Eeldrop and Appleplex

by T.S. Eliot

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Poetry

10 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1934

About the author

Thomas Stearns Eliot was a poet, dramatist and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry." He wrote the poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four Quartets; the plays Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party; and the essay Tradition and the Individual Talent. Eliot was born an American, moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 (at the age of 25), and became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.S._Eliot

Reviews

[Michael Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The two parts of Eliot's only short story were originally published in separate issues of The Little Review. While there are a few ways to look at this story, I saw it mostly as an exploration of the limitations of seeing the world through an academic lens.

Like Eliot's poems, some of the story might be obtuse for readers who miss the references, but the story moves along well enough, I believe, for people to enjoy without prior knowledge. Also, like Eliot's poems, one can see the influence of Robert Browning's dramatic monologues.

Not exactly a "page turner," the story is still an enjoyable social satire. I'm surprised "Eeldrop and Appleplex" missed my attention for so long. However, I'm really glad I found it.

[oswald · Rating 4 out of 5]

An edifying little dialogic exploration of the nature of the soul, between two characters resembling Eliot the banker and Pound the fiscal anti-Semite. Conflict between Pound's worldly projects and Eliot's nascent, or rather latent, mysticism. It may be worth noting in relation to this contrast that Peter Ackroyd (whose biography of Eliot led me here) says that Pound "had no real dramatic sense" and was thus incapable of fully understanding Eliot's poetry. If I never get over myself and end up compiling some kind of "Eliot contra Pound", this story will definitely be included.

It has a definite conceptual affinity with Poe's Murders on the Rue Morge (which Eliot read at the dentist in his youth) -- two close friends with a taste for the observation of crime rent a dwelling together -- but the story is inverted, and the analytic-fact collector is left in the dark (though he, in his arrogance, does not realize this), of necessity, the point being ineffable, as the nervous Francophile character knows.

There are many things here that Eliot later expanded upon, from the self-sacrificial position of the artist in his essay on tradition of two years later, to the nearly Taoistic sense for paradox in Four Quartets.

[Marius van Blerck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An endearing little piece of nonsense.

[Miles Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eliot in prose is certainly different than when one reads his poetry. This little volume is important not because it represents the author at his literary height, but because it illustrates Eliot's opinions and dispositions regarding early twentieth century society.

[joshua daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Great words by a great artist. I enjoyed this work. TS is my favorite poet and I hope you enjoy, as well.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this short story, two men of a similar social background take time out from their daily lives and rent an apartment in a run down area of London to observe life. The apartment is situated in front of a police station. The men talk to the people who come to the area. Later the have conversations on stereotypes and social classes.
The short story is also available at: online-literature.com

[J.W. Griebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5.0 stars

A beautifully written, fictional commentary on social classes and humanity as a whole.

[عدنان العبار · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel slightly (so completely) envious of Chehrazad.