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The Four Beauties
Four evocative short stories by a master storyteller.
244 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
About the author
H.E. Bates
279 books201 followersHerbert Ernest Bates, CBE is widely recognised as one of the finest short story writers of his generation, with more than 20 story collections published in his lifetime. It should not be overlooked, however, that he also wrote some outstanding novels, starting with The Two Sisters through to A Moment in Time, with such works as Love For Lydia, Fair Stood the Wind for France and The Scarlet Sword earning high praise from the critics. His study of the Modern Short Story is considered one of the best ever written on the subject.
He was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire and was educated at Kettering Grammar School. After leaving school, he was briefly a newspaper reporter and a warehouse clerk, but his heart was always in writing and his dream to be able to make a living by his pen.
Many of his stories depict life in the rural Midlands of England, particularly his native Northamptonshire. Bates was partial to taking long midnight walks around the Northamptonshire countryside - and this often provided the inspiration for his stories. Bates was a great lover of the countryside and its people and this is exemplified in two volumes of essays entitled Through the Woods and Down the River.
In 1931, he married Madge Cox, his sweetheart from the next road in his native Rushden. They moved to the village of Little Chart in Kent and bought an old granary and this together with an acre of garden they converted into a home. It was in this phase of his life that he found the inspiration for the Larkins series of novels -The Darling Buds of May, A Breath of French Air, When the Green Woods Laugh, etc. - and the Uncle Silas tales. Not surprisingly, these highly successful novels inspired television series that were immensely popular.
His collection of stories written while serving in the RAF during World War II, best known by the title The Stories of Flying Officer X, but previously published as Something in the Air (a compilation of his two wartime collections under the pseudonym 'Flying Officer X' and titled The Greatest People in the World and How Sleep the Brave), deserve particular attention. By the end of the war he had achieved the rank of Squadron Leader.
Bates was influenced by Chekhov in particular, and his knowledge of the history of the short story is obvious from the famous study he produced on the subject. He also wrote his autobiography in three volumes (each delightfully illustrated) which were subsequently published in a one-volume Autobiography.
Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener and wrote numerous books on flowers. The Granary remained their home for the whole of their married life. After the death of H. E Bates, Madge moved to a bungalow, which had originally been a cow byre, next to the Granary. She died in 2004 at age 95. They raised two sons and two daughters.
primarily from Wikipedia, with additions by Keith Farnsworth
He was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire and was educated at Kettering Grammar School. After leaving school, he was briefly a newspaper reporter and a warehouse clerk, but his heart was always in writing and his dream to be able to make a living by his pen.
Many of his stories depict life in the rural Midlands of England, particularly his native Northamptonshire. Bates was partial to taking long midnight walks around the Northamptonshire countryside - and this often provided the inspiration for his stories. Bates was a great lover of the countryside and its people and this is exemplified in two volumes of essays entitled Through the Woods and Down the River.
In 1931, he married Madge Cox, his sweetheart from the next road in his native Rushden. They moved to the village of Little Chart in Kent and bought an old granary and this together with an acre of garden they converted into a home. It was in this phase of his life that he found the inspiration for the Larkins series of novels -The Darling Buds of May, A Breath of French Air, When the Green Woods Laugh, etc. - and the Uncle Silas tales. Not surprisingly, these highly successful novels inspired television series that were immensely popular.
His collection of stories written while serving in the RAF during World War II, best known by the title The Stories of Flying Officer X, but previously published as Something in the Air (a compilation of his two wartime collections under the pseudonym 'Flying Officer X' and titled The Greatest People in the World and How Sleep the Brave), deserve particular attention. By the end of the war he had achieved the rank of Squadron Leader.
Bates was influenced by Chekhov in particular, and his knowledge of the history of the short story is obvious from the famous study he produced on the subject. He also wrote his autobiography in three volumes (each delightfully illustrated) which were subsequently published in a one-volume Autobiography.
Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener and wrote numerous books on flowers. The Granary remained their home for the whole of their married life. After the death of H. E Bates, Madge moved to a bungalow, which had originally been a cow byre, next to the Granary. She died in 2004 at age 95. They raised two sons and two daughters.
primarily from Wikipedia, with additions by Keith Farnsworth
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 11, 2022
I found this little gem while spending time at one of my most favourite places: The Book Farm. I had previously heard of the author, as the writer of 'The Darling Buds of May' series, which is also a successful TV series. It literally made my Sunday nights.
