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67th out of 186 books
—
54 voters
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog
by
Dylan Thomas
The 'Young Dog' of the title is of course Thomas himself, & this volume of autobiographical stories by the great modern poet, who shows his waggish humor at its best, his exuberance & verbal magic in spectacular display. It also shows him a spinner of tales & a creator of memorable characters.
The peaches
A visit to Grandpa's
Patricia, Edith & Arnold
The fight
E...more
The peaches
A visit to Grandpa's
Patricia, Edith & Arnold
The fight
E...more
Paperback, 186 pages
Published
1968
by New Directions Publishing Corporation (NYC)
(first published 1940)
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There were always a few Dylan Thomas poems in our English lit books in high school - "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" was the most prominent - but I don't think I really got it until I heard a recording of him reading "A Child's Christmas In Wales" in his incredibly rich, expressive and tender baritone. The stories in this little volume are in that vein - quaint and loving reminiscences of his boyhood Wales, but unsparing, and richly evocative. Here is a short sentence about drinking beer...more
There was a time when Dylan Thomas's poetry was a necessary obsession for literary adolescents. But then we grew up. These days most of the poems don't seem convincing, but the prose and 'Under Milkwood' still hold their own.
If the title is a not so sly dig at Joyce the collection of stories invites and is haunted by a damaging comparison with 'Dubliners'.
Thomas's prose sings and the stories of growing up in Wales are memorable. 'One Warm Saturday' , the last story, has been a favorite for decad...more
If the title is a not so sly dig at Joyce the collection of stories invites and is haunted by a damaging comparison with 'Dubliners'.
Thomas's prose sings and the stories of growing up in Wales are memorable. 'One Warm Saturday' , the last story, has been a favorite for decad...more
There's a great deal of interesting characters to these stories and though they don't really knock you over the head, they tend to stick with you for awhile in all their small subtleties. What I really enjoyed about this book is, and excuse me for being very Holden Caufield-y but none of the characters are fake or phony even the guy who convinces two women he loves them both. There's a sense of innocence to these Welsh human beings even when their intentions are not so good and there's also a hu...more
I don't like Dylan Thomas' short stories nearly as much as his poetry and Under Milk Wood, but he certainly has a way with words, with descriptions that are fresh and different. For that it gets an extra star than I would normally give it.
A couple of these stories -- 'A Visit to Grandpa's' and 'One Warm Saturday' -- are really going to stick in my mind.
As with Under Milk Wood, likely to reward rereading: I'd read 'The Peaches' and 'Extraordinary Little Cough' before, and I liked them more this t...more
A couple of these stories -- 'A Visit to Grandpa's' and 'One Warm Saturday' -- are really going to stick in my mind.
As with Under Milk Wood, likely to reward rereading: I'd read 'The Peaches' and 'Extraordinary Little Cough' before, and I liked them more this t...more
I started telling my friend this story from my childhood when I realized I had no memory of the event. It wasn't my childhood at all but Three Peaches. Dylan's stories are so natural and absorbing that they settle in with you.
Nov 26, 2008
B
added it
Excellent book. I read it for a class and we kind of treated it more as a novel than a short story collection for the purposes of the class, but it's the book that I chose to write my final paper on. The short stories are very good, and most are sad or bittersweet, but not all. Also, the narrator for the most part is Thomas himself, which means he's a very boyish boy and mannish man. You know, stuff like getting into fights with kids and becoming friends over that, getting drunk a lot when older...more
Sep 04, 2012
Adam Stone
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-story-collections
The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog is a book of short stories written by the welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas. Ten stories comprise this collection and each of them feature a raft of interesting characters which are all well drawn.
After reading these I believe that they work best read aloud much like Thomas' Under Milk Wood and I would love to hear them like that.
It was certainly interesting to read as Thomas was often a beautiful writer and really had a way with words and he certainl...more
After reading these I believe that they work best read aloud much like Thomas' Under Milk Wood and I would love to hear them like that.
It was certainly interesting to read as Thomas was often a beautiful writer and really had a way with words and he certainl...more
This was such a good read. He has such a way of describing people and situations. It's really worth reading - actually made me laugh out loud which doesn't happen a lot with books =) It's a collection of short chapters about his childhood and his days as a newbie journalist in Swansea. With lots of eccentric Welsh characters all over the place. I especially loved the chapter when he was little and was staying with his uncle and aunt and his mad cousin who had built a church in the farmyard barn;...more
Thomas is better known as a poet (ex. "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night") but here he uses prose, or, more accurately, prose-poetry. Thomas parodies the title and the structure, but not the content, of Joyce's "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", and "Dubliners". Whereas Joyce gave us windows into his youth in Ireland of the late-19th to early 20th century, Thomas writes of Wales circa the 1920s. Most of the stories are straightforward, but one or two are highly symbolic and make no sen...more
Not yet, have I ventured into the mysterious world of poetry seriously. I've read some John Donne and read some to and fro. But this 'autobiography' of one of the English language's most important poets of the 20th century has certainly aroused my interest.
The book loosely follows the author as he travels across ages and styles into his life, an absurd array of stories which has its grande finale in "One Warm Saturday"
One last quote:
"Too much platitudinous verbosity!"
The book loosely follows the author as he travels across ages and styles into his life, an absurd array of stories which has its grande finale in "One Warm Saturday"
One last quote:
"Too much platitudinous verbosity!"
Although Dylan Thomas is more known for his poetry, I decided to try a collection of his short stories. I enjoyed some of them, but some I had trouble following. I understand he had an incredible voice and that people loved to hear him do readings. Some of it really was great, but I think if he wasn't "famous" I wouldn't think much of them as a whole. They are autobiographical and all I kept thinking as I read them was, "here is a perfect example of a GT boy/young man."
This slight collection of short stories was a very pleasurable book to commute with. I found myself becoming very absorbed in these evocative and poetic insights into people's lives. Thomas writes with a strong sense of mood and emotion, and I enjoyed dwelling in these stories for a while. A collection that deserves re-reading, and so I look forward to picking these up again at a later date.
I especially liked: The Fight and One Warm Saturday. I haven't read any Dylan Thomas before, but I really enjoyed the atmospheric feeling of his prose. I think the predominant themes of isolation, loneliness, and longing were captured beautifully in the exploration of coming of age in the city. Seems to me he has a pretty vast and deep understanding of the human condition.
A great blend of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners makes this a beguiling book. It is more allusion than aping, which makes it all the more interesting, and all the stories are great, the final one especially is a piece of classic greatness. I am impressed.
Dec 11, 2008
Rickeclectic
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who can read. Anyone who wants to write
Shelves:
literature
Amazing writing. It seems to vibrate, its so alive. Funny, tragic, eerie and mostly about just regular everyday life. Short stories and loose threads of thought. I wish he hadn't died so young. I love just about everything he ever wrote, even down to his letters.
Dylan Thomas + short stories = heaven. A woman sitting next to me in a plane last week saw this and said, "He was probably a genius, right?" She was reading a pulp thriller. "So is this woman. She has some really big words in here." Enough said.
This was an awful compilation of short stories. I admit it, I bought it because the book cover was amusing. But, seriously, every piece of work has a beginning, middle, and end. Every single short story in this book was purely 'middle' . . . no real beginning, no real ending. Alas, I had to give it a star - but if I could give it less, I would. Ugh.
A pre-War Welsh childhood in story form, the prose studded with the kind of linguistic jewels that only a poet can muster. Uneven in their quality, the best are those of early childhood. Get your hands on a copy for the first story, The Peaches, alone.
It was a kinda slow at times, and sometimes it didn't really keep my attention. The end is really good, but I'm not sure if it is sufficiently good to make up for the slow rest of the book. It's definitely well written, many of the descriptions are really quite beautiful, but overall it was just okay. The style was nice, and if I spent more time thinking about the book and what it was saying I probably would have liked it more.
Jul 30, 2011
Rachel
added it
Wordy descriptions, it took me longer to read than I expected. Some parts reminded me of My Uncle Silas - the old sly men of a certain age I think!
Recommend.
Recommend.
Apr 22, 2009
Misha
marked it as to-read
I'm sure I've heard of this book, and yet I somehow didn't know that Thomas wrote short stories. It was a lovely $2 find, although the binding needs to be reglued.
Dated. Overblown prose that's hard to stick with. Cider with Rosie gives a much better picture of youth in times gone by.
Short stories written in that wonderful prose style that makes Dylan Thomas so special.
I especially like "One Warm Saturday" and "Who Do You Wish Was With Us"
I just love D.T. His short stories are incredibly descriptive and sublime.
Oct 09, 2009
Sean Evans
added it
Portrait of the Artist As a Young Dog, by Dylan Thomas (1968)
Mmm Dylan Thomas about sums it up.
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My first read of Dylan Thomas. I must read the rest.
last story gets 5 stars, rest get 3.
Just the fucking best
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Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet. He is regarded by many as one of the 20th century's most influential poets.
In addition to poetry, Thomas also wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, with the latter frequently performed by Thomas himself. His public readings, particularly in America, won him great acclaim; his booming, at times ostentatious, voice with a subtle Welsh lilt, became...more
More about Dylan Thomas...
In addition to poetry, Thomas also wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, with the latter frequently performed by Thomas himself. His public readings, particularly in America, won him great acclaim; his booming, at times ostentatious, voice with a subtle Welsh lilt, became...more
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