The World's Greatest Short Stories
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- Create Date：2022-09-04 05:55:26
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：James Daley
- ISBN：0486447162
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Summary
Wonderfully wide-ranging and enjoyable， this outstanding collection features short stories by great 19- and 20th-century writers from America， the United Kingdom， Ireland， and Western Europe。
Included are Hemingway's "A Clean， Well-Lighted Place，" in which two waiters and a lonely customer in a Spanish cafe confront the concept of nothingness; "A & P，" John Updike's most anthologized story and one of his most popular; "Borges and I，" typical Jorge Luis Borges — imaginative， philosophical， and mysterious; as well as short masterpieces by Leo Tolstoy， Anton Chekhov， Herman Melville， Thomas Mann， Guy de Maupassant， Charlotte Perkins Gilman， D。 H。 Lawrence， and ten other great writers。
Prime examples of the classic short story， these enduring literary treasures will be invaluable to students and teachers as well as to anyone who appreciates the finely turned tale。
Included are Hemingway's "A Clean， Well-Lighted Place，" in which two waiters and a lonely customer in a Spanish cafe confront the concept of nothingness; "A & P，" John Updike's most anthologized story and one of his most popular; "Borges and I，" typical Jorge Luis Borges — imaginative， philosophical， and mysterious; as well as short masterpieces by Leo Tolstoy， Anton Chekhov， Herman Melville， Thomas Mann， Guy de Maupassant， Charlotte Perkins Gilman， D。 H。 Lawrence， and ten other great writers。
Prime examples of the classic short story， these enduring literary treasures will be invaluable to students and teachers as well as to anyone who appreciates the finely turned tale。
Reviews
Terri
，
An excellent selection of short stories from around the world。 Some were familiar （The Yellow Wallpaper， The Garden-Party， The Lady With The Toy Dog）， others were new to me and a pleasant surprise。 My favorites were: The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket， The Prussian Officer， Bartleby the Scrivener， The Necklace， The Garden-Party and The Yellow Wallpaper。The stories included in this collection are:- Bartleby the Scrivener - Herman Melville- The Necklace - Guy de Maupassant- The Death of Ivan Ily An excellent selection of short stories from around the world。 Some were familiar （The Yellow Wallpaper， The Garden-Party， The Lady With The Toy Dog）， others were new to me and a pleasant surprise。 My favorites were: The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket， The Prussian Officer， Bartleby the Scrivener， The Necklace， The Garden-Party and The Yellow Wallpaper。The stories included in this collection are:- Bartleby the Scrivener - Herman Melville- The Necklace - Guy de Maupassant- The Death of Ivan Ilych - Leo Tolstoy- The Man Who Would Be King - Rudyard Kipling- The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman- The Fortune-Teller - Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis- The Lady With The Toy Dog - Anton Chekhov- How Old Timofei Died With A Song - Rainer Maria Rilke- The Path To The Cemetery - Thomas Mann- The Prussian Officer - DH Lawrence- Araby - James Joyce- Mrs Frola and Mr Ponza - Luigi Pirandello- The Mark On The Wall - Virginia Woolf- A Hunger Artist - Franz Kafka- The Garden-Party - Katherine Mansfield- The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket - Yasunari Kawabata- A Clean， Well-Lighted Place - Ernest Hemingway- The Sacrificial Egg - Chinua Achebe- A & P - John Updike- Borges And I - Jorge Luis Borges 。。。more
Ken Rideout
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What a great collection。 I wanted something I could dive into and out of easily over the summer that would get me thinking and perhaps inspire me。 Mission accomplished。 Quick notes on each story in the collection follows。------Bartelby the Scrivener （Melville）: Probably the most famous story in the collection， it is one of the famous pieces that you might fear its fame ourshines the actual work。 Not so， for it is a many layered thing of course。 To me， it validates my life-long viewpoint that con What a great collection。 I wanted something I could dive into and out of easily over the summer that would get me thinking and perhaps inspire me。 Mission accomplished。 Quick notes on each story in the collection follows。------Bartelby the Scrivener （Melville）: Probably the most famous story in the collection， it is one of the famous pieces that you might fear its fame ourshines the actual work。 Not so， for it is a many layered thing of course。 To me， it validates my life-long viewpoint that conformity is death-like and there is nobility in not conforming to society。 Obviously there is more to it but anayze it further “I would prefer not to”The Necklace （deMaupassant）: Is this the OG bait-and-switch？ I felt I must’ve read this one before but， although it held no surprises， it was surprising to me to be so unforgiving about society and people。 Just a nice clear arrow of death to people who live shallowly through life。The Death of Ivan Ilych （Tolstoy）: A novella slipped into this collection of short stories。 A life ill-lived， the welcoming of death， possibility of redemption， the pointlessness of suffering， the randomness of life。 A primordial work of existentialism if ever there was one。The Man Who Would Be King （Kipling）: Who has not dreamed of being a ruler， a god， or something along those lines。 Colonialism embodied in a person。 Tragic and a tale often repeated。 Shades of “Heart of Darkness” to be written by Conrad in the near future。The Yellow Wallpaper （Gilman）: By coincidence， a student recently told me of this early feminist work that she read for class so I was happy to finally read it myself。 Perhaps because of who I am， I found the feminism to be secondary and the primary theme was one of becoming that which you fear the most （and thereby conquering that fear or realizing that which you fear is you yourself）。 I suppose they are intertwined - the marginalization of the primary character was not just because she was a woman but also because she was mentally ill？ If I were an english teacher I would not be able to resist assigning this one year after year…The Fortune-Teller （de Assis）: A commentary on seductive power of belief and magical thinking？ Reads like a play to me。The Lady with a Toy Dog （Chekhov）: People change right as you are watching them - you think you know what you are looking at but that is only because you have ignored the fact that people are complicated and ever changing。 You read along and you don’t even notice the changes until it is over and you wonder， “Wait， how did we wind up here？” How Old Timofei Died with a Song （Rilke）: Shades of Joyce’s “Portrait of the Artist as Young Man” for me: the nature of art and the artist。 The sacrifice an artists makes for his art。 But also， here in this little gem a story， that the art needs an audience and that the audience knows things about the art even the artist doesn’t know。The Path to the Cemetery （Mann）: Oh boy （ohh， Mann？？ Nah， too much）。 “。。 poured out things which had not the remotest conexion with the subject in hand。 They dealt with his dissipated life and with religious matters， uttered in a most unwuitable tone and viciously intermingled with curse-word。” How did I wind up with more sympathy for the crazy curmudgeon than for rest of the society？ How did a preposterous comedic scene get overlaid over something so tragic？ I don’t even understand what just happened。The Prussian Officer （Lawrence）: Men are beasts。 At times I was reading a primer for McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian”。 Now I’m thinking about Resnais’ classic movie “Mon Oncle d’Amerique”。 There it is again I suppose， these common deep themes that keep popping up and manifesting in different places and different times。Araby （Joyce）: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger”。 And， I， a naive reader， thought he was just trying to buy a trinket for his girl at the market… jeeze， maybe I should pay more attention to thing in life…Mrs。 Frolo and Mr。 Ponza， her Son-in-Law （Pirandello）:This story tell you exactly what it sets out to do and it does it and then tells you again what the point was。 Like a well executed speech。 “。。。cannot yet in any way manage to understand which of the two is the crazy one， where the illusion is， where the reality。”The Mark on the Wall （Woolf）: The universe in a nutshell。 What is reality and what is imagination？ Just the right length of stream of consciousness style writing to be palatable。A Hunger Artist （Kafka）: more about the sacrifices of an artist？ A commentary of what entertains in times of plenty？ Probably too simplistic of me。The Garden Party （Mansfield）: Somehow creepy and disturbing…The Grasshopper and The Bell Cricket （Kawabata）: A modern fable for adults。 A visual poem really。A Clean， Well-Lighted Place （Hemingway）: Death。The Sacrificial Egg （Achebe）: I’m sorry the dread artist decorated your girlfriend， Julius。 What a deft hand: an entire society portrayed in just a few pages。A & P （Updike）: Classic Updike。Borges and I （Borges）: The art is not the artist。 The man is not the artist。 。。。more
Micaela Michalk
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If these are the “world’s greatest short stories” then I must not be a short story kind of person
Neo
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I like Bartleby The Scrivener， even though this story was first written in early 19s'。 I think I can read it again。 the beautiful way to master English。The Necklace tells a None English speaker， that great plot wins language itself。I was reading The Man Who Would Be King yesterday 4/1 I like Bartleby The Scrivener， even though this story was first written in early 19s'。 I think I can read it again。 the beautiful way to master English。The Necklace tells a None English speaker， that great plot wins language itself。I was reading The Man Who Would Be King yesterday 4/1 。。。more
Stephanie Hartley
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I'm not usually a fan of short stories， but thought I'd make an exception for this collection。 It's a great collection of short stories from different countries across the world， and I'd definitely read an updated version with stories from the last century if they released them。The book is arranged chronologically， with the oldest story first， and it was interesting to see it laid out this way as it meant yo could see the changes in approach， language and style over time even through this global I'm not usually a fan of short stories， but thought I'd make an exception for this collection。 It's a great collection of short stories from different countries across the world， and I'd definitely read an updated version with stories from the last century if they released them。The book is arranged chronologically， with the oldest story first， and it was interesting to see it laid out this way as it meant yo could see the changes in approach， language and style over time even through this global outlook。 The book did heavily feature Anglophone/European countries， and could benefit with being more truly 'global'。 My favourites were definitely The Yellow Wallpaper and The Prussian Officer （I really want to read some more D H Lawrence now）。 I did find some of the stories dragged， but with such a broad range of genres and styles it would have been impossible for any one reader to enjoy them all I think。 。。。more
Brenna
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Timeless but not the greatest。
Maiko Jean Zyrra
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This is a surprisingly nice collection of short stories， I must say。 Although， the theme mostly is dark/depressing cos ending is either someone dies or someone dies lol but that doesn't apply to all！ My personal favorites are the ones written by Virginia Woolf & Ernest Hemingway。 Special shout out to Charlotte Gilman's story too， I liked the weirdness & mystery of it。 It would've been a 5/5 if the other stories weren't boring especially that one written by rudyard kipling UGH！ This is a surprisingly nice collection of short stories， I must say。 Although， the theme mostly is dark/depressing cos ending is either someone dies or someone dies lol but that doesn't apply to all！ My personal favorites are the ones written by Virginia Woolf & Ernest Hemingway。 Special shout out to Charlotte Gilman's story too， I liked the weirdness & mystery of it。 It would've been a 5/5 if the other stories weren't boring especially that one written by rudyard kipling UGH！ 。。。more
jb
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A good taste of some renowned authorsHaving minimally read the classic authors， this was a good opportunity to experience many of them through this collection of short stories。 The stories were written between the 1850s and 1960s by authors around the world to give the reader the perspective of both different times and different cultures which was an interesting concept。 Although I cannot say that I found all of them captivating， overall I think it is worth the read。
Ramona
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My ratings for each individual short story I read:Guy de Maupassant / The Necklace - ⭐⭐⭐⭐Herman Melville / Bartleby the Scrivener - ⭐Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis / The Fortune-Teller - ⭐⭐⭐Leo Tolstoy / The Death of Ivan Ilyich - ⭐⭐Anton Chekov / The Lady with the Toy Dog - ⭐⭐⭐Rainer Maria Rilke / How Old Timofei Died With A Song - ⭐⭐⭐Thomas Mann / The Path to the Cemetery - ⭐⭐James Joyce / Araby - ⭐⭐⭐⭐Virginia Woolf / The Mark on the Wall - ⭐⭐Luigi Pirandello / Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， He My ratings for each individual short story I read:Guy de Maupassant / The Necklace - ⭐⭐⭐⭐Herman Melville / Bartleby the Scrivener - ⭐Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis / The Fortune-Teller - ⭐⭐⭐Leo Tolstoy / The Death of Ivan Ilyich - ⭐⭐Anton Chekov / The Lady with the Toy Dog - ⭐⭐⭐Rainer Maria Rilke / How Old Timofei Died With A Song - ⭐⭐⭐Thomas Mann / The Path to the Cemetery - ⭐⭐James Joyce / Araby - ⭐⭐⭐⭐Virginia Woolf / The Mark on the Wall - ⭐⭐Luigi Pirandello / Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， Her Son-in-Law - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Franz Kafka / A Hunger Artist - ⭐⭐⭐Ernest Hemingway / A Clean， Well-Lighted Place - ⭐⭐Yasunari Kawabata / The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket - ⭐⭐⭐Chinua Achebe / The Sacrificial Egg - ⭐⭐Katherine Mansfield / The Garden Party - ⭐⭐⭐John Updike / A & P - ⭐⭐⭐⭐Jorge Luis Borges / Borges and I - ⭐⭐⭐ 。。。more
Googoogjoob
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Inevitably， the title is misleading。 First， since this is a Dover Thrift anthology， it's inevitably slanted towards public domain material: the split is something like 200 pages or so of PD stuff， and 35 pages or so of material still in copyright， and the copyrighted stories are noticeably short ones （Borges and I takes up a single page）。 So there's that， which isn't really so bad。Then also it's slanted towards writers from Europe and the USA， with a single writer each representing South America Inevitably， the title is misleading。 First， since this is a Dover Thrift anthology， it's inevitably slanted towards public domain material: the split is something like 200 pages or so of PD stuff， and 35 pages or so of material still in copyright， and the copyrighted stories are noticeably short ones （Borges and I takes up a single page）。 So there's that， which isn't really so bad。Then also it's slanted towards writers from Europe and the USA， with a single writer each representing South America （Machado de Assis， with the very good The Fortune Teller）， Asia （Yasunari Kawabata， with the okay The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket）， and Africa （Chinua Achebe， with the so-so The Sacrificial Egg）。 Could they not rustle up anything by eg Tagore or Lu Xun？ Oh well。It's also slanted towards consciously "literary fiction" type fiction- no "genre fiction，" even though that means omitting any stories by Poe or Doyle or Machen。 Which is another "oh well" sort of a thing。I certainly can't say that this book doesn't contain some Great Short Stories， though。 Bartleby the Scrivener， The Death of Ivan Ilych， The Yellow Wallpaper， The Lady With the Toy Dog， A Hunger Artist， A Clean， Well-Lighted Place， A & P。 Leans towards the sort of short story that's elusive in its themes， and which denies the reader any sort of catharsis， which is good。It feels silly to be reviewing this sort of ephemeral anthology。 But here we are。 It was pretty good。 。。。more
Titus Hjelm
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There are some good short stories here， but most of them are pretty far from the greatest。 It's a decent cross section of the genre， though， for people unfamiliar with the short form。 There are some good short stories here， but most of them are pretty far from the greatest。 It's a decent cross section of the genre， though， for people unfamiliar with the short form。 。。。more
Christopher
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This book， 'The World's Greatest Short Stories' is a book that tied various short-span stories from famous authors all around the world。 I was kind of looking to read this book， because some of the authors were really famous ones， like Ernest Hemingway。 Unfortunately， reading this book was not the easiest times for me。 Some stories were somehow hard to understand， and the stories seemed to use mostly 'advanced English。' So it made me use a lot of energy when reading the book， but there were som This book， 'The World's Greatest Short Stories' is a book that tied various short-span stories from famous authors all around the world。 I was kind of looking to read this book， because some of the authors were really famous ones， like Ernest Hemingway。 Unfortunately， reading this book was not the easiest times for me。 Some stories were somehow hard to understand， and the stories seemed to use mostly 'advanced English。' So it made me use a lot of energy when reading the book， but there were some really good stories。 So I will do a review of some of the best stories in my opinion in this collection。 Number 1: The NecklaceThis story， is a process of how a young nice lady had turned into a poor， old lady。 So the main character of this story is Matilda， a young lady who adorns herself but is not satisfied with her surroundings（house， accessories， etc。） This kind characteristics of Matilda sounded funny。 She was always jealous of those richer women， thinking of the 'beautiful' herself in fine clothes。 