Cannibalism in the Cars and Other Humorous Sketches

by Mark Twain, Andrew Goodfellow, Roy Blount Jr. (Introduction)

Mark Twain is the rambunctious father of all cynics. His wry observations and biting jibes made him the first modern humorist. His sardonic sketches on everything from politicians, preachers, journalists, barbers, nagging wives, devious children, and gullible low-lifes are as hilarious and true today as they were when Twain hammered them out to make a name for himself on the frontier newspapers in the 1870s. Though humor saturates all his best-loved work, it is in the freewheeling exuberance of these early sketches and yarns that his love of pranks, hoaxes, yarns, slapstick, and parodies is shown to best effect. Throughout these tales, the violence, cruelty, and plum stupidity of human nature is woven into comic gold as he makes us roar with laughter at our own idiotic self-deception and vain conceit.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Humor, Fiction, Adult Fiction

241 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1868

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.

Reviews

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Erzählungen in diesesem Buch stammen aus den Zeitraum von 1863 bis 1916. Man kann sehr gut die Entwicklung Mark Twain von einem ironischem Unterhalter zu einem bitterbösen Satiriker erkennen. Am besten haben mir die Titelgeschichte "Kannibalismus im Zug", Die 1 000 000Pfund Note" und " der Mann, der Hadleyburg korrumpierte" gefallen. Als versöhnlichen Abschluss gab es das erstaunlich sanfte " Tagebuch von Adam und Eva" das mir auch sehr gut gefallen hat.
Alles in allem sehr moderne Geschichten aus dem vorletzten Jahrhundert, die mir im letzten halben Jahr die Wartezeit bei Ärzten verkürzt haben.

[Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Insgesamt unterhaltsame, aber recht altbackene Kurzerzählungen, denen der Leser ihr Alter schnell anmerkt.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really glad I’m diving into Twain’s short stories. I’m realizing that, while I read Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn as a kid, I haven’t really, truly read his work and, thus, am making it a goal this year to read a good chunk of his stories & novels. Not all of the short stories are available in audio format. So, I’ll listen where I can but I also grabbed The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain from my library. I don’t want to miss ONE of his witty musings.

With Cannibalism in the Cars, I was immediately reminded of why I love Twain: his biting wit and sarcasm amuse even in the most difficult of topics. Cannibalism funny? And yet it was. Take it on the surface as a “good ol’ yarn” or look a bit deeper and see his pokes at politics, politicians, and even civilization as a whole. Ouch.

[Kirill · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite old-skool American writer back-in-the-days. Short story satire sketches like curing a cold. Well, he went to the doctor, he had a cold shower, he had a whisky but overall all he done is a good nights sleep to cure his cold. Very funny to me. Also other stories worth a read.
Good book and not racist.

[Narges Shegeft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I read a work of Twain I come to this conclusion that he had reached the ultimate awesomeness in the way he uses the humor in his story-telling.

And I’ve never thought about how everyone’s flesh would taste like but I think after reading this short story I would not stop imagining it!!

Anyway besides the ironic reference to the political system and its figurative message and by taking its message literally, what if one day such a thing became as normal as eating animals’ flesh? 😶

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories in this one were a bit uneven, that's what you get when they're picked from a career spanning over a decade sometimes! Still, Clemens is great company to have when you're lying in a hammock in the garden.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

such a well written story but the ending was such a bummer. just a man with unchecked mental illness annoying someone on public transportation? well that’s just new york baby

[Mina Khoshharf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous

[behsforensics]

Team owns Cannibalism in the Cars by Twain, Mark digitally.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

just finished, and I enjoy Twain's wit. He delivers the contrapositive of the textual meaning of his words by using the subtext alone. That's why he's a genius. And its funny too.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

committed suicide in the second degree...

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I just read Cannibalism in the Cars)

Very funny story, and a bit ambiguous, in a good way.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Review of only "Cannibalism in the Cars")

Welp. That's democracy for you. Two against one, you die.