly feudal outlooks
What else can be said about Saki?A man caught between the death of the old way and the birthpangs of modernity - in both politics and literature - has much to satire.Saki's humor is near-pathological, glorifying the absurd and savaging the serious.Any (and all) collections of his too-brief work are to be appreciated, cherished, and most importantly, shared.If one can read "The Unrest-Cure" and not laugh out loud I fear for the future of humanity!

Classics and Understanding
H.H. Munro takes us on a journey unmatched by his predecessors, and brings us back to our reality with an understanding of a true artist. ... Read more

Product Description
Today we are experiencing extraordinary technological advances in the diagnosis and treatment of illness while at the same time learning to take more responsibility for our own health and well-being. In this book, Saki Santorelli, director of the nationally acclaimed Stress Reduction Clinic, explores the ancient roots of medicine, and shows us how to introduce mindfulness into the crucible of the healing relationship. His approach revolutionizes the dynamics between the patient and the practitioner. In describing the classes at the clinic and the transformation that takes place in this alchemical process, he offers insights and effective methods for cultivating mindfulness in our everyday lives. As he reveals the inner landscape of his own life as a health care professional and we join him and those with whom he works on this journey of human suffering and courage, we become aware of and honor what is darkest and brightest within each one of us.         
... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

beautiful and meaningful
this is one book that i am so grateful has been written and offered... most of the pages are either folded or written in to come back to and read again...and that is what this book invites me to do-- to read, savor, connect and feel over and over again....
saki is a rare and precious author and practitioner and whether you are a healer or one who wants to grow and expand your heart, this is a book i highly recommend you read...it is a tapestrywoven with stories, poetry, authenticity and heart....i am all the more enriched by saki's words and presence

Poetic Science
This book is simple, profound and poetic."Heal Thyself" gently touches the 'bandaged places' with insight, compassion, warmth & humour.I hightly recommend this book for those interested in the process of working within mindfulness based therapeutic interventions.

Looking for solid ground
Saki Santorelli wrote that "We are all seeking solid ground."We fear that the ground is not solid and we spend a great deal of time and energy seeking to make order out of our world.In this manner Saki tells us to let go of fear, and find our peace trough personal healing.He shows us by example after example how we can use the idea of being mindful to ease our pain.I recommend this book for all who looking for an alternative to traditional medical practice.You will find your own ground and peace of mind.
William Calhoun, Ph. D. and author of The Fall and Beyond published by Author House in 2008.

Heal Thy Self

Received in a timely manner and in good condition.Great for helping to take responsibility for your own health!

Great read
Lovely book. Gentle philosophical, emotionally satisfying and poetic. The book arrived in good condition and is one I will read over and over. Highly recommended for anyone in the therapeutic arts/crafts or interested in mindfulness practice. ... Read more

Product Description
Shiba is a detective in the fifth anti-organized crime division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, a.k.a. "Anti-Gang 5" specializing in handgun seizures. Shiba's secret weapon is "S" ("spy"), an informant who plays a key role in Shiba's information gathering. Shiba is training an informant who has been officially accepted into Shinjuku's Matsukura Group within the Budoha crime syndicate. One day, Shiba awakens to an anonymous phone call - "Watch out for your S!" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Sadistic Spy Games
OK, I am going to admit that I initially wanted to read this title because it featured a Yakuza seme and a straight arrow uke which, thanks to Yamane Ayano and her Viewfinder series, have become a particular reading fetish for me. (That sounds so BAD, doesn't it? >.< ) Once I began reading the volume, the totally different feel to the story and the author's own sense of style quickly captured my interest for the characters themselves.

Shiiba is a rather complicated man, doing the work he does despite having a developed a loathing for the police organisation itself out of an inner drive to rid himself of the pain he feels after a personal tragedy. This in itself leads him to do more emotional and psychological damage to himself of course, as he builds an emotional barrier precisely in the places that he needs to be more open, in order to no only build a better relationship with, and to protect, his S, but also causes rifts with his fellow officers in ways that can only lead to severe complications later. In fact, his brother in-law is a career track bureaucrat in the police force, yet even he is being pushed away, with the spectre of their shared tragedy forcing the distance rather than bridging it.

When the worst possible outcome comes true for Shiiba, he finds himself not only having to deal with his own emotional backlash, but the need to recover his position. This is where the we get to the crux of the matter, as this involves the charasmatic and slightly sadistic Keigo Munechika. The illegitimate offspring of a yakuza boss and half brother to the group's young and unstable successor, he is really the man behind the scenes of many a shady deal. He makes an ideal informant, but at what price? It's riveting as we watch him manipulate Shiiba both for personal pleasure as well as the Matsukura Group's own advancement.

