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The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories
by
O. Henry
Sixteen captivating stories by one of America's most popular storytellers. Included are such classics as "The Gift of the Magi," "The Last Leaf," "The Ransom of Red Chief," "The Voice of the City," and "The Cop and the Anthem." Publisher's Note.
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
February 5th 1992
by Dover Publications
(first published 1967)
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I enjoyed reading some of the lesser-known ironic stories of O. Henry in this book. My very favorite lesser-known story in this book is "The Green Door" in which a man receives a mysterious business card which simply says "The Green Door". The man is intrigued because he finds that everyone else has been handed a business card for a dentist office rather than for "the green door". So, of course, he has to go in search of this mysterious green door. I love the course...more
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This book is my first introduction to O.Henry and his mischievous twists of fate to all his story endings. I was forewarned about these twists and tried to guess throughout all the stories - but I was always surprised. I found this quite delightful. This book is a compilation of his short stories written between 1906 - 1911 including:
- The Gift of the Magi
- The Cop and the Anthem
- Springtime a la Carte
- The Green Door
- After Twenty Years
- The Furni...more
- The Gift of the Magi
- The Cop and the Anthem
- Springtime a la Carte
- The Green Door
- After Twenty Years
- The Furni...more
"Suppose you should be walking down Broadway after dinner, with ten minutes allotted to the consummation of your cigar while you are choosing between a diverting tragedy and something serious in the way of vaudeville. Suddenly a hand is laid upon your arm. You turn to look into the thrilling eyes of a beautiful woman, wonderful in diamonds and Russian sables. She thrusts hurriedly into your hand an extremely hot buttered roll, flashes out a tiny pair of scissors, snips off the second button...more
During his 5 years he served in prison in 1898, O. Henry wrote this book. It is ten short stories that were published under the pseudonym O. Henry. His real name was William Sydney Porter. I've never read his work before or heard of him, so when I came across this book in my 17 year old son's bookcase, I thought why not.
I really enjoyed O. Henry's writing and would had given it 3-1/2 stars instead of 3 if Goodreads gave out 1/2 stars. I love how each story has a twist and turn. I al...more
I really enjoyed O. Henry's writing and would had given it 3-1/2 stars instead of 3 if Goodreads gave out 1/2 stars. I love how each story has a twist and turn. I al...more
We all know the gift of the Magi story and all it's variations but there were a lot of other interesting stories in here as well. None of the other ones related at all with Christmas and most of them were about robbers and murderers either getting away with their crimes or being caught by the police. I found some sappy, some far fetched, some hard to follow (maybe because of the writing style and the time period in which it was written), but a few of them were actually heartwarming or at least e...more
BOTTOM LINE: smooth, old-fashioned, twisty stories, often with a nice little punch at the end. A truly "classic" writer (translation= not just an old-fashioned one - too many folks use "classic" to mean simply "old", IMO).
Excellent compendium of stories by the fabled writer, still interesting even if most of the twists seem terribly old-fashioned now. A classic author who is still (deservedly, in my opinion) often read in schools, his style is very slow ...more
Excellent compendium of stories by the fabled writer, still interesting even if most of the twists seem terribly old-fashioned now. A classic author who is still (deservedly, in my opinion) often read in schools, his style is very slow ...more
The Gift of the Magi - the first story in the book, and the one I am most familiar with. It still makes me tear up.
The Cop and the Anthem - I had not read this story before. It was a cute story about perseverance.
Springtime a la Carte - another story I had not read before. What an enjoyable little love story.
The Green Door - all about what we expect to see and a little bit of fate
After Twenty Years -- an interesting reunion story. Funny where life take...more
The Cop and the Anthem - I had not read this story before. It was a cute story about perseverance.
Springtime a la Carte - another story I had not read before. What an enjoyable little love story.
The Green Door - all about what we expect to see and a little bit of fate
After Twenty Years -- an interesting reunion story. Funny where life take...more
I really enjoyed reading this story. I liked the two characters, and really enjoyed the philosophical inputs that Faulkner includes.
The narrator is telling the story of a young girl and how she needs to somehow get more money to buy her husband a Christmas present. Through the narrator, we hear how she thinks, and how she and others act. The narrator also interjects his philosophies into the story. It’s personal, yet not pushed.
The narrator is telling the story of a young girl and how she needs to somehow get more money to buy her husband a Christmas present. Through the narrator, we hear how she thinks, and how she and others act. The narrator also interjects his philosophies into the story. It’s personal, yet not pushed.
When a good friend mentioned that he was reading a collection of O. Henry short stories, I started feeling nostalgic and got my hands on a collection, too. I enjoyed every story therein, largely because no matter what I thought would happen in that all-important last paragraph, I was almost always wrong. If you want to read "a twist at the end" master, here's your guy.
This was a collection of short stories and I really enjoyed them. There were a few that I couldn't get my mind into, but about 90% of them were really interesting and I will read them again and again. The Gift of the Magi in itself is a fantastic short read, and I thinki that this book deserves a read.
As I've said before, reading collections of one author is very dangerous to me. But since I had hardly enough time to read part of a chapter at the time I read it, I was able to enjoy these stories, though some really dragged. I just loved the language and the feeling of that time being another world.
I had already read many of the stories included in this collection, but it was great to re-read them and peruse a few new ones into the bargain. I personally loved 'The Ransom of Red Chief' and 'The Pimienta Pancakes', 'Springtime a la Carte' and 'The Cop and the Anthem' are also very funny.
A young woman makes a drastic decision--and her husband has a Christmas surprise in return. A dying girl attaches her fate to that of a leaf. A writer sobs at the sight of a menu. "The Gift of the Magi" with "The Last Leaf," is the best of them all. But I'm afraid I wasn't too impressed with the other short stories featured in this collection.
Although the stories use a vocabulary and style that are reflective of the author's own era (O. Henry lived from 1862 to 1...more
Although the stories use a vocabulary and style that are reflective of the author's own era (O. Henry lived from 1862 to 1...more
I really like the ironic endings that O. Henry includes in most of his short stories. I also find his language to be elegant and accessible. "The Gift of the Magi" is probably one of my favorite Christmas stories. I think more people should read it at this time of the year.
Great Christmas classic. I've read it many times. This was a free listen on audible. Scott listened to it, and was touched; it was his first time. I'm always impressed how a good storyteller like O'Henry can move people so much.
O. Henry has been the influence of many authors but the themes and style of writing betrays close association with Lucy Maud Montgomery. Perhaps his characters do not prattle on for pages on, but the sweetness of small-town people (in cities) is apparent.
I always loved "The Gift of the Magi", but his other stories are just as good. I honestly could not help myself. It was heart warming without being too cliche or preachy. I think I'm in love.
This is the perfect time of year to delve into O. Henry's short stories, in addition to The Gift of the Magi. I enjoy the stories' sweetness and warmth, as well as the surprise endings.
It takes a little longer because the words are unfamiliar today, but it is definitely worth the effort. He really makes you feel the time and the place in which his stories take place.
A quick read. Most of the stories I'm familiar with but it was nice to re-aquaint myself with them. Underlying theme that I seemed to pull from most of the stories: irony.
I read these as a teenager and thought they were great fun. My favorites were from the collection "The Four Million", but "The Cisco Kid" is a very clever, cynical thriller.
christmas short stories from audible dot com this year (dec 2010): gift of the magi, the cop and the anthem, and the last leaf. well done, audible! relaxing and enjoyable.
A great collection of stories with one of my favorite Christmas stories. My review.
I love these stories! The Gift of the Magi is priceless, and his other works are packed with wisdom. Short stories are so hard to get right, and O. Henry is brilliant!
I read a few of these short stories, but then I kind of lost interest. I did like them, but not enough to finish the book right now, I may pick it up in the future and read some more. All the stories that I read had a moral and some form of irony, both of which I would consider a plus.
So, if I ever finish it, I'll add an update to my review.
So, if I ever finish it, I'll add an update to my review.
Just thinking about this story makes me smile! I would recommend this title story to anyone - it's well-written, valuable, thought-provoking and sweet.
One of my most favorite authors of our time. O'Henry wrote these short stories from real life, where they are little gems of spiritual and practical issues of life and dealings. People on people. Great book, excellent collection. Good for the time that you want to read and move on to something else. Love short stories.
Unexpected. That's what I liked a lot; a twisted end, you never know HOW it will change at length.
I've heard some of these stories before. I liked the twists he adds to his stories.
Alex
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The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) by O. Henry (1992)
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O. Henry is the pen name of William Sydney Porter, a short story writer who began his career as an author while serving time in the Ohio Penitentiary under charges of embezzlement. Best known for his surprise endings and twists, he was sometimes called America's answer to Guy de Maupassant. He also coined the term "banana republic" while visiting Honduras in the 1890s, having left the ...more
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