She would suffer from her lack of 'richness。' One day， her husband brings Matilda an invitation to a party。 And Matilda， as always， is worried because she doesn't have fine dress。 So her husband spends four hundred francs for it， which was for a gun to join a hunting club。 What an innocent and kind husband Matilda has。 It it was me， I would rather choose to use in the way I want。 So Matilda's husband sacrificed his precious money， but that wasn't enough。 Matilda wanted a necklace。 So this time， she visited her friend to lend a necklace from her。 So Matilda went to the ball with fine clothes over her， and she got what she wanted for her whole life: attention and admiration to her。 After the triumphant ball， Matilda and her husband went back to their house to find out that they have lost the necklace。 Matilda tried her best to find it， but it was all failure。 So They decides to do the worst thing they could do: earning thirty-four thousand francs。 It was a miserable amount of money for them， but Matilda and her husband sold almost everything they had and worked hard for 10 years。 Now that is a long， torturing times。 After the long years， Matilda became rougher， and she became very shabby and even more poorer than before。 The last scene， where Matilda meets her friend and finally realizes the truth that the necklace was worth no more than five hundred francs， I felt sorry for Matilda， but I also felt like the destiny had thought Matilda a harsh lesson。 Be satisfied with what you have， and never be greedy。Wondering what the next scene of the second part of The Necklace（if it did exist）， I give this story 5 stars。Number 2: The Tell-Tale Heart This short tale is supposed to be scary， I think。 If you just swipe over the story。 It might be a story of a strange man doing strange stuff in the middle of a night to murder someone。 But if you read over the metaphors and scenes that the author had hid， this story is a creepy one。 For sure。 This story start with a man introducing himself， saying that he was haunted by a malicious disease and assuring himself that he is not crazy。 Then he brags about his 'careful and cunning process' to kill an old man。 Does this man seems like a normal man now？ turns out calling himself 'not a mad man' was the evidence that he was 'mad' which is kind of funny。 The mad man creeps up the stairs， so quietly and carefully to murder the old man without waking him up。 So the old man is probably renting a room from this mad man's house。 The mad man continues his way to the victim， he talks to himself about the old man's 'evil eye' and insists that it 'horrified' him。 I mean， is there any relationships between the eyes and murdering someone？ The next part when the man creeps into the old man's room and gets his 'goal' it's a bit disturbing because of the detailed description of the murder and how the mad man split the old man's body and hid it under the floor， but this is the part where the actual purpose of the mad man unveils。 After his murder， some police officers visited his house， and the mad man welcomed them nicely。 Of course， he wouldn't want to look suspicious。 He will get punished severely when his crime is released。 Then， he feels guilt。 It is shown as 'the sound of the old man's heart。' But it was probably the sound of the fast beating of mad man himself。 The story ends with the mad man accepting his crime。 I found this story short but interesting， because it's written at the point of the murderer。 Usually in a typical mystery novel， a murderer is shown as a dark， emotionless character。 It's usually the story of people who tries to prove the crime。 Every murder is mad。 It isn't normal to murder someone。 One thing that I learned in this story is that murderers are humans too。 Some of them could actually feel guilty after their crime。 I think the guilt is the feeling that makes them kill more people sometimes。 Even though It was a bit disgusting and weird， I rate this one 5 stars。 Number 3: The Fortune-Teller I chose this mainly because of its shocking end。 To basically put this story into some important words， is the anonymous writer， Villela and Rita， and the fortune teller。 The main character of this story， Camilio， was killed by his loving one， Villela。 I felt weird reading through this story， how a friendship turned into love and caused Villela to murder both of Camilio and Rita。 I think this story is trying to tell us that you shouldn't rely on someone too much。 It can take only a day for someone you had love turns into a savage。 When Camilio felt worried if something bad would happen to him， so he visited the fortune-teller。 I think that is kind of a dumb thing to do， because in fact， no one can look to the future through their powers。 Camilio wasn't able to recognize the danger that lay close to him， which the anonymous letters had tried to tell。 Instead， Camilio visited a fortune-teller who only wants money。 He believed the fortune-teller's 'vision，' and what came back as a result was murder。 A good advice should not be ignored。 This book is somewhat shocking and exciting， so I rate this story about 5 stars too。It is ironic that I rated 5 stars to these three stories， then I gave the whole book only 4 stars。 The reason is the same as I said on the start of this review。 The overall stories are good and remarkable。But there were some points that I was not able to understand， and most of the settings of the stories seem to be from long ago， so some of the stories doesn't really fit with the 'modern perspectives。' And that is the reason why I gave this book 4 stars。 However， this collection is a readable one。 。。。more
Michelle
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4。5: I was gifted this book a few years ago and wish I had read it sooner。 Even though I didn't enjoy every story， they were all very well done and thought provoking， and many were outstanding。 I wish there was a part 2， with more modern classic short stories。 4。5: I was gifted this book a few years ago and wish I had read it sooner。 Even though I didn't enjoy every story， they were all very well done and thought provoking， and many were outstanding。 I wish there was a part 2， with more modern classic short stories。 。。。more
Craigtator
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A good varied collection
Diane DeVillers
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I am writing a collection of short stories so to get in the mood i read short story collections， to get me in the mood。 I liked Life in the Iron Mill by Rebecca Hareling Davis。 and Zora Neale Hurston's The New Negro and Kate Chopin's 'The Storm" which was just recently discovered， she wrote "The Awakening" deemed erotica and scandalous at the time。 Edith Wharto Mrs。 Maristey's view。 I am writing a collection of short stories so to get in the mood i read short story collections， to get me in the mood。 I liked Life in the Iron Mill by Rebecca Hareling Davis。 and Zora Neale Hurston's The New Negro and Kate Chopin's 'The Storm" which was just recently discovered， she wrote "The Awakening" deemed erotica and scandalous at the time。 Edith Wharto Mrs。 Maristey's view。 。。。more
Jayden
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I got this book and it was fabulous and shiny， my eyes hurt but I read it。 I was not a fan of the book but as I read it I became a fan。The fortune teller is a amazing book。 First when I read it， it was not that interesting but as the page flew my eyes it was only starting。 This book is a master-piece。 Camillo and Rita was in love。 From there I would have gone nothing wrong but Rita was cheating on Camillo and that is a serious problem。 Rita's husband is Villela Camillo's best friend。 If I was Ri I got this book and it was fabulous and shiny， my eyes hurt but I read it。 I was not a fan of the book but as I read it I became a fan。The fortune teller is a amazing book。 First when I read it， it was not that interesting but as the page flew my eyes it was only starting。 This book is a master-piece。 Camillo and Rita was in love。 From there I would have gone nothing wrong but Rita was cheating on Camillo and that is a serious problem。 Rita's husband is Villela Camillo's best friend。 If I was Rita I would not give the letter back for Camillo's safty but she send the letter to Camillo。 Camillo received strange from anonymous。 So Camillo went to the fortune teller。 Camillo asks the fortune teller "are we safe" the fortune teller says they are safe。 Some how Camilo's feeling became to be better。I think the fortune teller was not telling the truth and got paid from Villela。I can not tell the end of the story but I can give clues to the story because there are lots of people who want to read this book and if I spoil it the people don't want to read this。 The clue is at the end it is horrible。I gave 3 stars because there were lots of hard words and the most of all this story was not my style I should say， so I give this book 3 stars。 。。。more
Soomin
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I give this book 1 stars out of 5。I read the story called "The fortune teller"。 I did not understand the story while I was reading。。。 I know a little， but not much。 I think smaller the letter goes， it's will get more hard to understand for me。I know there's a twist at the end。 However， I just don't understand the story。。。😅I'll try to understand and practice to understand books with smaller words。 I just think this book is not for me。。。 I give this book 1 stars out of 5。I read the story called "The fortune teller"。 I did not understand the story while I was reading。。。 I know a little， but not much。 I think smaller the letter goes， it's will get more hard to understand for me。I know there's a twist at the end。 However， I just don't understand the story。。。😅I'll try to understand and practice to understand books with smaller words。 I just think this book is not for me。。。 。。。more
