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103rd out of 1,186 books
—
879 voters
The Umbrella Man and Other Stories
by
Roald Dahl
Is it really possible to invent a machine that does the job of a writer? What is it about the landlady's house that makes it so hard for her guests to leave? Does Sir Basil Turton value most his wife or one of his priceless sculptures? These compelling tales are a perfect introduction to the adult writing of a storytelling genius.
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
January 19th 2004
by Speak
(first published April 6th 1982)
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Jul 04, 2012
e.c.h.a
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Harun, Mery, Mbak Mia, Mbak Uci, Mbak Roos
13 stories from this book have a hilarious ending and some have a twist ending. You will not find a happy ending one. Some have a horror effect, quite smooth but it really makes me spooky. You always questioning what will happen at the end when you read it, until you find it by yourself.
My fave stories are The Land Lady, Parson's Pleasure, The Umbrella Man, Royal Jelly.
Roald Dahl is a good story teller indeed and am totally agree with that. *bowing*
My fave stories are The Land Lady, Parson's Pleasure, The Umbrella Man, Royal Jelly.
Roald Dahl is a good story teller indeed and am totally agree with that. *bowing*
1 like · like · see review
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”The Great Automatic Grammatizator” (from “Someone Like You”): A mechanically-minded man reasons that the rules of grammar are fixed by certain, almost mathematical principles. By exploiting this idea, he is able to create a mammoth machine that can write a prize-winning novel in roughly fifteen minutes. The story ends on a fearful note, as more and more of the world's writers are forced into licensing their names-and all hope of human creativity-to the machine.
”Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coa...more
”Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coa...more
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This book's amazing. It's starts off slow, with "The Great Automatic Grammatizer". By the end of the first story, you'll be hooked. Each story contains quirky characters in unusual situations, but the where the book shines is in it's plots themselves.
It seems there are few modern writers who are able to truly spin a tale worthy of noting. It is enough to be able to put words on a page. It seems this is especially true for book meant for teens. Teens often have low expectations to start with, s...more
It seems there are few modern writers who are able to truly spin a tale worthy of noting. It is enough to be able to put words on a page. It seems this is especially true for book meant for teens. Teens often have low expectations to start with, s...more
I was ever so little when I'd read this! I remember it so well in spite of that. The Umbrella Man happens to be the first Roald Dahl story I've ever read. Each story in this is good, nay, beyond great! Perhaps I felt that way since it was the first time I'd touched Dahl. What ever it might be, I guess there's a consensus out there that this book holds great stories!
This book contains a collection of 13 short stories, crafted in a fascinating manner by Dahl. Now, I wont be going in to the details...more
This book contains a collection of 13 short stories, crafted in a fascinating manner by Dahl. Now, I wont be going in to the details...more
Thirteen original stories, from a girl who lost her whole family in the Greek war to a Spanish eccentric man who bet his cadillac for a finger. Only Mr. Dahl who could think of such things as a great automatic grammatizator machine or a company specialized in vengeance. He has a way to stack up words and build a situation so intense i literally held my breath reading them. But i don’t quite like some endings. There’s some stories which endings feel rather unfinished and left me with a kind of “f...more
I love books and i love bookstores too. I love fictions, i love fantasies, i love thrillers, and i love ROALD DAHL. This one writer is the best writer EVER for me. The first time i read his book, it was The Witches which with perfect twists greatly succeed on making me addicted. I bought all of his books and i'm still asking for more. The books i read were his writings for children. And several weeks ago in my favorite bookstore-Periplus Galaxy Mall- i found his adult book and it made me simpere...more
The umbrella man is a collection of thirteen tales that teaches a lesson in some sort of way. The stories grab you and makes you keep on wanting to read more and more. Every lesson it teaches has to do with something special like cheating,stealing, or scamming some one and how it can have a major consequence in the end. One major story is called the man from the south. This story begins in a small country club when a normal citizen is just sitting around on the benches when a foreign man come up...more
Jun 11, 2008
Denize Teo
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone, even teachers!! It's such a wonderful book to read!!!
Recommended to Denize by:
Myself, got it at the library.
This book named Umbrella Man has 13 ingenious stories by Roald Dalh. He writes many stories that makes his books great. The 13 stories are the great automatic grammatizator, Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's coat, The Butler, Man from the South, The Landlady, Parson's pleasure, The Umbrella man, Katina, The way up to heaven, Royal Jelly, Vegeance is Mine Inc, Taste, and neck. Funny names right?? I'll tell you about the man from the South, its a great story. It is about this man, ( did not reveal the...more
I found & bought this book while volunteering at the library bookstore. I've decided I'd like to go back and try to read every book by my favorite childhood authors - Roald Dahl and Paul Zindel, mainly - and I'm increasingly finding that Dahl wrote all these other adult books other than Boy and Flying Solo I had never heard of. Although I only realized halfway into this book after reading the back cover that this was a collection of his stories apparently chosen for young adults, but like mo...more
Matilda was captivating as read out loud by my fourth grade teacher. So I had high hopes for this collection but came up wanting more. Considerably more.
This collection starts off with the zingers of "The Great Automatic Grammatizator," an indictment of greedy publishers and lazy writers (the message will never be outdated) that doubles as a plain fun story.
