Bred Any Good Rooks Lately?

by James Charlton

A collection of stories that end with a malaproped quotation or popular phrase features the writing of Roy Blount, Jr., John D. MacDonald, Peter Schickele, Elmore Leonard, Stephen King, Anna Quindlen, Tony Hillerman, and Peter Straub. Reprint.

Genres: Short Stories, Humor, Fiction

144 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 26, 1986

Reviews

[George Siehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Charlton invited many leading writers to submit a story ending in a pun. Forty-five writers, including Stephen King, Annie Dillard, Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl took the challenge. They contributed a page length (more or less) backstory (setup) and concluded with the required bit of wordplay. The book's title, for instance, is drawn from Stephen King's contribution.

I found the book at a used book sale and pounced on it, reading it in one sitting. Readers with more self control might be able to spread it out by reading small portions. Whatever, be prepared to laugh out loud--or in a few cases, scratch your head.

[Fawzan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whimsical

This book is definitely one of the more eccentric books I’ve read this year. The title alone sets the tone for a quirky, offbeat journey. The mix of wordplay, oddball characters, and unexpected plot twists kept me intrigued. Some parts were clever and laugh out loud funny, while others felt like they were trying a little too hard to be weird for weird’s sake.

If you enjoy surreal humor and don’t mind a story that meanders, you might enjoy this. Anyway, I appreciated the creativity.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

That more commonly known as a tortured pun. I think one might have been able to get the full measure of this book without having had to read every single entry. Or, you know, even two of them.