Claire Ki
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Instead of rating the whole book， I rated mostly on the short story The Fortune Teller。 This short story is about Camillo， the main character， falls in love with his friend， Villela's wife。 But one day， late at night， he gets a letter from Villela， telling him to come quick。 The story ends with a small twist。 I honestly was very shocked at the dark ending。 I never expected any murders in the story， and I certainly didn't expect Villela to be the murderer。 After I read the story， some questions Instead of rating the whole book， I rated mostly on the short story The Fortune Teller。 This short story is about Camillo， the main character， falls in love with his friend， Villela's wife。 But one day， late at night， he gets a letter from Villela， telling him to come quick。 The story ends with a small twist。 I honestly was very shocked at the dark ending。 I never expected any murders in the story， and I certainly didn't expect Villela to be the murderer。 After I read the story， some questions started to float around in my head。 "What would have happened if Camillo came early？" Some of my questions， I could answer with my imagination。 Others， I could really find answers。 I wanted the story to keep going just to see what would happen to Villela。 I also read another review， by Carolyn Song and she said， "Reading this is like watching Hamilton sing “how can I say no to this” over and over as he cheats on his wife" And I agree with this。 Honestly， none of this would have happened if Camillo hadn't loved Villela's wife。 I also felt bad for Villela mostly because his friend， his FRIEND liked his wife。 However， I think Villela had NO right to kill the two lovers。 This story was exciting and the twist was very interesting。 I didn't really understand at first， but as I read， I understood more and more。 I gave this book a 3-star rating。 I was satisfied with the story， and I'm excited to finish the book。 。。。more
Ziu
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The title， the fortune teller， sounded mysterious and I thought it would end as predicting a glorious future like other books always do。 The fortune teller says "You will fall in love with a guy in 5 days" and that actually happens。 I settled in my chair， reading towards the end and I was smiling。 I thought it was a romance story， gross。 But I thought again， what did 'Nothing would happen to him or to the other。 He， the third， was aware of nought。' mean？Rita visits a fortune-teller that tells h The title， the fortune teller， sounded mysterious and I thought it would end as predicting a glorious future like other books always do。 The fortune teller says "You will fall in love with a guy in 5 days" and that actually happens。 I settled in my chair， reading towards the end and I was smiling。 I thought it was a romance story， gross。 But I thought again， what did 'Nothing would happen to him or to the other。 He， the third， was aware of nought。' mean？Rita visits a fortune-teller that tells her that her lover， Camillo will not leave her。 Camillo， an agnostic to all things spiritual chafes her for doing so as he is afraid it will expose their illicit affair to her husband。 Camillo stays away for Rita for some time， until an urgent message from her husband， Villela， requests his presence。 Camillo's anxiety about Villela's intent holds him back until he stumbles upon the same fortune-teller that Rita visited。 He enters and she assures him that he and Rita will be fine。 Somehow assured by the mystic， Camillo races toward Villela's home， finding new inspiration and faith in the spirit realm。 Upon entering the house， he finds Rita dead and Vilella quickly dispatches him。Because I read these short stories， I was familiar with the elements in this story such as the love affair， the mystic， complicated relationships， and even， older women in relationships with younger men; all of it is common ground for writers that like to add a twist。 The twist at the end I slightly anticipated but was surprised how brutal and quick it came。 I very much like Machado de Assis's stories as he's able to forge such rich worlds， particularly around relations and culture in such brief stories。In “The Fortune Teller，” the author， Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis， uses symbolism to prove to one that an affair is not worth a person’s life。 He uses the letter to symbolize hate between Villela and Camillo regarding the affair。 This very ambiguous letter has terrified Camillo and put an end to his life。 The letter enhances the theme of the short story by showing the anger and hate that Villela now had for Camillo。 This hate is a focal point in the short story that leads to ending the affair along with Camillo and Rita’s life。 Ultimately， the affair caused a large amount of tension between the three。 However， the author was successful in grabbing the reader’s attention with the letter as the turning point of the short story。 Overall， I thought the book was quite good but it was very abrupt and rushed and therefore I give it 4 stars 。。。more
Jin
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 There are lots of stories in these days。 It gives us stories with TV， book and phone。 We can see and enjoy many kinds of stories。 In Korea， I think maybe a drama is one of the best way to give people a story and maybe "Drama" could be a start of K-POP which is now very popular in these days。 Anyway， why I was talking about this is because， this story was very similar with many ofKorean Dramas。 It seemed like that this short story was little "deeper" version of K-dramas。 It is because of story-l There are lots of stories in these days。 It gives us stories with TV， book and phone。 We can see and enjoy many kinds of stories。 In Korea， I think maybe a drama is one of the best way to give people a story and maybe "Drama" could be a start of K-POP which is now very popular in these days。 Anyway， why I was talking about this is because， this story was very similar with many ofKorean Dramas。 It seemed like that this short story was little "deeper" version of K-dramas。 It is because of story-line， basically。 The scenario that most of grannies like。 There are 2 or more characters who have conflicts and the other one which is the reason of conflict。 And the most usual reason can be jealous（love）， money， affair and even a murder。 This fits "The fortune-teller"。 There was a fortune teller or card reader who infers us about ending。 However， we already knew the ending， and even characters feel the ending。 I was very excited about this because it was wondering how the author would end it。 We know the ending but how？ And also， there was a twist at last that make us to get confuse of this ending as Camilo got a great fortune-telling about their love although the ending was same as we expected。 However， I will give this story 4 stars。 I don't know why the author wrote this story！ What is the main idea？ As all Korean dramas influenced me nothing but just fun， I cannot expect what the main idea of this story。 Maybe a cheating is bad？ I was keep thinking。 Then， I was even thinking that what if the author's job is fortune teller？ But no。 And actually， I couldn't find it yet。 That is why I gave this book just 4 stars although I enjoyed a lot。 。。。more
Sophie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The Fortune TellerTwo StarsFirst of all， I didn't really get a specific feeling or anything from the book。 I just understood that Camillo fell in love with Rita， who is Villelas's （Villela is Camillo's best friend） wife。 Then， one day， Villela starts to summon Camillo。 He starts to receive letters from Vilella， too。 In one of his letters， Villela asks Camillo to come over to his house immediately。 But on his way， he stops by the fortune teller to know about his imminent fate。 I think this is a V The Fortune TellerTwo StarsFirst of all， I didn't really get a specific feeling or anything from the book。 I just understood that Camillo fell in love with Rita， who is Villelas's （Villela is Camillo's best friend） wife。 Then， one day， Villela starts to summon Camillo。 He starts to receive letters from Vilella， too。 In one of his letters， Villela asks Camillo to come over to his house immediately。 But on his way， he stops by the fortune teller to know about his imminent fate。 I think this is a VERY wrong thing to do。 I mean， yes he can fall in love with someone， but actually EXPRESSING his love to an "already-married woman"？ ESPECIALLY the wife of his BEST FRIEND。 If I was Villela， I wouldn't even CALL him "friend"。 This was one of the reasons I took away a star from the rating。Second of all， VOCABULARY。 There， I said it。 Vocabulary is a problem for EVERY one of my reviews。 In this book， the author used words like: augmented， perfidious， and more。 It probably means I need to study more， or the book is already hard to read in the first place。 But in my defense， I choose the second reason。 That's the other reason why I took away a star。Well， for some people who read the book and LIKED it would expect me to recommend this book to others。 The answer is no， I would not recommend this book to minors， but yes， I WOULD recommend this story to people who are interested in drama， romance， fortune telling， or philosophy。 Try reading this short story if you're interested in one of those genres。The Sacrificial EggOne StarI have read the book "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe who is the author of this book， too。 But in that book， I knew it wasn't my style just by looking at the cover （not to judge）。 And I guess that this book isn't my style either。 The main thing was that I didn't get the storyline at ALL。 I mean， important bits， yes， but like， not the MAIN storyline， no。 There were also sudden changes in setting which made it more confusing。 At first， when Julius was sitting at his typewriter etc。。。 I thought that this story was going to be "fun"。 Turns out， it's exactly the opposite。To conclude （I know that this is a very short review。 I don't have much to say about it since I reject it， and didn't get most of it。）， I think that I wouldn't recommend this book to anybody。 。。。more