This is not to say the novel is not without issues. The story is well thought out, there is no doubt about it. Aida Saki created a unique plot with well defined characters who stand out well above the crowd in the yakuza BL sub-genre. It is however a sad fact that the translation feels rough in places, with an almost awkward feel, which served to rather rudely pull me out of the world I was immersed in as it suddenly felt all too artificial. This was nothing in comparison to the editing the lovely art provided by Naru Chiharu suffered across all four of the novels. Being a light novel, there are only a scattering of images, but they take up an entire page, which makes it all the more noticeable when a man suddenly suffers the misfortune of invisibility to his body parts. The novel is clearly rated as an 18+, so this just felt ridiculous, and again, rendered a feeling of unreality to what was an otherwise fascinating story detailing undercover work in Japan's Metropolitan Police Intelligence division. These niggles aside, it is a fine story, and one that I enjoyed so much that when I returned to the first volume to flick through to check names and spellings, I found myself re-reading it again from beginning to end.

Love the cover and the story
"S" stands for Spy, not hard to figure out, but when Shiba's S is killed, he wants to know by whom and why.And quickly had to find a new one to stay on his game. Earlier he'd gotten a message warning him to watch out for his S. Shiba ia cop working in the criminal division to stop guns and the mafia. The author goes into great detail in describing the tension between the 'thugs' and the cops, which almost mirror society today. The illustrations are very well done, plenty of steamy and interesting bedroom scenes and a plot that is thickening by each page. We Americans are short changed because of censorship laws and restrictions, which leave us/me wanting and wanting more and feeling slightly-a lot- cheated and wishing that the manga would come to us in its entirety and original form. S is very good, full of police tension, mafia tension, gun tension and tension with romance.The characters and plot are slowly developed and the story gets deeper and deeper into the underbelly of crime and with some serious bad guys. Shiba walks a fine line between cop and vigilante and goes it well. Shiba has to find a new S and the one he finds he can't stand but needs. Personally, I skimmed through some of the police story about how Shiba got there, why he didn't follow the same route and there are parts that are mor prose and sometimes have nothing to do with the plot but with the character and you can do without. Even so, it's a great read and can't wait to read S vol. 2.

Uber cute. I enjoyed it.
I enjoy the story, thought it was pretty cool.

Like the romance scenes as well.

Overall enjoyable.

I'm a little weary to read the second one though.

Still debating if I will

I love this series
I agree with the other reviewer, how the author goes into details about police system of Japan.I wondered how much research the author did. It wasnt easy to get throught that part but it sure makes it an interesting read.The way the characters unfolds pleases me.
The thought that keeps bugging me is the idea of a "bishonen" pretty boy undercover detective.
I somethimes wished there is more revealed about Andou's hidden desire but I guess that is left for the reader's imagination.
I love the color page illustration and the rest.
This one is a keeper.

Yaoi With Depth and Intelligence
This is the only yaoi series I have ever enjoyed, and I have tried numerous titles. If you're looking for nothing but plot-less sex, this series is not for you. There is sex, yes, but so so much more.

S is a deeper, more involved story that takes its time to develop characters, their relationships, their surroundings, and all the events that are tying them together. It's mature and raw, and it demands full attention from its reader.

It has incredible back story, a vast display of Japanese Criminal Justice intuitive, and intelligent dialogue and motive for its characters. There are times when I am blown away by how smart these novels are, how well-crafted they are for their genre.

S is a rarity, a definite must-buy series of novels for yaoi fans and manga readers alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This book is just what I wanted and more!
I wanted a hardcover version of the Short Stories of Saki and was pleasantly surprised to instead find this book of the author's Complete Works including novels and plays.The page edges are rough-cut, and the hard cover has a basic, classy look.The item arrived in wonderful condition much sooner than I imagined after ordering.I was very proud to present such a nice gift to my husband, who was also delighted by the extra contents, and would highly recommend this item. ... Read more

Product Description
"Mr. Langguth has surmounted the problem that confronts any biographer of a writer like Saki. Without appearing to compete with his subject, he writes cleverly enough to hold his own against copious quotation from that witty subject's work."The Atlantic Monthly"Mr. Langguth, the author of Hidden Terrors, Macumba and Jesus Christs, is superb at stitching Saki's witticisms into a history of the fop who failed...(he) writes perfect sentences."The New York Times"A. J. Langguth, a novelist and an ex-New York Times correspondent in Saigon, now offers the first full biography (of Munro.) As biographer-critic, he proves knowing, balanced and blessedly brief."Time Magazine"Both subject and author have an aptitude for exactly the right word, the perfect choice. They are also both fine and perceptive observers of the world around them."The Los Angeles Times"More than once, the biographer approaches his subject's skill at the well-turned phrase."The Times Literary Supplement ... Read more

Product Description
Saki is perhaps the most graceful spokesman for England's 'Golden Afternoon' - the slow and peaceful years before the First World War. Although, like so many of his generation, he died tragically young, in action on the Western Front, his reputation as a writer continued to grow long after his death. The stories of this title are humorous, satiric, supernatural, and macabre, highly individual, full of eccentric wit and unconventional situations. With his great gift as a social satirist of his contemporary upper-class Edwardian world, Saki is one of the few undisputed English masters of the short story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A delightful collection of stories
Hector Hugh Munro, alias "Saki", exposes with sharp wit all the absurdities and hypocrisies found in the country houses and clubs of the upper classes in the 1910s. Some stories are witty, others macabre and acid because the author drives a knife into the upper crust of the English Edwardian society. And the characters of the self-possessed Clovis or the vain and stylish Reginald are simply unforgettable. ... Read more

Product Description
Saki was called the Oscar Wilde of his day, and hailed as a master stylist. Using witty dialogue and macabre humor, he writes of mischievous young men, foolish aunts, and blood-thirsty beasts. His stories are surprisingly modern in their incongruous mixture of humor and horror. The first truly comprehensive edition of Saki's voluminous output. The Complet Works of Saki includes six previously uncollected stories. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Short Stories; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not Formatted for Kindle 2
It is Saki so of course the stories are marvelous.My one star is for the Kindle Edition.Every other line only contains two words so it is not a smooth block of text for the eye to follow.

Proofreader's Nightmare
I love Saki.These are some of the best, most biting, hilarious gems ever written in the English language. However, the Kindle edition is so hard to read, that I must subtract two stars for the formatting.

The Kindle edition is very hard to read because of the awkward line breaks and kerning. I believe the digitization of this book to have been untouched by human hands, with no proofreading at all.Some lines have four words evenly spaced out to each margin.In other instances, a hyphenated word will have an additional hyphen inserted midway to make a line break.Other pages have "widows or orphans", a solitary word on one page.Each time I encounter one of these, the eye and the brain go "Ker-thunk!" an it spoils the sense and rhythm of the story.

Not worth even the low Kindle price; too many aggravations.

Wonderful stories.Unblemished prose.
These short stories constitute some of the best in the English language.They have quite a range in tone, from the extreamely humorous Unrest Cure to the mystery of Sredni Vashtar.Only The Easter Egg diappoints.Written in an Edwardian prose that never disappoints, read it like it was one of life's little luxuries.

excellent
black comedy at its best.not for everyone.read only one story at any given sitting, or the flavor and the impact goes away.One of the Best short storie collections ever printed. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A light read; some funny parts.
The stories--when first written--must have been funnier.For me, the cultural gap is too wide from the twenty-first century to more than a hundred years ago when poultry humor was funny because everyone raised chickens.Also, making fun of the upper class is humorous, but many of the jokes were repeated, for instance, about not having a good cook or good servants.There are a few funny kids that get the better of gullible adults, but, if I had known that I would be reading through so many other not-so-funny stories, I would have moved on to more promising reading.

Overall, the stories had good set-ups, but nearly all of them stumbled on rather flat punch-lines.
... Read more

Product Description
This collection of Saki contains the absolutely most entertaining stories of thatbriiliant writer, H. H. Munro, including The Lumber Room, The Open Window, Clovis on Parental Responsibilities, The Seventh Pullet, The She-Wolf, The Boar-Pig, The Brogue, The Schartz-Metterklume Method, The Story-Teller, and The Blind Spot. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Rare Treat
If you haven't read Saki before, you are in for a rare treat.I'm not totally in love with every tale in this collection, but The Open Window, The Story-Teller, and the Schartz-Metterklume Method are three of the funniest and cleverest stories you'll ever come across.Saki was a British writer whose witty and sometimes macabre stories satirised Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story and is often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Saki fans BEWARE!
Saki fans BEWARE! There is no index or any indication what stories are here let alone how to find them,. This is a sloppy and unprofessional effort. I am returning mine and am hoping for a more successful effort on Kindle's part. Where oh where is the Schwartz-Meterklume Method? ... Read more