This book contains four short stories, and although I really only enjoyed two of them, I did, however, find the writing to be engaging. 'The Simple Life' was my favourite of the four, which follows a married couple that travel to an urban retreat every so often, with the husband being more appreciative of this than his wife. She gets through these days by turning to the bottle, until a young man turns up, and the tables turn.
'The Four Beauties' is about a man that becomes involved with a family made up of three sisters, and how his relationships with them differ. The ending to this one has a particularly welcome twist, too.
The last two stories I didn't rate too highly, and I've already forgotten what they were about. But, overall I'm happy that I found this book as it has delivered some welcome light entertainment.
This book contains four short stories, and although I really only enjoyed two of them, I did, however, find the writing to be engaging. 'The Simple Life' was my favourite of the four, which follows a married couple that travel to an urban retreat every so often, with the husband being more appreciative of this than his wife. She gets through these days by turning to the bottle, until a young man turns up, and the tables turn.
'The Four Beauties' is about a man that becomes involved with a family made up of three sisters, and how his relationships with them differ. The ending to this one has a particularly welcome twist, too.
The last two stories I didn't rate too highly, and I've already forgotten what they were about. But, overall I'm happy that I found this book as it has delivered some welcome light entertainment.
November 8, 2014
The Four Beauties is another slim collection of short stories by H.E. Bates which was originally published in 1968. It contains four medium-length stories of about 30-40 pages each: The Simple Life, The Four Beauties, The Chords of Youth and The White Wind. The first two stories are probably more typical Bates stories, both in setting and style, whereas The Chords of Youth is almost like a Saki story and The White Wind a bit of a South Seas adventure.
The main characters in The Simple Life are the married couple Stella and Barty. It revolves around their attempt to get away from the city to a 'simple life'. Bartholomew loves it and spends his time chopping wood, pruning apple trees, fishing etc. but Stella loathes these weekend breaks, she hates the Friday evening drive down, the cottage, the fresh air, the cold, the lack of modern conveniences. To cope, she starts drinking as early in the day as possible. Stella's loathing of the cottage life changes once Roger, a seventeen year old local boy, starts to help Barty out around the house. Stella enjoys flirting with the rather shy boy when her husband is away. It looks like it's going to end badly but Bates handles the story perfectly; it doesn't quite end how you're expecting but then it's not a surprise ending either, it's just masterfully done.
Probably my favourite of the four is the eponymous story, The Four Beauties. This is set in real Bates country, where the narrator recalls a time when he was working as a reporter for a local newspaper and got to know the Davenports. Mrs Davenport owned a café which the narrator would often visit and where he would often encounter the three lovely Davenport girls, Tina, Sophie and Christabel. All three girls were vivacious and attractive to the narrator; Tina who was only fourteen was mischievous, Sophie, at seventeen was both dreamy and passionate and Christabel (Christie), the eldest at eighteen, reminded him of a flamboyant lioness. In comparison Mrs Davenport seemed quite shabby and sad wheras Mr Davenport was rarely seen at all. The narrator ends up taking Christie out dancing, teasing Tina playfully, taking Sophie on a picnic when Christie was away and having talks with their mother about her life and ambitions. In a way he falls in love with them all:
The Chords of Youth is a more humorous story almost in the style of Saki or Wodehouse. It opens with the rather imperious Aunt Leonora claiming to the narrator that a visiting German dignitary called Otto is an old friend of hers. She can't remember any details and it's never really established whether Otto is the person she thinks he is. Anyway, Leonora invites Otto round for lunch as part of an Anglo-German cultural exchange. She's determined to introduce Otto to the delights of a Steak and Kidney pudding (or 'the old Kate and Sidney' as Uncle Freddie constantly exclaims much to Otto's confusion) and Christmas pudding, even though it's summer. Although Otto starts to enjoy himself tempers start to fray, especially between Leonora and Otto's English companion, Mr Wilbram. It's an amusing story, probably a little dated, but funny nonetheless - and very controlled.
The final story is The White Wind and was probably the one I liked least, but it was still an interesting story. It takes place on a South Sea island which is visited by a pair of doctors who dish out pills to the local inhabitants. The main character though is a local boy who likes hearing stories from Fat Uncle about his youthful days of adventure in his boat. We get to know a few more of the island's inhabitants before it is discovered that some of the islanders have typhoid. As the plane, which brought the doctors to the island, has left they have to try to get someone, maybe Fat Uncle, to sail the boat to the mainland to get help. In some ways The White Wind reminded me of Steinbeck.
The main characters in The Simple Life are the married couple Stella and Barty. It revolves around their attempt to get away from the city to a 'simple life'. Bartholomew loves it and spends his time chopping wood, pruning apple trees, fishing etc. but Stella loathes these weekend breaks, she hates the Friday evening drive down, the cottage, the fresh air, the cold, the lack of modern conveniences. To cope, she starts drinking as early in the day as possible. Stella's loathing of the cottage life changes once Roger, a seventeen year old local boy, starts to help Barty out around the house. Stella enjoys flirting with the rather shy boy when her husband is away. It looks like it's going to end badly but Bates handles the story perfectly; it doesn't quite end how you're expecting but then it's not a surprise ending either, it's just masterfully done.
Probably my favourite of the four is the eponymous story, The Four Beauties. This is set in real Bates country, where the narrator recalls a time when he was working as a reporter for a local newspaper and got to know the Davenports. Mrs Davenport owned a café which the narrator would often visit and where he would often encounter the three lovely Davenport girls, Tina, Sophie and Christabel. All three girls were vivacious and attractive to the narrator; Tina who was only fourteen was mischievous, Sophie, at seventeen was both dreamy and passionate and Christabel (Christie), the eldest at eighteen, reminded him of a flamboyant lioness. In comparison Mrs Davenport seemed quite shabby and sad wheras Mr Davenport was rarely seen at all. The narrator ends up taking Christie out dancing, teasing Tina playfully, taking Sophie on a picnic when Christie was away and having talks with their mother about her life and ambitions. In a way he falls in love with them all:
One of the more curious things about the Davenports was the way, in the presence of one, I would be haunted by the absence of another.But they drift apart and the Davenports move away. However, five years later the narrator encounters the Davenports again and...
The Chords of Youth is a more humorous story almost in the style of Saki or Wodehouse. It opens with the rather imperious Aunt Leonora claiming to the narrator that a visiting German dignitary called Otto is an old friend of hers. She can't remember any details and it's never really established whether Otto is the person she thinks he is. Anyway, Leonora invites Otto round for lunch as part of an Anglo-German cultural exchange. She's determined to introduce Otto to the delights of a Steak and Kidney pudding (or 'the old Kate and Sidney' as Uncle Freddie constantly exclaims much to Otto's confusion) and Christmas pudding, even though it's summer. Although Otto starts to enjoy himself tempers start to fray, especially between Leonora and Otto's English companion, Mr Wilbram. It's an amusing story, probably a little dated, but funny nonetheless - and very controlled.
The final story is The White Wind and was probably the one I liked least, but it was still an interesting story. It takes place on a South Sea island which is visited by a pair of doctors who dish out pills to the local inhabitants. The main character though is a local boy who likes hearing stories from Fat Uncle about his youthful days of adventure in his boat. We get to know a few more of the island's inhabitants before it is discovered that some of the islanders have typhoid. As the plane, which brought the doctors to the island, has left they have to try to get someone, maybe Fat Uncle, to sail the boat to the mainland to get help. In some ways The White Wind reminded me of Steinbeck.
August 26, 2017
Each story is quite different so hard to give a rating - I liked the Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf vibe the first story, 'The Simple Life' had. Likewise the dreamy qualities of The Four Beauties. The Chords of Youth is kind of a caper, and the last one 'The White Wind' had some parts that were okay, but was mostly Hemingway-esq (so not at all to my tastes, and a wee bit racist to boot. People aren't yellow, Bates! Also stop talking about how fat and how thin folk are, nobody cares).
Worth it for the first two perhaps.
Worth it for the first two perhaps.
April 8, 2015
I've always really enjoyed the stories in this collection, it was probably the first selection of Bates' short stories I read about twenty years ago and I've read it a few times since. I have always enjoyed the first two stories, The Simple Life and The Four Beauties far more enjoyable, being more typical of what you would expect from the author.
November 19, 2018
This is an engaging collection of four short stories. They are fairly long short stories, but they follow the form of short stories nonetheless. I quite enjoyed them. I am not sure if the four beauties in the title are the four stories in the book, or if they refer to the better story in the book -'The Four Beauties'. It is this sort of ambiguity that appeals to me.
