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Robert Graves: Complete Short Stories
The third title published as part of the Robert Graves Programme. This text is a collection of Graves's stories. Other titles in the series are The Centenary Selected Poems, edited by Patrick Quinn and Collected Writings on Poetry, edited by Paul O'Prey.
331 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 20, 2023
I have read some longer works by Robert Graves, and we studied some of his poetry at school, but this was my first venture into his short stories. There was a mixed bag here, some of them autobiographical, others not and some with just elements of the author's life woven into a fictional tale. Some were good, some left me thinking "meh", but there was one I will pick out for a longer discussion, because it has to be the best dental story ever written. That would be Week-End at Cwm Tatws.
I know from other biographical works, that Graves did a lot of mountaineering in North Wales, and this tale seems to have been inspired by his time there.
But oh, if this was inspired by real life events - well, I dread to imagine.
Ok at this point I need to give FAIR WARNING. This tale is not for the squeamish. It is not for those with a phobia of dentistry. If you shudder at the mere mention of nails down a blackboard, you will probably want to stop reading, right here.
You have been warned.
So in essence, this story is about a visit to a dentist. What's so bad about that? Well... this has to be the most chilling (and amusing) dental story I have ever read. It starts off making the reader think it is a love story. “Point is: I fell for that girl at first sight. So much more than sympathetic, as well as being in the beauty queen class, that…”
The unfinished sentences were a feature of this story, and deliberate. It was an effective aid to the structure of the whole. But despite beginning with the girl, we backtrack to what the protagonist was doing in Cwm Tatws (the name means potato valley). The description of the place is enjoyable, with little bits of Wenglish ('Bus motorr' as they call it) and people like Griffith Griffiths and Rowland Rowlands (Rowland twice-named). The writing was enjoyable, although the protagonist's predicament not so much, once his tooth ache kicked in. The elderly dentist had run out of anaesthetic and decided an extraction with forceps was in order... and at this point I shall stop recounting the story, because... well it is brilliant, and you should read it (if the non anaesthetic extraction with forceps did not put you off).
There is a Roald Dahl feel to this, and some great humour. The writing is straightforward, written as an anecdote by someone who doesn't finish his sentences.
And is there a sub text? Or, indeed, an alternate explanation? The story starts off with “What happens to me I prefer told my own way, or not at all.” And tell it he does. But is the narrator reliable? Well... that's an open question I suppose.
What surprised me? I think Graves' humour, and his similarity to a Roald Dahl tale.
Anyway, read it. You will either thank me or curse me!
I know from other biographical works, that Graves did a lot of mountaineering in North Wales, and this tale seems to have been inspired by his time there.
But oh, if this was inspired by real life events - well, I dread to imagine.
Ok at this point I need to give FAIR WARNING. This tale is not for the squeamish. It is not for those with a phobia of dentistry. If you shudder at the mere mention of nails down a blackboard, you will probably want to stop reading, right here.
You have been warned.
So in essence, this story is about a visit to a dentist. What's so bad about that? Well... this has to be the most chilling (and amusing) dental story I have ever read. It starts off making the reader think it is a love story. “Point is: I fell for that girl at first sight. So much more than sympathetic, as well as being in the beauty queen class, that…”
The unfinished sentences were a feature of this story, and deliberate. It was an effective aid to the structure of the whole. But despite beginning with the girl, we backtrack to what the protagonist was doing in Cwm Tatws (the name means potato valley). The description of the place is enjoyable, with little bits of Wenglish ('Bus motorr' as they call it) and people like Griffith Griffiths and Rowland Rowlands (Rowland twice-named). The writing was enjoyable, although the protagonist's predicament not so much, once his tooth ache kicked in. The elderly dentist had run out of anaesthetic and decided an extraction with forceps was in order... and at this point I shall stop recounting the story, because... well it is brilliant, and you should read it (if the non anaesthetic extraction with forceps did not put you off).
There is a Roald Dahl feel to this, and some great humour. The writing is straightforward, written as an anecdote by someone who doesn't finish his sentences.
And is there a sub text? Or, indeed, an alternate explanation? The story starts off with “What happens to me I prefer told my own way, or not at all.” And tell it he does. But is the narrator reliable? Well... that's an open question I suppose.
What surprised me? I think Graves' humour, and his similarity to a Roald Dahl tale.
Anyway, read it. You will either thank me or curse me!
April 6, 2019
This is a very mixed bag: many of the stories are true or partly true. The least exciting of these are about the bureaucratic niceties of Majorca. The most amusing are about wacky situations and magical thinking, also taking place in Majorca. Graves' rendering into English of the formal dialect of Majorca is reminiscent of Hemingway, but funnier. The two standouts in this collection are the bizarre supernatural tale The Shout, and a short but very moving World War I-related reminiscence called Kill Them! Kill Them!
August 17, 2013
Though I much prefer Robert Graves' historical novels over his short stories, this is a nice collection of tales and anecdotes. The Shout is probably the best of them, but I also liked the ones that are set in ancient Rome: Epics Are Out of Fashion, The Tenement, and The Myconian.
December 17, 2015
Liked this much less than everything else else I've read by this author, but that is a high bar. Some enjoyable stories, but nothing stellar.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews