Even though this book took me forever to read, I really enjoyed it.

Everyone is familiar with "The Gift of the Magi," and I had read a couple of his short stories in school, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I picked up this volume. I enjoy short stories from time to time, but I usually end up liking some stories more than others. Most of the time, short story collections are "meh" for me. Not so in this case. I can honestly say that I enjoyed each and every story.

I was really surprised how much I looked forward to beginning each story. O. Henry writes about average people, and many critics call him "formulaic." Well, he is formulaic, let's face it. All of his stories have some kind of surprise twist at the end. However, in a twist that O. Henry himself would be proud of, this turns out to be one of the strongest features of his stories. Seriously. I would be reading along, and I'd try to be guessing at what was going to happen. But he fooled me just about every single time. He's formulaic, but absolutely unpredictable. It adds suspense to his stories; it makes them more exciting. You know it's coming, but you don't quite know what it is. I love it.

O. Henry is a great writer, to boot. I know a lot of people shy away from short stories because they're just not long enough to satisfy most people. Even though the character development isn't the greatest (I will admit), I was completely engrossed in the stories. When he was writing about the busy streets of NYC, I was there. When he was writing about bandits out West, I was there. He writes with just enough descriptive flair to put me where he wants me to be. Not only that, but his characters felt so real. He really understands people and human nature. This even shows in his use of vernacular. There have been many a time when I have felt that an author's attempts at the common vernacular have just seemed off. O. Henry is spot on. I could definitely hear each voice as I was reading.

I think one of O. Henry's strongest assets in writing these stories is his use of comedy, which lends itself to the twists. The twists would not work without the comedy. They go to show just how absurd life can be and how coincidence can play such a part in an average person's life. I can't say that O. Henry is the most hilarious author I've read, but there were times when I definitely laughed out loud. Life, and especially love, are funny in the way that they work out, and O. Henry uses this to make his tales entertaining.

I also want to point out that this particular edition is pretty good, and I applaud Barnes & Noble (or whoever put this together). There are a great variety of his stories from throughout his writing career. There is an informative introduction which lends insight into O. Henry and why he wrote the way he did. There was even a great section at the end that included reviews of O. Henry over time and some questions to ponder. I only have two complaints about this edition. First, it seemed that the editors clumped similar stories together, i.e. all the NYC stories, all the Western stories, all the robber/thief stories, etc. It made it a little redundant at times. My last complaint is more of a personal thing. I hate endnotes. I hate having to flip back to the end of the book to see what little blurb I have to read. I mean, there were footnotes throughout as well, so I feel like it just would have been nicer to have one or the other. But that's just me being picky.

Overall, I completely understand why they have a short story award named after him. Realistically, there are many, many different types of short stories, but O. Henry really has his own voice down. As I was reading this, I felt much like the readers who anxiously awaited his stories in the weekly printed magazines. I was constantly looking forward to when I could sit down with this book and soak up some good stories. So, if you're looking for a great collection of short stories, I recommend going out and picking up a copy of this!