Other shorties worth the look are "Parson's Pleasure" and "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat" - karma, baby! - and the sickest of the lot, "...more
This collection starts off with the zingers of "The Great Automatic Grammatizator," an indictment of greedy publishers and lazy writers (the message will never be outdated) that doubles as a plain fun story.
Other shorties worth the look are "Parson's Pleasure" and "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat" - karma, baby! - and the sickest of the lot, "...more
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A much-smarter friend recommended this to me, and lent me her library-borrowed copy, which shows a lot of trust. How could I not read it? I called her and asked her a question about it, one of the short stories that is, and she was afraid I was not "getting" the twist that each story provides at the end. I told you, she is much smarter than I. I got it. I did! It was a fun read, if not one that fills the reader with warm feelings of humanity's redemption. Hey, it is Roald Dahl!
One of my favorite authors as a budding reader. This collection of his short stories hints at the brilliance and mystery of his children's and young teen books, but I do prefer his longer works. These stories are still written primarily at a teen level with respect to vocabulary and subject matter; what impresses me even as an adult is the clarity and simplicity that make his stories linger in the memory. Esp liked "Man from the South," "The Way up to Heaven," and "Taste."
Roald Dahl writing stories for adults makes you nervous at first. Will there be enough whimsy to give my inner child a sugar rush? Eh, some. More so than the war memoirs. The collection of stories often features a curious child who asks too many questions and challenges the authority of adults. So Dahl's habits die hard, but it's worth toting with you on a train or to a waiting room.
Roald Dahl is my favorite- so I love discovering collections of his short stories I didn't know were in print. He wrote for adults for a while before he wrote for children. These are some of his short stories for adults and true to form they are weird and wonderful. I highly recommend if you're a fan of Dahl's work, or if you just need a dark comedy fix!
Roald Dahl is a great story teller! Every story is so different and I am impressed with how creative he is. I am always waiting for the twist at the end of the story. My favorite in this collection is Katina, which is more touching, serious, real and powerful than the other short stories in the collection. But I enjoy the darker or more light-hearted stories as well.
This was a cute collection of short stories. They aren't all one specific genre which I liked but I definitely enjoyed most the ones that were leaning towards horror. I was surprised that Roald Dahl wrote for adults before writing for children. I think he found his calling when he switched to children's books.
It's always nice to read a book purely for fun, not just because you have to! He was one of my favorite authors when I was younger, very fun and descriptive with his writing. All of these short stories have a fun twist at the end....but over time, the "surprise" ending starts getting more and more predictable. :)
This was another book i found at my library without properly searching it! I enjoyed the stories, they are diffent to the common stories i was used to read and really short and easy to understand. I was surprised that the author was well known and i didnt know him before.
You may have suspected, from longer works like Matilda, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or James and the Giant Peach, that Dahl loves to see terrible people get their due. This book of short stories is no exception, and after a while you get the feeling that Dahl is simply trying to put right what the world itself so often fails to. And yes, the baddies get what's coming to them, but the beauty lies in the fact that the heroes and heroines experience their victories so quietly, so gracious...more
Ooh! These stories were just spooky. Vintage Dahl--these stories are written for adults. Colette tells me that many of them became premises for "Tales of the Weird". These are vicious tales of comeuppance. Ultimately, I would say that they are about karma!
i have always loved roald dahl, but this was his first adult book a read. his stories have an o. henry quality to them, with clever twists and turns, but they end in such away that leave you wanting more. very enjoyable.
Dahl's short stories are filled with twists and turns that are somehow unexpected. His use of words is masterful. And, he has an amazing sense of humor. Would suggest reading this book with tea and crumpets.
introduced to this book by my wonderful former coteacher, who modified certain stories to make them "child-friendly" for the grades 4-6 set, but still creepy enough to keep them on the edge of their seats.
Roald Dahl re-secured his place as my favorite author in this collection of short stories. I picked up a used copy in Powell's City of Books when I was in Portland, and I am almost finished with it already. It was great to have on the plane! Some of these are dark sort of tales, some are just funny, and some are wistful. He's good at every type. You might remember "Lamb to the Slaughter," in which a woman kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb (a Twilight Zone episode was based on this). We...more
1 like · like · see review
What a collection! Some are heartwarming, some are scary (well, most of them are) and with so much hidden meaning about our society nowadays. Such a rereadable book!
Dec 30, 2012
Virginia Olstead
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone who loves short stories
Shelves:
favorites
Never trust a man with an umbrella! Greatly written short stories, they made me laugh out loud and sometimes they seemed to be very moving.
His short stories are dark and awesome. A few too many in this collection that were just weird for the sake of being weird though.
I just love Roald Dahl. I've always loved his children's stories...but the truth is, I think I enjoy his short stories for adults more!
I was very impressed by Dahl. It isn't often that you find an author who not only is a great plot writer but also a fantastic character writer. These tales definitely keep your attention and make you want to keep reading... lots of macabre stories with nice little twists. The only thing keeping this from being a five in my book is the "surprise endings." I realize that these things can be fun, but they can be tiring too. Dahl's stories remind me a lot of O. Henry's - lots of moralizing going on,...more
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Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors.
Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as "A Piece of...more
More about Roald Dahl...
Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as "A Piece of...more
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