The book opens with 'The Simple Life', a tale of an urban couple in a rural retreat. We see much of this in contemporary Suffolk. In this story, it is the husband who is the one keen on the rural retreat, and the wife is much less keen. That is, until she discovers a young man to amuse her. The story then develops about how she comes to be immersed in rural life, only to become disenchanted again when the affair with the young man ends. The twist is that the husband's interest then moves on to a boat, which is then crewed by the young man. That ending was ambiguous, and I liked it for that.
There was less ambiguity in the following story - 'The Four Beauties'. In this, the young man - the narrator - loves three sisters, who are beauties. He can't quite make up his mind, so the mother makes it up for him by moving away. The story then moves forward in time and the young man encounters the mother again, only to find her the fourth beauty in the family who he loves. There is little ambiguity here, but it is a nice twist with which to end the tale.
The third story - 'The Chords Of Youth' - resurrects an old favourite, Aunt Leonora. In this story, Aunt Leonora is reacquainted with a German man she knew in her youth. He is visiting locally as part of a twinning exchange and all sorts of comic situations develop as Aunt Leonora inserts herself into the twinning process. I'm not sure about how much Anglo-German friendship was created by the intervention of Aunt Leonora, but I enjoyed the disharmony caused along the way.
The fourth story - The White Wind - is the oddest of the collection. It doesn't really belong anywhere, and so stands out as an odd story. It is set in the islands of the Pacific and contains far more realism than I would have expected from HE Bates. It is a tale of jealousy and loathing in a small community. I wouldn't say that I disliked it, but I did find it hard to warm to. Perhaps it's because I am so distant from that colonial past that viewing it form the outside just leaves me unsympathetic? Who knows?
Together, the four stories are an eclectic band. Three I managed to get, and the fourth I didn't. They are all well written and well told. The narrative has a good pace, which keeps the stories flowing nicely. Although they are longer than usual, I didn't find them to be too long. This s important in a bedtime reading book. There were natural breaks in the stories which allowed me to find convenient stopping places. All in all I enjoyed the book. I didn't see it as one of the best, but I did find it to be better than average.
The book opens with 'The Simple Life', a tale of an urban couple in a rural retreat. We see much of this in contemporary Suffolk. In this story, it is the husband who is the one keen on the rural retreat, and the wife is much less keen. That is, until she discovers a young man to amuse her. The story then develops about how she comes to be immersed in rural life, only to become disenchanted again when the affair with the young man ends. The twist is that the husband's interest then moves on to a boat, which is then crewed by the young man. That ending was ambiguous, and I liked it for that.
There was less ambiguity in the following story - 'The Four Beauties'. In this, the young man - the narrator - loves three sisters, who are beauties. He can't quite make up his mind, so the mother makes it up for him by moving away. The story then moves forward in time and the young man encounters the mother again, only to find her the fourth beauty in the family who he loves. There is little ambiguity here, but it is a nice twist with which to end the tale.
The third story - 'The Chords Of Youth' - resurrects an old favourite, Aunt Leonora. In this story, Aunt Leonora is reacquainted with a German man she knew in her youth. He is visiting locally as part of a twinning exchange and all sorts of comic situations develop as Aunt Leonora inserts herself into the twinning process. I'm not sure about how much Anglo-German friendship was created by the intervention of Aunt Leonora, but I enjoyed the disharmony caused along the way.
The fourth story - The White Wind - is the oddest of the collection. It doesn't really belong anywhere, and so stands out as an odd story. It is set in the islands of the Pacific and contains far more realism than I would have expected from HE Bates. It is a tale of jealousy and loathing in a small community. I wouldn't say that I disliked it, but I did find it hard to warm to. Perhaps it's because I am so distant from that colonial past that viewing it form the outside just leaves me unsympathetic? Who knows?
Together, the four stories are an eclectic band. Three I managed to get, and the fourth I didn't. They are all well written and well told. The narrative has a good pace, which keeps the stories flowing nicely. Although they are longer than usual, I didn't find them to be too long. This s important in a bedtime reading book. There were natural breaks in the stories which allowed me to find convenient stopping places. All in all I enjoyed the book. I didn't see it as one of the best, but I did find it to be better than average.
August 12, 2019
Although many people will only know H. E. Bates as the author of 'The Darling Buds of May' series (the TV version catapulted a hitherto unknown Catherine Zeta Jones to stardom in the 1990s), or possibly 'Love For Lydia' or 'Triple Echo' (made into a film with Glenda Jackson back in 1972), he's a wonderfully versatile teller of short stories. Thirty years ago or more, I read two other collections of his - 'The Wild Cherry Tree' and 'The Wedding Party', and, like 'The Four Beauties', these managed to combine poignant stories with more humorous tales. Think Joanne Harris's short story collection, 'jigs and Reels', and you'll get an idea of how deftly Bates turns his hand from one genre to another.