Kristin
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Just as I finished ， I could only think of one thing。 I frankly tell that the story won't be interesting as you might expect so。 I was really disappointed with the book's sloppy contents and the ending。 It only consists of 9 pages， and there are only 3， 4 to be precise， characters who make entrances in the book。 Though it was a very short story， it gave me a strong impact， making me feel more and more disappointing every time I think about it。 That was also one of the reasons I rated only 2 sta Just as I finished ， I could only think of one thing。 I frankly tell that the story won't be interesting as you might expect so。 I was really disappointed with the book's sloppy contents and the ending。 It only consists of 9 pages， and there are only 3， 4 to be precise， characters who make entrances in the book。 Though it was a very short story， it gave me a strong impact， making me feel more and more disappointing every time I think about it。 That was also one of the reasons I rated only 2 stars on this story。 In short I must say， there were too much disappointments in it。The first reason was that its story ended too absurdly。 I know I shouldn't spoil the story， but seriously， I know that you will be at loss for words when you read it all， and even though you think that you understood the story， you will also notice the fact that you are screaming to your lungs in your head and telling yourself to read the story over and over。 After all， that was the exact thing I did after reading the very last alphabet of the story。 Yelling myself and insulting the sloppy contents and the badly strange ending。 My gosh， I would't want to read it again。The second reason was that there weren't enough reasons for the situations in the story。 Why did the scene it happen？ What was the cause？ Showing only one character's perspective， I couldn't understand why the ending had to be that horrible。 The third reason was that I couldn't find much reasons for making the fortune-teller as the title。 While reading the ending， I couldn't erase the questions popping in my head。 Why did the author name the story 'The Fortune-Teller'？ The fortune-teller from the story hadn't done much effect to them， and the only thing she did was telling two characters their fortunes and the answers to their questions。 It was as if the character was 'there' just to make the last situation happen。 Just because the main character went to see her， the horrible ending happened， only reducing our interests and smashing our expectations for an happy ending。To conclude， I was deeply disappointed with the story， and I hope others who are expected to read it won't find it as disappointing as me。 Therefor I don't recommend to others。ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡDo you believe that you know the true sadness you around you？ Or did you ever felt that you were always happy throughout your life？ I believed and did not feel both things before I read the 。 The funny thing is that， I still do。 Though the belief changed its course a bit。 Now I believe that I 'only' know the sadness that are only found around me， and I did not feel happy 'always' but 'most of the times'。 The story seems to be telling us the beautiful mind of the 'happy prince' as it starts the story。 The generous happy prince who always cries when he sees an unhappy and sad face of a poor person。 The brave kindhearted little bird who kindly accepted the prince's request and stays with him until he dies。 When I was young， I only remembered that part since the kid's was literally written for kids and ended very simply。 The prince's heart turned into a hard pretty gem， and somehow the bird came back from the dead with the happy prince in everyone's mind。 It was not long ago when I found the shocking and tragic parts of the story。 The first thing I noticed was that the prince did plead to the bird a few times but later used a commanding tone saying "Do it！"。 Second， the prince actually 'used' the bird until its death on the behalf of his unmovable arms and legs。 Third， you can easily find that the people or characters value gems and gold very much。 Fourth， people in the story don't care about the mysterious hard metal in the prince's heart。 Lastly， by showing the 'god' who later decorates his gold palace with the happy prince， it tells us that even the god thinks the kindness is as important as gold， which means gold is also very much important to him。 I might have been imagining too much， but it seemed as if the story was actually trying to tell us the evil minded ideas of human beings and the god is with them too。 It felt strange to read the book this way。Because this story felt deep and thoughtful， I give it 4。5 stars。 I recommend this story to the one's who are willing to figure out the parts where you couldn't find when you were young， and to the ones who want to read the in a perspective they did not know。 。。。more
Stephen Dorneman
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This odd collection is dominated by early and pre-1900 stories。 Although on the plus side it collects a number of lesser-known stories from countries outside of the usual US/England/Ireland spectrum， too many of the stories are dated rather than eternal， and its relatively slight 257 pages are eaten up by the couple of novellas that Daley has included。 There are plenty of other short story anthologies out there， and I'd recommend quite a few of them before this one。 This odd collection is dominated by early and pre-1900 stories。 Although on the plus side it collects a number of lesser-known stories from countries outside of the usual US/England/Ireland spectrum， too many of the stories are dated rather than eternal， and its relatively slight 257 pages are eaten up by the couple of novellas that Daley has included。 There are plenty of other short story anthologies out there， and I'd recommend quite a few of them before this one。 。。。more
Seal
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< Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， Her Son-in-law >When it comes to books， you think of piles of paper， connected together。 Usually a book is about one story but this one is different。 It is a combination of stories。 One of them is "Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， Her Son in Law"。It is about Mrs。 Frola， Mr。Ponza， and Mrs。Frola's daughter。 Mrs。Frola tells each other that they are crazy。 The story was confusing and boring to me。 It was a story between illusion and reality。 They are fighting and arguing with ea < Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， Her Son-in-law >When it comes to books， you think of piles of paper， connected together。 Usually a book is about one story but this one is different。 It is a combination of stories。 One of them is "Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， Her Son in Law"。It is about Mrs。 Frola， Mr。Ponza， and Mrs。Frola's daughter。 Mrs。Frola tells each other that they are crazy。 The story was confusing and boring to me。 It was a story between illusion and reality。 They are fighting and arguing with each other but helping each other。 It was also only 5 pages so it didn't really felt like a story。 I thought this story was overall strange。 The ideas didn't come into my brain organized。 Mrs。Frola's daughter hasn't died and Mrs。Frola thinks so but Mr。Ponza thinks that Mrs。 Frola's daughter is dead。 It made me think " what is this？" While reading this story， it was a story but I felt strange as if I was sucked into a black hole then spit out。 As you see， it is kind of hard to perfectly explain it。 This insane story that happened in Valdana， is a dizzy story for readers probably。 I wondered why this was in the collection of the world's greatest short stories。 I never had this experience before。 I disliked this story and I wish the author doesn't repeat things over and over again。 I will give it 2 points， because of what you read from my review。< The Fortune-Teller >Reviewing “ The Fortune-Teller” by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis。 I believe it will be another review about a strange and confusing short story。 The main characters are Camillo， Rita， the fortune teller， and Villela。 Camillo and Villela are friends and Rita is Villela's wife。 Camillo often went to Villela’s house and they talked。 However， one day， Camillo started to get anonymous letters about his visit to Villela， and that his adventure was known to all。 Camillo got afraid and he rarely visited Villela。 After some months， Camillo received a letter from Villela to come immediately。 Camillo then went to the fortune teller even though he didn’t believe in them。 The fortune-teller told him that it would be ok and so he went over to Villela’s house and when he went inside… If this part didn't show up， I thought it would have been very very boring。 Just like when you go to listen to the Orchestra concert but you dozing off to sleep。 However， when a loud song starts， you probably wake up。 Like other short stories I read， I couldn’t understand the story well。 Maybe this was the style of authors in the book？ I am not sure but this short story was another confusing strange unexpected one。 When reading this short story， I thought it stated again that Fortune Tellers are fake。 It seemed like a small mystery and I felt that this story had twists。 However， mostly this story had an odd structure and it was really confusing so that I wanted to even skip the line。 While even writing this review， it was a bit confusing。I didn't really enjoy this short story。 I will like to give 2。5 points to this short story。 I recommend it to people who want to read lots of kinds of stories but there may be some parts or stories that are hard to understand。----The Sacrificial Egg ---Reviewing "The Sacrificial Egg" by Chinua Achebe。（1959） A short story that says basically “ A Chinua Achebe’s unique story”。 Which means that it shows the features of what Chinua Achebe’s stories all have。 When we read someone’s books， they all have something in common。 Chinua Achebe’s books all show things about the unknown culture of Africa。 This four page short story is also one of them。 Though to me， it wasn’t much interesting。 The main Characters are Julius obi， Janet， and Julis’s mother。 The story starts with the information about these settings and the thoughts of Julius。 I thought that there was too much explaining during the beginning which almost took over 2pages。 The short story doesn’t really have an actually story like it doesn’t have a period。 The story talks about what’s happening in Africa。 Julius and Janet are going to be married。 But Kitikpa， a powerful and evil deity took over the towns so there is a decrease in trading and less and less people are walking in the streets。 So they can’t meet。 And basically， the story ends with a sacrificial egg which Julius steps on during one night。 The final paragraph was hard to understand。 Also， the story seemed too short。 Anyhow， I still give it three stars because it has the cultural effect on what Chinua Achebe maybe wanted to show to us。 。。。more
Julia Park
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The World's Greatest Short StoriesMrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， Her Son-in-lawTwo stars I rate this book two stars because this book did not make a lot of sense。 The narrator starts talking about Mrs。 Frola and her daughter on page 187-188， and then out of nowhere he/she starts talking about Mr。 Ponza！ Mr。 Ponza's name came out at the beginning of the book， but after that， Mr。 Ponza didn't come out。 I think that there could have been a smoother transition。 Then they talk about how they look！ In my o The World's Greatest Short StoriesMrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， Her Son-in-lawTwo stars I rate this book two stars because this book did not make a lot of sense。 The narrator starts talking about Mrs。 Frola and her daughter on page 187-188， and then out of nowhere he/she starts talking about Mr。 Ponza！ Mr。 Ponza's name came out at the beginning of the book， but after that， Mr。 Ponza didn't come out。 I think that there could have been a smoother transition。 Then they talk about how they look！ In my opinion， I think that they should start by talking about their names， then looks， and then the story。 Not their names， then problems， and the story again in the last part！ It's just out of order。 When I read the book， I didn't know a lot of the words。 For example， I didn't know the word， pernicious。 Also， the word size was too small。 I mean， I could read it， but my eyes hurt a little bit。 The footnote was also hard to read。 As a conclusion， I think that this book could have a little more attention on ordering and trying to use easier words for younger readers。The World’s Greatest Short StoriesThe Fortune TellerTwo StarsIn my opinion， I think that the reason Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis named this book “The Fortune Teller” was because the fortune teller did a very important job in the book。 When Camillo received the note from Villela， saying that he has to come immediatly Camillo felt nervous。 I think Camillo knew that he was doing something bad。 What I mean by bad is that Villela is married with Rita， but Rita and Camillo like each other。 After Camillo met the fortune teller， he felt happy。 The fortune teller had said that Camillo likes Rita， and Rita likes Camillo too。 I think this made Camillo feel happy inside。 He made the driver go fast。 Camillo now thought that Villela had called him because of work。 It was really because Villela wanted to murder Camillo。 Villea was jealous that his own wife loved his friend better than him！ Though the fortune teller’s prediction was right。 Rita and Camillo ended up dying together。 It is a sad ending， but they ended up together。In my opinion， I think this chapter was mysterious。 As a conclusion， I think that I would recommend this chapter to people who like kind of mysterious books。 。。。more
Jayden KWON
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Mr Ponza is the crazy one--so obsessed with love for his wife that they had to fake his wife's death and then re-introduce her later were in Mr Ponza believed she was his second wife。 The story ends with the most perplexing of notes that despite how each views the other as crazy， they are regularly seen throughout the village being friendly and caring for one another。 While reading the first page of the story， the writer of the story keeps saying that one of the main characters must be crazy an Mr Ponza is the crazy one--so obsessed with love for his wife that they had to fake his wife's death and then re-introduce her later were in Mr Ponza believed she was his second wife。 The story ends with the most perplexing of notes that despite how each views the other as crazy， they are regularly seen throughout the village being friendly and caring for one another。 While reading the first page of the story， the writer of the story keeps saying that one of the main characters must be crazy and that the citizens were frightened。 First I did not know where this story was up to。 However， the more I read， I found it easier to understand。 After reading 3 pages， I was wondering a lot。 This has made me get interested and curious。 Also about in 5 pages， I liked the setting description about Mr Ponza and Mrs Flora。 Also， I thought that whether they are crazy or mad or not， they care about each other and I found it more fun and eye-catching。 However， I think the book ended like if it was rushed because they give a lot of description to Mrs Flora and Mrs Ponza but the book didn't show how they found the crazy one and who was mad。 Also， the last bit was like only in 1 paragraph and that made me feel that it was the summary of the book。 Also， the conclusion was not clear which made it very hard to summarize the book in my head， unlike the books we had read like 'The curious incident of the dog in the night-time' or 'The London Eye Mystery'。 Of course， it was a short story but I think the ending was too simple。 Simply， I have to say that his book had amazing parts in the start and the middle but the resolution part was not so good。 If you see a story mountain it is like slowly going up and suddenly following like a cliff。 I found out that there was no resolution in there。 More simply， I am saying that build-up was good but no RESOLUTION。 So I rate this book 4 stars。Fortune TellerSince my dream is to be related to be science， I do not believe in mythical or not scientifically proved things。 One of the things is fortune-telling。 It ultimately did not make sense to me when I heard that she went to the fortune-teller。 I thought in my mind，' Why would you ever believe that？'。 For me， it did not make sense because it was not scientifically proved。 How could you say that you are going to be rich and be a famous person like Steve Jobs by only seeing the texture of the hand？ It does not make sense to me， and I will show how my mind changed while I was reading the book。 When I was first seeing the title Fortune Teller， I thought， that it was about myths again and it would be an old story。 Nevertheless， as I went on， I found out that Fortune-Fortune tellings are not always old fashioned。 It had made me think that Fortune-Telling can also be in modern days。 I never saw a Fortune-Teller， and I think that is the way I have a biased mind about Fortune-Telling and Fortune-Tellers。 However， my thoughts about the Fortune-Tellers did not change at all。 Before I went to the end of this short story， I found that Camillo was doing the right thing at the right time because his idea was very similar to my idea; going to the Fortune-Teller is a foolhardy thing to do。 I began to research more about Fortune-Tellers after I saw the arguing bit as I kept going on and on。 I understood how they say others fate。 I thought that they say a random destiny and say a ridiculous and a hilarious reason， but after I researched a lot of about them， I recognized that they have a rather a unique pattern of giving and telling their fate。 I began to understand， but my brother started to ask one day what is mistakes。 I wondered about the word mistakes， and then， I thought about coincidence。 I searched the internet about which one is the antonym of confidence fand I learnt that fate was the antonym。 I began to think， can fate change？ Fate can change， I thought。 If I work hard， I go to a good university。 If I play， I go to a terrible university。 Finally， I thought of something I never thought about before。 Why is Fortune-Tellers made？ I kind of first thought that it was for fun because it was fun to know my destiny and work with it。 Nevertheless， I was thinking next that Fortune-Telling is similar to believing in legends， myths and gods。 The main thing was the gods。 It was cool。 Very cool。 I knew that gods were made because people were scared that something would happen to us， but the other would protect me and my family。 That was similar to Fortune-Telling。 It is like this; let's say that I am a person that I worried about something in the future。 I have no idea what will happen in my future and what other obstacles would come。 So I went to the Fortune-Teller， and the Fortune-Teller says that you have to prepare for a big Tsunami。 Then you are less worried because they can be prepared for the big event。 If they do not， they will have to be anxious all the time until that time。 People did not want to get worried。 Furthermore， that was the main point of the book， I thought。 Moreover， the person who went to the Fortune-Teller in this book would be probably worried about something terribly。This book allowed me to change my biased mind about Fortune-Tellers to an open mind that can agree with ones who goes to Fortune-Tellers。 Still， I believe in science rather a lot。 However， now， I do not think why that person is going there and detest them for not believing in science very much。 So I give this book a Five-Star。 。。。more
Christine
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 [Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， her son-in-law]3 starsThis story was absolutly confusing。 And I learned that I should never think short stories are easy。 In the starting， the author described about the Valdana people thought about Mrs Frola and Mr ponza。 So I was getting curious because I didn’t know why they got crazy。 But as the story went on， the words got more and more tangled in my mind because the story was so confusing。 But I could still understand some things like they got crazy because of Mr [Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， her son-in-law]3 starsThis story was absolutly confusing。 And I learned that I should never think short stories are easy。 In the starting， the author described about the Valdana people thought about Mrs Frola and Mr ponza。 So I was getting curious because I didn’t know why they got crazy。 But as the story went on， the words got more and more tangled in my mind because the story was so confusing。 But I could still understand some things like they got crazy because of Mrs Flora’s daughter’s death， who was Mr Ponza’s wife too。 But people of Valdana thinks only one of them is crazy。 But I think they are both crazy。 I rate this story 3 stars because this wasn’t a -good to understand- story， but I could understand some。-----------------------------------------[The Fortune teller]3 stars I didn’t think this is a fortune teller kind of story or a fun and bright story。 I guessed lots of things about the story， and I finally thought it should be something about a fortune teller， even if I don’t feel likely。 But I always get wrong about guessing stories。 It was kind of right this time， but not quite。 This story is about someone called Rita and Camillo and Villelo and probably something about Hamlet。 Kind of a murder style， I’ll say。 That Villelo is a little scary。 But there was a reason。 Rita’s hushband was Villelo and Rita liked Camillo。 So he got angry and killed them both。 （I understood like that） I couldn’t quite get what’s the fortune teller part about。 I couldn’t quite understand this story。 Especially the first page of the story。 But well， I started to get what’s going on and I didn’t actually “fell” into the story， but I got interested。 But I threw the book at the end。 Villelo… Uh， you know what？ Never mind。 You’ll find out in the book。 This story， I can’t say it in one word。 But you’ll see。 It’s not my style。 I’m not used to that kind of story。 I’m not sure if you will like it too， but I think I don’t hate it。 Just not my style。 This is why I give this book 3 stars。 。。。more
Michaela Kwon
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Mrs。 Frola and Mr。Ponza， Her Son-In-Law [Luigi Pirandello] （ 2 stars）I gave this story 2 stars because this story didn't include a clear ending。 I like stories that have a clear ending that tells and concludes every important event that happened throughout the story。 But this story's ending didn't include any clear decision。This story's author made readers think a lot while the readers read this story。 The author gave many questions to the reader to make the readers think。 The questions were the Mrs。 Frola and Mr。Ponza， Her Son-In-Law [Luigi Pirandello] （ 2 stars）I gave this story 2 stars because this story didn't include a clear ending。 I like stories that have a clear ending that tells and concludes every important event that happened throughout the story。 But this story's ending didn't include any clear decision。This story's author made readers think a lot while the readers read this story。 The author gave many questions to the reader to make the readers think。 The questions were the reason why I gave this story 2 stars。 Because of the questions， I could think more while I read the story， which helped me to remember the details in the story。Even I liked the way how the author gave the readers questions in the book， this story is not my choice to read my own。 As I said I hate the ending of this book， but that doesn't mean that this book is not interesting。 This book can be really interesting to readers who like reading dizzy or not organized books。 This book has a lot of points that make readers confuse or not sure about the story。 For example in the story perspective keep changes， sometimes the narrator talks about Mrs。 Frola but then， the narrator quickly changes to Mr。 Ponza again。 This could be interesting points to some readers， but like me who likes to read organized books， I DO NOT recommend this book。------------------------------------------------The Fortune Teller [Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis] （3 stars）I gave this story 3 stars because this story was really complicated。 When I finished reading this book for the first time， I couldn't understand the whole story。 This story's author used elementary words; also the author was using simple and common text structure。 Even though the author used simple word choices and structure I couldn't understand the story very well。 The reason why I couldn't understand this story was that this book kept changed the perspective。 To understand the story thoroughly， you have to know what happened and why something happened。 But because of dizzy perspective changes， I couldn't focus on the story or the event inside the story。 So， I could finally write this book review after reading this story 1 more time。 Also， this story made me think a lot because the character's relationship was complicated also。 There were small numbers of characters who were in this story， but there are big and complicated relationships between each character。 That is the second reason why I gave this book only 3 stars。I recommend reading this story 1 - 2 more times after you finished reading 1 time。 Because this story is really hard to understand and also to focus on the event while reading the story。 Readers who love to read some complicated and unorganized stories， I think this book will be perfect for you。 But readers who like organized and clear stories like me， I strongly NOT recommend this story to you。------------------------------------------------The Sacrificial Egg [Chinua Achebe]（3 stars）I gave this story 3 stars because it was interesting and also attractive， but still， there were some parts complicated that made me hard to understand。This story， The Sacrificial Egg started with the description of the main character Julius Obi and his office。 Also， introduce the big market that is placed nearby the office。 Until this introduction， I thought this will be a story related to a fight between two similar kinds of places that have competitive mindsets against each other。 After I read an additional two or three paragraphs I found out that I was totally wrong。 This story was having a much more complicated topic than just competitive mindsets。 It was talking about the different cultures that they have。 Julius Obi is not a native of the Umuru which makes Julius Obi different from others。 Differences they have between them lead them into big and small arguments。 All of those small details from the different cultures and their arguments are very attractive and also made me think again about different cultures that characters are facing inside the story。 Because this is related to the cultures of different places， it is a little bit tricky to read and also understand， so I had to read some sentences once or twice more to understand and make connections with other parts of the story。 One other part that I really enjoyed was about the egg falling。 "There could be big consequences followed to every action you made"。 This is what I learned from this short story because Julius Obi's small action can cause big differences after time passes。 For example， after he stepped on the egg， he had a big difference in his life。 The action that followed his small mistake was very shocking and that made me once more focus on the small story until it finish。In my opinion， this was the best story inside the World's Greatest Short Stories， that I've read until now。 It wasn't super complicated， also the story was very attractive， and I loved the characters that were inside the story。 If I didn't read the story "Things Fall Apart" I think I could have hard times understand the whole story and the symbols inside this book。 。。。more
