Cuentos Crueles

by Saki

=Cruel Tales

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

British writer Hector Hugh Munro under pen name Saki published his witty and sometimes bitter short stories in collections, such as The Chronicles of Clovis (1911).

His sometimes macabre satirized Edwardian society and culture. People consider him a master and often compare him to William Sydney Porter and Dorothy Rothschild Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window," perhaps his most famous, closes with the line, "Romance at short notice was her specialty," which thus entered the lexicon. Newspapers first and then several volumes published him as the custom of the time.

His works include
* a full-length play, The Watched Pot , in collaboration with Charles Maude;
* two one-act plays;
* a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire , the only book under his own name;
* a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington ;
* the episodic The Westminster Alice , a parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland ;
* and When William Came: A Story of London under the Hohenzollerns , an early alternate history.

Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Joseph Rudyard Kipling, influenced Munro, who in turn influenced A. A. Milne, and Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.

Reviews

[Flo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find yourself a cup of tea,
the teapot is behind you.
Now tell me about
hundreds of things.
- Saki

Children. The innocence of life. The bittersweet reflection of truth. You might like it or not, but never ignore it. Their honest words will make their way to your soul and will fill it with joy. Or fear. Or shame.
They will always tell you the truth. They are still pure. They haven't learnt how to lie. Yet. But they will, after seeing adults, their role models. But until then, you can trust them.

Saki's children are a fine example of how to criticize the society of his time. Their social conventions and acts of hypocrisy are viciously portrayed, satirized by those little, candid faces that depict purity and honesty. Innocent faces that can also hurt the ego of the strongest and most mature person. Truth is not always pretty. It is avoided, most of the times. So when you see a little kid throwing it to your face, you have many awkward manners to react.

I have said before that Saki's children do not lie. And I stand by that statement. Even after reading “The Open Window” (a short story I already read in Cuentos de Saki, review here). What grown-ups call lying, for a kid is “imagination”. They create fantasy, not lies. There is no malice in their words. They learn that after getting to know the world. Until then, they only know the hunger for creativity. That playful inventiveness we lose at an office. Sometimes, even sooner.

No malice, and yet, this book written in Spanish was named Cuentos Crueles ("Cruel tales"). There is a short story called "The Penance". The children of this story made a brutal decision after witnessing a heartless act perpetrated by their neighbor. They were deeply hurt and they reacted with that situation in mind. However, they gave him the possibility of repentance. And they “un-beast” him.

All these brilliantly unique tales will make you laugh while sensing an awkward feeling of uneasiness. You might relate to some of these adults described by Saki. Or, if you are in luck, to his children. Either way, you just cannot stop reading his stories.



Dec 20, 14
*Notes
-This edition contains illustrations by Irene Singer.
-A quite decent translation by Graciela Pedraza.
** Also on my blog.
*** Photo credit: via Flashlarevista.

[Lu Di Giovanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo conseguí esta mañana en una feria de libros usados y acaba de acompañarme durante el almuerzo y una breve sobremesa. Simple y conciso, transmite lo que pretende. Es muy sincero con el lado de los lazos humanos que busca representar. Todos los cuentos son breves y de muy fácil lectura, no usa detalles ni recursos innecesarios. Habiendo leído, antes de esta recopilación, solo un cuento de Saki, me queda una buena impresión de él. Recomiendo.

[Lucas Esandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Escritos a contrapelo de una moral, de una época o de lo esperable o deseable de los niños este breve libro de cuentos atrapa al lector por su espíritu cuestionador y por la trama que te lleva de la primera página a la última sin darse uno cuenta, inmerso en la lectura y en la quietud del tiempo. Saki es uno de esos escritores que hay que leer.

[David Montero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuentos geniales, ese debería ser su nombre.
He disfrutado estos cuentos muchísimo, los recomiendo a cualquiera que desee pasar un buen rato en cualquier circunstancia posible.

Saki 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[Susieb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me pareció una obra maestra del cuento. Cada cuento es verdaderamente breve y al mismo tiempo cruel. Muestra que la crueldad se presenta en diversas formas.