The Penguin Book of British Comic Stories

by Patricia Craig (Editor), Various

Book by

Genres: Fiction

544 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this case, comic means humor (or humour, since this is a collection of British stories) rather than sequential art. Although, given the low laugh quotient, the definition of comic as humorous may not be exact either. It is a problem with any anthology of this type--that is, trying to cover such a broad range in both time and style--that the reader isn't going to find every story to their liking, but this one for me didn't even come close. I'd hesitate to actually term more than a third of these stories as smile-inducing, and only about a tenth actually had me laugh out loud.

I picked this up mainly to see if there were an author or two that I wasn't aware of who wrote the kind of thing I liked; I knew that I would enjoy the stories by Kipling, Wodehouse, and Kingsley Amis. To my surprise, I didn't like the story by Amis. The big surprise was the story by Saki, which I laughed the loudest at, and had to read a section out to my partner:

"Dullness I could overlook," said the aunt of Clovis: "what I cannot forgive is his making love to my maid."
"My dear Mrs Troyle," gasped the hostess, "what an extraordinary idea! I assure you Mr Brope would not dream of doing such a thing."
"His dreams are a matter of indifference to me; for all I care his slumbers may be one long indiscretion of unsuitable erotic advances, in which the entire servants' hall may be involved. But in his waking hours he shall not make love to my maid. It's no use arguing about it, I'm firm on the point."
"But you must be mistaken," persisted Mrs Riversedge; "Mr Brope would be the last person to do such a thing."
"He is the first person to so such a thing, as far as my information goes, and if I have any voice in the matter he certainly shall be the last."

I enjoyed just a few of the other stories, including Julian Barnes' "The Stowaway," about some animals that you don't think of as being on Noah's Ark, not to mention some of the other details that got left out of the official version; V.S. Naipaul's "The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book," about what goes on overnight in a tourist hotel in India; and "Raymond Bamber and Mrs Fitch," where the dullest member of a cocktail party gets something of a comeupance.

I paid less than $10 for a hardback version of this, so I regret more of the time spent with the stories that I didn't care for as much more than my monetary outlay. On the whole, I'd suggest a pass on this. Even if your tastes are opposite mine, I don't think this will likely fill what you expect from the title.

[Matthew Gatheringwater · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this review I inaugurate a new bookshelf: Bedside Books.

In my fantasy home, I have a fantasy guest room where every comfort, including literature, is thoughtfully provided. What books would I offer my fantasy guests?

There should be several large, dull books, included for their soporific effect. Some trashy novels, too, of the kind my guests might be too embarrassed to purchase but eager to read. Childhood favorites should be there, as well, because old friends are often nostalgic.

There shouldn't be any books actually written by the guest. (Many of my fantasy house guests are authors. Stephen Fry was with me last week and was he ever demanding!) And nothing too horrible or stimulating; I want to promote rest and sleep, not bad dreams.

I'll have to think more about my selection criteria as I stock my shelf. In the meantime, The Penguin Book of British Comic Stories is a good candidate. There is something here for most tastes, although I actually picked it up for one story: Stella Gibbons' Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm.

The story was a disappointment, as it doesn't really stand on its own merits. It drew all its humor from the memory of what fun I'd had reading Cold Comfort Farm. (Stephen Fry appeared in the excellent motion picture adaptation of that book. You'd think he starred in it the way he went on. He talked rather a lot about the weather during the shooting, what a stretch of his acting abilities it was to play Mybug, the scent of Kate Beckinsale's hair, and more such tiresome nonsense, but I just remind him of his appearance on the Lenny Henry show whenever he gets above himself.)

I enjoyed many of the other stories in the book, but I was surprised to see one by Jeanette Winterson that I'd missed reading. Psalms is really probably too gruesome to qualify for inclusion in a bedside book as it features the death of an animal, but it was certainly funny. I'll have to ask if she really had a pet turtle the next time she comes to visit.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Helen Huddleson / Amanda McKittrick Ros --
*The last term / Rudyard Kipling --
The English aunt / Kathleen Fitzpatrick --
The secret sin of Septimus Brope / Saki --2
The mote in the middle distance / Max Beerbohm --2
The facts of life / W. Somerset Maugham --3
Goodbye to all cats / P. G. Wodehouse --4
Germans at meat / Katherine Mansfield --3
William and the young man / Richmal Crompton --
A pair of duelling pistols / Sylvia Townsend Warner --3
Period piece / Robert Graves --
*The cheery soul / Elizabeth Bowen --
Christmas at cold comfort farm / Stella Gibbons --2
Basil Seal rides again / Evelyn Waugh --3
The drunkard / Frank O'Connor --4
A shocking accident / Graham Greene --3
Silas the good / H. E. Bates --2
The lull / Henry Green --1
Fingal / Samuel Beckett --
Teddy Lester's schooldays / J. I. M. Stewart --
The martyr's crown / Flann O'Brien --
*Time gents, please / William Samson --
Funny things happen / Julian Maclaren Ross --
Crazy crowd / Angus Wilson --3
Where tawe flows / Dylan Thomas --2
The first year of my life / Muriel Spark --3
*Eton crop / Benedict Kiely --
Moral fibre / Kingsley Amis --
An ample wish / Gwyn Thomas --
Monsoon selection board / George Macdonald Fraser --
*Raymond Bamber and Mrs Fitch / William Trevor --
Walk tall, if you dare / John Morrow --
The night watchman's occurrence book / V. S. Naipaul --2
Mr Heine / Iain Crichton-Smith --
Horrors of the road / Fay Weldon --3
Through the wilderness / Michael Frayn --
People for lunch / Beryl Bainbridge --3
Dympna / Michael Foley --
Renee / James Kelman --
The stowaway / Julian Barnes (see The History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters)
Psalms / Jeannette Winterson--2

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Silly me, I expected these stories to be, um, humorous. Granted, there was Wodehouse, and there were a few other gems by Amanda McKittrick Ros (unintentional comedy at its best), Katherine Mansfield, Kingsley Amis, and Julian Barnes. But that leaves 30-plus not-very-funny stories. Disappointing.