There are only four stories, but each one is individual and unique. 'The Simple Life' is a variation on the sort of story Bates does particularly well: a third person account of a discontented wife attempting to find meaning elsewhere, told from her perspective. We then switch to a first person narrator in 'The Four Beauties', which possibly at times reads a bit like a young man's fantasy as he dallies with three sisters at the same time; nevertheless, it's an effective coming of age piece. In 'The Chords of Youth', we have the comical story of Aunt Leonora (who appears in other collections of stories) and her attempts to recapture her youth and foster international relations at the same time - this is actually quite a charming story (lengthy, but still keeps you spellbound) with a feelgood factor. The contrast between Herr Untermeyer (who may or may not be the 'Otto' she remembers from a long ago skiing holiday - we never find out) and the uptight Mr Wilbram is beautifully drawn. Finally, 'The White Wind' is a much more serious story, although still with comic touches, detailing life on a Pacific island, as seen through the eyes of a young boy. The gravity of an outbreak of typhoid on the island is balanced with the tension of a sea voyage in the schooner belonging to Fat Uncle, punctuated by the brittle relationship of the white man who rules the island and his native mistress. I found a first edition of the hardback, published in 1968, for £5 in a second-hand shop, and it's been worth every penny.
There are only four stories, but each one is individual and unique. 'The Simple Life' is a variation on the sort of story Bates does particularly well: a third person account of a discontented wife attempting to find meaning elsewhere, told from her perspective. We then switch to a first person narrator in 'The Four Beauties', which possibly at times reads a bit like a young man's fantasy as he dallies with three sisters at the same time; nevertheless, it's an effective coming of age piece. In 'The Chords of Youth', we have the comical story of Aunt Leonora (who appears in other collections of stories) and her attempts to recapture her youth and foster international relations at the same time - this is actually quite a charming story (lengthy, but still keeps you spellbound) with a feelgood factor. The contrast between Herr Untermeyer (who may or may not be the 'Otto' she remembers from a long ago skiing holiday - we never find out) and the uptight Mr Wilbram is beautifully drawn. Finally, 'The White Wind' is a much more serious story, although still with comic touches, detailing life on a Pacific island, as seen through the eyes of a young boy. The gravity of an outbreak of typhoid on the island is balanced with the tension of a sea voyage in the schooner belonging to Fat Uncle, punctuated by the brittle relationship of the white man who rules the island and his native mistress. I found a first edition of the hardback, published in 1968, for £5 in a second-hand shop, and it's been worth every penny.
June 15, 2019
· The Simple Life [1967] - 7.17
A surprisingly acrid start to a Bates short story, with the disaffected lush Stella finding titillating romance in the abandonment of her girlish fantasies towards the attractive young man who helps out at her and Bartholomew's weekend retreat in the stark marshlands around the fictitious Seahaven, which we presume is just in from the coast of Norfolk. Bates depicts the lush and her unreliable emotions as painfully as we remember them, and interestingly casts the two men as ingénues in this strange little tale which increases our respect for his gift of alighting on the familiar if, here, disappointing threads of human character and selfish motive.
· The Four Beauties [1968] - 7.78
One of the best of Bates' short stories, an idyllic romp with the three beautiful sisters of the family and the sad yet not destructive twist. It reminds you of the sheer confusion of courtship that led, or didn't, down the paths of youth. This wistfulness is why Bates is so readable. In this, he picks out a phrase which sears into the mind and the story's ending.
· The Chords Of Youth [1968] - 6.8
Wry amusement at Anglo-German détente through the mistakes of an aunt with an imaginative memory. Bates, best known for his Darling Buds pastoral comedies, shows his ability for comic farce in a varied collection of short stories and a novella.
· The White Wind [1957] - 8.3
A superb story of fine characterisation, place and moment on a primitive Pacific isle. Bates portrays depravity alongside beauty, human vileness alongside hope, the shanti island alongside the wide threatening ocean. He fits so much into this novella that it is alive throughout, and reminds you of Hemingway's Old Man And The Sea [1952] stylistically and in the vastness of that ocean.