Youngseo
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Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， her son in law3 starsIn this book， the main characters are Mrs。 Frola， who is an elegant lady， and her son-in-law Mr。 Ponza， who moved into town with his wife and mother-in-law。 They both have their own world of illusion that they believe。 Mrs。 Frola thinks that Mr。 Ponza is a crazy person because he doesn’t let her see her own daughter out of jealousy and selfishness， and also believes that her daughter is his second wife。 And Mr。 Ponza says that Mrs。 Frola is the one Mrs。 Frola and Mr。 Ponza， her son in law3 starsIn this book， the main characters are Mrs。 Frola， who is an elegant lady， and her son-in-law Mr。 Ponza， who moved into town with his wife and mother-in-law。 They both have their own world of illusion that they believe。 Mrs。 Frola thinks that Mr。 Ponza is a crazy person because he doesn’t let her see her own daughter out of jealousy and selfishness， and also believes that her daughter is his second wife。 And Mr。 Ponza says that Mrs。 Frola is the one who is crazy。 He says that her daughter died four years ago and Mrs。 Frola got crazy because of the shock of her daughter’s death。 Each of them has a suitable reason， so nobody knows who is right and who is really crazy。 When I first read this book， the first thought I had was that Mr。 Ponza’s wife is suffering greatly， no matter who is right， Mrs。 Frola or Mr。 Ponza。 If Mrs。 Frola was right and Mr。 Ponza was not， she would have to pretend that she is someone else。 It would be so depressing， unable to be ‘herself’。 And if Mr。 Ponza was correct， then she would have a hard time pretending to be Mrs。 Frola’s daughter。 Because volunteering and sacrificing for Mrs。 Frola can only go so far。 Also， she can’t go out and have to do all the household jobs by herself because Mr。 Ponza doesn’t let her go out This story’s style is a parable。 Parables are simple stories designed to teach a lesson， like the stories in the Bible。 I think the moral of this book is that you have to respect people’s privacy because if there is no absolute truth， then we have no rights to judge other people with of our beliefs and stereotype。 When I first read this book， it was hard to understand what the author was trying to say because the book’s style was so different from any other books that I had read before。 But when I read the story again and thought a little bit more， I understood the story’s meaning。 This story was a little bit tricky to analyze but it was a fine story。 The style， plot， and characters were very new to me because I had never seen stories like this before。 I enjoyed reading it and I am looking forward to reading more short stories like this。 （less）The Fortune-Teller3 stars‘The Fortune-Teller’ is a short story written by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis。 The story starts with Rita having just come back from a visit to a fortune-teller， who had told her that her lover， Camillo will never leave her。 I didn’t know what was going on at first， but when I read one more page， I understood。 Rita was married to Villela， but she was on a love affair with a close friend of his， Camillo。 This is when I guessed that the ending would have a twist。 I read a bit more， and I found out the reason Rita had visited the fortune-teller。 Camillo had received an anonymous letter warning him that what he did was known to all， and frightened， he had stayed away from Rita for quite a long time。 Camillo gets a few more letters and he gets more scared and uncertain than ever， until an urgent letter from Villela asks him to come to his house。 At Villela’s house， something very shocking happens。After I finished reading the story， I had to imagine what would have happened for a minute。 I think what had happened with Villela was this。 He didn’t have any suspicions at first about Camillo and his wife meeting。 He was just glad that they liked each other。 But Rita would have probably shown some strange signs， like going somewhere out very often， or not smiling at him like the way she used to。 Then， Villela would have started to suspect Rita first， he could have spied on her， or asked someone about it。 He would soon think Camillo was suspicious， but he wouldn’t have wanted to believe the thought。 And then he would have finally found out the truth。 And my opinion is that Villela wrote the anonymous letters。 When he figured out the truth， he would have been so angry at Camillo and Rita。 Especially Camillo， because he was his true friend， and he betrayed him。 Villela would have been mad enough to stomp to them and kill them right away， but he sent the anonymous letter to Camillo instead， intending to give him another chance。 This shows that he trusted his friend greatly。 I think this was a wise move from him， giving one more chance， because there was a slight chance that he was mistaken。 However， despite getting a chance， Camillo doesn’t understand the true meaning of the letter until he meets Villela。Overall， I enjoyed reading this story a lot。 It had many hard words， and I slightly expected the ending， but the way it focuses on the close relationship between the three characters was very new to me， and I hadn’t seen any stories like this before。 I found out that the author of this story wrote more than 200 short stories， and I am planning to try other stories written by him。The Sacrificial Egg3 starsThis is a short story by Chinua Achebe。 The main character Julias Obi looks out over the big market， Nkwo。 He remembers his conversation with Ma about myths like the mammy-wota who are women too perfect。 The market is empty today because of smallpox。 Later， he paces up and down the riverbank， and worries about Ma and Janet， the girl he going to marry with。 Suddenly， a gong rings， announcing the night-masks。 To avoid them， he tries to hurry back home。 While he rushed through the dark， he accidently crushes on an egg， which was left as a sacrifice by someone who was trying to get rid of their bad luck。 He hears the mask call and throws himself into a field and hears their footsteps。 A week later， a terrible thing had happened。After I read this story I really wanted to know more about the author Chinua Achebe。 I hadn’t read many African books， so I was definitely curious about the author， especially because I had read his most famous book， “Things Fall Apart” and it was great。 Chinua Achebe was raised by his parents in the town Igbo。 He began writing stories of African culture as a university student。 After graduating he wrote many famous books like “Things Fall Apart” and “No Longer at Ease”。 His books focus on the traditions of the Igbo society， the effect of Christian influences and also the clash of Western and African societies。 Later he worked as a professor of Bard College。Smallpox is a big issue in this story and I think it means how terrible colonialism was to Africans。 It was confusing so after I read the story several times I realized that “the dread artist who decorates its victims” and “Kitikpa” meant smallpox。 Most short stories had a moral or meant something， so I thought about smallpox。 Then I remembered that smallpox came with the crowds of strangers， the White People。 So I think smallpox is a symbol of colonialism。 The land in the story， around Nigeria were colonized by Great Britain。 Britain pushed their language and religion on the native people。 And they brought smallpox with them。 Smallpox is very deadly and destructive， so maybe it means that the European colonizers were very destructive to Africa。 Julias lost people he loved because of smallpox， and Africa lost the chance to grow big because of colonization。Overall， this story was great and new to me because I hadn’t read many books about African literature。 It was a little confusing because there were some Igbo words which was hard to understand， so I recommend reading it multiple times to understand it better。 Because I read this story I now know that African literature is interesting， and I really want to read more African literature by Chinua Achebe。 。。。more
Chloe
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