Books › Literary Lapses [42 Stories]
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Literary Lapses [42 Stories]
262 pages
A brisk, witty collection of satirical sketches that poke gentle fun at the absurdities of everyday life and literature.
What it feels like
Reading this collection feels like sitting down with a sharply observant, endlessly amused friend who has a knack for turning the mundane into the ridiculous. With forty-two bite-sized sketches, the pace is inherently brisk, allowing the reader to dip in and out of various comedic scenarios. The tone is distinctly wry and satirical, poking gentle fun at everything from financial anxieties and boarding-house dynamics to literary tropes and social etiquette. The mood remains lighthearted and breezy throughout, anchored by a playful prose style that relies on clever exaggeration and sharp comedic timing. It is a delightful, low-stakes reading experience perfect for those who appreciate classic humor and quick, witty reflections on human folly.
- Mood
- lighthearted
- amused
- breezy
- Tone
- wry
- satirical
- playful
- humorous
- observational
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- everyday absurdities · social conventions · human folly · literary parody
- The writing
- Sharp, witty, and economical, relying on comedic timing and satirical exaggeration.
- The arc
- A series of quick, amusing pivots that move from everyday frustrations to exaggerated, comedic resolutions.
- Who it's for
- Readers who enjoy classic, bite-sized satire and wry observations on the absurdities of daily life.
About the book
My financial career.-- Lord Oxhead's secret.-- Boarding-house geometry.-- The awful fate of Melpomenus Jones.-- A Christmas letter.-- How to make a million dollars.-- How to live to be 200.-- How to avoid getting married.-- How to be a doctor.-- The new food.-- A new pathology.-- The poet answered.-- The force of statistics.-- Men who have shaved me.-- Getting the thread of it.-- Telling his faults.-- Winter pastimes.-- Number fifty-six.--Aristocratic education.-- The conjurer's revenge.-- Hints to travellers.-- A manual of education.-- Hoodoo McFiggin's Christmas.-- The life of John Smith.--On collecting things.-- Society chit-chat.-- Insurance up to-date.-- Borrowing a match.-- A lesson in fiction.-- Helping the Armenians.-- A study in still life, the country hotel.-- An experiment with Policeman Hogan.-- The passing of the poet.-- Self-made men.-- A model dialogue.-- Bach to the bush.--Reflections on riding.-- Saloonio.-- Half-hours with the poets: Mr. Wordsworth and the cottage girl; How Tennyson killed the May queen; Old Mr. Longfellow on board the Hesperus. --A, B, and C.
Description from Open Library.
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