Of late, my husband and I have spent many a happy evening reading short stories together and discussing them at length. He picked up the volume at the parish yard sale. It's an anthology for middle schoolers, I think, but the stories are unedited and he procured it for a mere $0.30.
O'Henry is my favorite. "The Ransom of Red Chief," like most of his other stories, is both clever and hilarious.
Some would argue (stupidly), that O'Henry is cheap literature. These are the same elitists who argue that Norman Rockwell (another favorite of mine) is cheap art. And these sad few also declare that rosé is not real wine. These people have no fun.
I hope you're not one of "these" people.
3 comments:
Ooh, short stories! Read Graham Greene's "A Hint of an Explanation." It's fantastic!
Agatha Christie writes some fun shorts also. Check out "Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories."
-Emily
"the ransom of red chief" is literature at its finest. don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I just cracked open a children anthology last week (had to assess the content before putting it within reach of future-tiny-hands!) and stumbled across the Ransom of Red Chief. I curled up on the couch with the book and some tea... and proceeded to convince my husband that I had utterly lost my mind.
I laughed. I choked on my tea. Tears streamed down my face. "That must be some children's story," remarked my husband, with an eyebrow raised. I assured him it was. The sad thing is I'm not sure I'll ever be able to read it aloud to my little one(s). If its this funny next time, they won't catch a word of it!
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