Product Description
This file includes: Beasts and Super-Beasts, The Chronicles of Clovis, Reginald, Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, The Toys of Peace, The Unbearable Bassington, and When William Came.According to Wiipedia: "Hector Hugh Munro (December 18, 1870 – November 13, 1916), better known by the pen name Saki, was a British writer, whose witty and sometimes macabre stories satirized Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story and is often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window" may be his most famous, with a closing line ("Romance at short notice was her speciality") that has entered the lexicon. In addition to his short stories (which were first published in newspapers, as was the custom of the time, and then collected into several volumes) he also wrote a full-length play, The Watched Pot, in collaboration with Charles Maude; two one-act plays; a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire, the only book published under his own name; a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington; the episodic The Westminster Alice (a Parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland), and When William Came, subtitled A Story of London Under the Hohenzollerns, an early alternate history. He was influenced by Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Kipling, and himself influenced A. A. Milne, Noël Coward, and P. G. Wodehouse." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

typo
The Samizdat editor and I have had many interesting email conversations. I think he does a great job.

The second to the last sentence of "The Open Window," probably Saki's most famous story, has a word missing. It's just a hiccup; a sharp reader can guess at the right reading pretty quickly; but it does slightly spoil Saki's excellent surprise ending.

The free Gutenberg version of this first volume has the same error, but the Gutenberg version has italics, while the Samizdat version uses capital letters for italics. Also the Gutenberg version has the right accent markings for Saki's passages in italicized French, while Samizdat has capital letters with no accents at all.

The price is right and I'm keeping this Saki. Readers who like perfection, however, can get a used complete Saki volume in regular print with not as many typos fairly easily.

Great Fun!
if you haven't read Saki's stories you are in for a treat. all i can say is the stories speak for themselves and i am indebtedto Amazon for having this available as a Kindel book since ones in print are few and far between. do yourself a favorand read a couple of stories and you will see what i mean. ... Read more

Product Description
Saki's satirical, comic and macabre short stories of pre-war society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

THE BEST OF SAKI
Sharpest, wittiest, break-down-into-tears-with-laughter, Munro (a.k.a., Saki) has undeniably preserved himself in my heart forever as my favorite Edwardian humorist.We all know at least someone, perhaps a small town, who needs AN UNREST CURE.Or maybe you know a young couple "In the Family Way."This little tome has lots of lovely, sentimental names they might like!My special fave was Esme.I named my next cat Esme, as I wasn't in a family way, don't you know!

Written in Edwardian England pre-WWI, Saki's short macabre comedies are twisted, wicked fun!

Master of the short story
There may not be a greater master of the English short story.Saki (H.H. Munro) writes from a period that is recent enough to be somewhat familiar, but remote enough to provide a bit of an exotic feel to the settings.These short short stories (typically 5 or 6 pages) are an uninterrupted series of gems.In a storytelling style full of grace, charm, and wit, Saki is unstinting in his criticism of the selfish, the self-centered, and the self-absorbed.About the only humans who are spared his sharp utensil are children, who frequently consort with Saki in piercing his victims.Delicious fun.

I read this entire collection over about two weeks.I would not recommend reading Saki's short stories this way.Before reaching the midpoint, oneis so familiar with his style, approach, and aim that the element of surprise is somewhat dulled.These should be dipped into perhaps two or three at a time and then set aside for a month or two.Don't worry...they'll keep.

Hilariously dark short stories
Probably the only sane response, as a writer, to Edwardian England was to skewer it mercilessly. And nobody serves up a finer kebab than Saki. These stories are clever and hilariously funny. I think part of their appeal is that, although Munro can be merciless, one always senses an underlying affection for his targets. It's also pretty clear that Saki's sympathies are with those who lack clout in the established power structure of Edwardian society (children, for example), which makes me like him all the more.

A very funny book.

An outstanding collection
This is one of my favorite and most admired books, ever.An ideal collection of ideal short stories - witty, brief yet complete, and not a word wasted in creating tone and point.Funny and satisfying.Unsettling and creepy.Deliberate use of language and vocabulary that cuts and exposes.All of the above.Unforgettable: The charging stag.The baby playing with buttercups.Schartz-Metterklume.

Recommended without reservation, for a single sitting or a one-a-night from the bedside table.

Darkly Humorous Revenge
Picador edition has wonderful, nicely written introduction that gives marvelous details of Saki's remarkable and short life, explaining well why his stories are usually so dark, and why he liked to take aim at stuffy old bats.