A surprisingly acrid start to a Bates short story, with the disaffected lush Stella finding titillating romance in the abandonment of her girlish fantasies towards the attractive young man who helps out at her and Bartholomew's weekend retreat in the stark marshlands around the fictitious Seahaven, which we presume is just in from the coast of Norfolk. Bates depicts the lush and her unreliable emotions as painfully as we remember them, and interestingly casts the two men as ingénues in this strange little tale which increases our respect for his gift of alighting on the familiar if, here, disappointing threads of human character and selfish motive.
· The Four Beauties [1968] - 7.78
One of the best of Bates' short stories, an idyllic romp with the three beautiful sisters of the family and the sad yet not destructive twist. It reminds you of the sheer confusion of courtship that led, or didn't, down the paths of youth. This wistfulness is why Bates is so readable. In this, he picks out a phrase which sears into the mind and the story's ending.
· The Chords Of Youth [1968] - 6.8
Wry amusement at Anglo-German détente through the mistakes of an aunt with an imaginative memory. Bates, best known for his Darling Buds pastoral comedies, shows his ability for comic farce in a varied collection of short stories and a novella.
· The White Wind [1957] - 8.3
A superb story of fine characterisation, place and moment on a primitive Pacific isle. Bates portrays depravity alongside beauty, human vileness alongside hope, the shanti island alongside the wide threatening ocean. He fits so much into this novella that it is alive throughout, and reminds you of Hemingway's Old Man And The Sea [1952] stylistically and in the vastness of that ocean.
December 29, 2023
I love H.E Bates, especially A Moment in Time and Fair Stood the Wind for France and really enjoyed the short stories in The Complete Flying Officer X Stories so I was pleased to find this collection in a charity shop. The four stories were all very different and I especially enjoyed Bates’ characteristic poetical language.
January 29, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
the four beauties is a collection of four short stories, and each and every one is written extraordinary; the first two follow Bates normal "style" of short story writing, whereas the last two don't quite fit.
However, i found 'The Simple Life' to be my favourite out of the four.
extremely engaging!
the four beauties is a collection of four short stories, and each and every one is written extraordinary; the first two follow Bates normal "style" of short story writing, whereas the last two don't quite fit.
However, i found 'The Simple Life' to be my favourite out of the four.
extremely engaging!
January 2, 2026
Marvelously written short stories. H.E. Bates is an incomparable author with such a felicitous command over the language. Unforgettable stories are, apart from the title story (though I though the ending rather abruptly crafted), "The White Wind," and "The Simple Life." Must read again sometime soon.
July 22, 2026
The first and the second short story were so good, they had kind of a Virginia Woolf + The Virgin Suicides but you can tell that it has been written ny a man.
The thing is that as much as I enjoyed The Simple Life and The Four Beauties but i didn’t really enjoy the other two. I’ll give it 3 stars just bc of how nice i found the first two, specially reading them in the summer.
The thing is that as much as I enjoyed The Simple Life and The Four Beauties but i didn’t really enjoy the other two. I’ll give it 3 stars just bc of how nice i found the first two, specially reading them in the summer.
June 1, 2023
Re-read when found old paperback in charity shop!
July 10, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
December 9, 2025
The simple life - dnf p.13
The four beauties - dnf p. 7
The four beauties - dnf p. 7
January 2, 2025
die ersten zwei sind cool. die reviews haven gesagt anderen beiden sind verwerflich und da die ersten auch so la la waren hab ich nicht gelesen.
September 5, 2021
i just really like the way he writes things, the way he segue from dialogue to narration to commentary is so painless. the short story that the book is named after is the one i like the most, it reminds me of the virgin suicides (1999), the movie because I haven't read the book yet. the sisters are written in a way that the likens them to fairies – they're definitely a fantasy, but I'm ok with it and enjoy the story for what it is.
September 17, 2012
The edition I bought at a 2nd-hand book fair is actually a collection of H.E.Bates's short fictions. Among four stories I like "Four Beauties" and "The Simple Life" the best. They are entertaining stories, and the writing is sensually beautiful about femininity. Besides that, I don't find there is much more worth of exploring.
October 8, 2015
Very good stories - he writes so well! The Four Beauties itself is a great story but due to modern attitudes today of a slightly disreputable (sexist?) nature but that apart a fine story.
April 12, 2016
The Simple Life - 3
The Four Beauties - 4
The Chords of Youth - 2
The White Wind - 2.5
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews