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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.4
EAN: 9780486292793
ISBN: 0486292797
Label: Dover Publications
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 80
Publication Date: 1996-09-24
Publisher: Dover Publications
Studio: Dover Publications

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Patchwork of Tales by the Bard of American Humor
Review:
This delightful anthology of just 74 pages contains gems by the genius of truly American humor, who catapulted our literary style to international recognition. Finally, a master explains what makes American humor unique: it's not the subject Matter, but the Manner in which the humor is expressed-quite differently from the English and French styles. This is an excellent edition for beginners in the Classics as well as in American literature in general; the stories range in length from only five to twenty pages.

The editors have chosen a variety of settings and topics in this literary patchwork of Twainiana; from California's Gold Country with its famous frog-jumping contest, to a newspaper office in shoot-`em-up Tennessee. Twain explains the dangers inherent in regularly visiting a barber shop; he reveals his earliest attempt at Civil War soldiering; he includes the mystery of a stolen elephant, solved by the competent mind of a New York City Inspector. Not everything is totally amusing, however, as he delves into literary realms as well; he blasts the underserved fame of James Fenimore Cooper, and concludes with earnest advice to writers how to render their stories Humorous--not just funny, witty or silly. This collection is Vintage Twin in a slender package. Kids of all ages should read and enjoy this book; it will only whet your appetite for more Twain fare!

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Made me laugh out loud!
Review: "Humorous Stories and Sketches," be Mark Twain, brings together 8 comic gems by this giant of American literature. At around 80 pages this Dover edition may be small in size, but it's big in laughs and wit.

The 8 pieces are "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," "Journalism in Tennessee," "About Barbers," "A Literary Nightmare," "The Stolen White Elephant," "The Private History of a Campaign that Failed," "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses," and "How to Tell a Story." Twain satirizes gamblers, journalists, police detectives, international diplomacy, the military, and other things.

Particularly effective is the Civil War narrative "The Private History"; it's funny and bitingly satirical, but also surprisingly poignant as Twain reflects on the brutality of war. For laugh-out-loud funny, however, the elephant story is my favorite. A perfect book both for literature courses or just for individual pleasure reading.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: It's worth well over a buck.
Review: But that, amazingly enough, is all it costs. I don't know how Dover does it, but I'm glad they do.

This probably should really get 3 1/2 stars; it's better than a "three", but I can't quite bring myself to give it four.

There are eight short pieces by Twain; there's "The Notorious Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County", doubtless the most famous story here, and "Journalism in Tennessee", a marvellous exaggeration of cutthroat frontier journalism that is, as so much of Twain's work is, reminiscent of Dickens. Then there's "About Barbers", which starts as a commentary on what we now call Murphy's Law, and then moves on to complain of barbers who are intent on cutting the customer's hair the way THEY want it, and to blazes with what the customer wants -- a complaint that seems still relevant even today. Then follows another story with a point unaffected by the passage of time: "A Literary Nightmare", a complaint about advertising jingles that cannot be driven out of the brain with an icepick. Then we have "The Stolen White Elephant", in which Twain directs his satire at the deductive powers of would-be Sherlock Holmeses, and a self-deprecatory tale of his own foolishness during the Civil War ("The Private History of a Campaign That Failed"). Next up is my personal favorite, "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences", in which he gives elaborate reasons, in great detail, why he disagrees with the common wisdom that James Fenimore Cooper is a great writer (or, for that matter, can write at all.) (Perhaps I should find "Pathfinder" and "Deerslayer" on the book list here, and transcribe his comments.) And he closes with "How To Tell A Story", in which he gives advice that seems to me to be good advice for would-be stand-up comics.

The humor in some of these stories is a bit unsubtle, but certainly if you are fond of Twain, and haven't all of these stories in some other collection, it's worth the price of admission for even the least of them.

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