Nearly all of Saki's short stories are about some character exacting revenge upon cruel or shallow members of the British upper class.His writing sometimes feels labored and overwrought, with overlong sentences or ungainly descriptions.But his consistant style, sense of justice, and biting wit are the gems to be discovered within.

The earliest stories seemed to have a lack of balance between darkness and wit, but he did find his equilibrium and most of the later tales are deliciously satisfying.

Absolutely delightful reading if you liked Robert Altman's recent film Gosford Park, or if you are fed up with stuffy, mean upper class types. ... Read more

Product Description
Saki is the acknowledged master of the short story. His writing is elegant, economical, and witty, its tone worldly, flippant irreverence delivered in astringent exchanges and epigrams more neat, pointed, and poised even than Wilde's. The deadpan narrative voice allows for the unsentimental recitation of horrors and the comically grotesque, and the generation of guilty laughter at some very un-pc statements.
Saki's short stories have been much reprinted as well as adapted for radio, stage, and television, but his novels, The Unbearable Bassington and When William Came, are almost unknown, his journalism and travel writing forgotten, and his plays rarely performed. Sandie Byrne argues that his reputation has been unfairly overshadowed by his predecessor Oscar Wilde, contemporary George Bernard Shaw, and successors P.G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh.

In a well-meaning introduction to the Penguin Complete Saki, No:el Coward reinforced the received image of Saki's work as celebrating an Edwardian or even Victorian milieu of privilege, luxury, and affectation; comedies of manners and light satire. Byrne shows that Saki's writing was no nostalgic evocation of a lost golden age, and that he was rarely concerned with the charm and delight Coward describes. His preoccupations were with England, the values of Empire, and the dangerous beauty of the feral ephebe. The threat to the first two of these triggered his alleged metamorphosis from cosmopolitan cynic and dandy-about-town to patriotic, even jingoistic, NCO, in a manner worthy of his blackest humor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

splendidly clever & humorous short stories
Saki was my favorite short story author when I was a student.i just sent this collection to my daughter in boarding school & she just loves it.when you need a little laugh at the end of your day , read one of Saki's shorts! ... Read more

Product Description
7 collections of Saki stories, with a navigable table of contents:

Beasts and Super-Beasts
The Chronicles of Clovis
Reginald
Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches
The Toys of Peace
The Unbearable Bassington
When William Came
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Customer Reviews (1)

Good but not perfect ebook collection of Saki's stories
If ever there was an author born to be read on a Kindle reader (or smart phone), that author is Saki (H. H. Munro), who flourished at the turn of the previous century (he died in WWI). Although he wrote three novels and three plays, he is mostly remembered for his prodigious output of arch and witty short stories. This ebook does not contain Saki's plays, but does contain two novels (The Unbearable Bassington; When William Came) and five of the six collections of short stories (Beasts and Super-Beasts; Reginald; Reginald in Russia and Other Stories; The Chronicles of Clovis; and Toys of Peace). It lacks The Square Egg (a collection of eight, mostly unremarkable stories).

Saki is the perfect Kindle author because his stories are mostly short pieces (3 to 6 pages long in the print edition). You can easily read two or three on your bus or subway commute to work or while waiting in you car while your partner rushes into a take-out restaurant to pick up dinner. The stories are insightful observations of human nature and social interactions (Saki being British, many of his stories turn on the foibles of the upper and upwardly mobile classes). The collection includes the often-anthologized stories "Mrs. Packletide's Tiger" and "The Open Window," as well as "The Story-Teller" (the latter is my all-time favorite Munro story).

Although the ePublisher says this collection has a "navigable" Table of Contents, this is misleading. You can access any of the seven volumes of the ebook from its Table of Contents, but you can't access individual stories within the four short story collections from the "non-navigable" tables of contents at the beginning of each collection. This is unfortunate because there is no real need to read these collections in sequence and every fan of Saki will want to jump around and locate favorite stories for re-reading (or for forcing friends to read..."Dude, read this one. It's short. It'll only take five minutes!) Note to ePublisher: Please fix this flaw! It's not that hard to do, just a little extra tagging.

But for the price, this ebook is very much worth downloading. You'll be surprised how many times in a day you have five minutes to spare and would like something amusing to read.
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Product Description
Sensitive high-school girl Alice just moved to Tokyo only ten days ago, and is already plagued with worries. Her unconscious world is wonderful?dreams of her living on the moon! But reality is far from ideal since grade-school-aged bratty Rin, a holy terror, becomes Alice's baby-sitting job! Meanwhile, Alice meets a pair of boys at school with an oddly close relationship. It's only later that she discovers their relationship is based on their dreams of the same nature. ... Read more