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kafkaesque_bucharest's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
ex_liontamer1977's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
grete_rachel_howland's review against another edition
4.0
Having only known Forster as a novelist, I was surprised (though perhaps I should not have been) by the potency of these few short stories. Simple enough in their prose, their themes are, by Forster's own label, fantastic, and mysterious. I can see how more cynical readers might be inclined to roll their eyes at the romantic, humanist themes--indeed, they might seem to verge on the melodramatic for a modern audience--but I found the passion of Forster's convictions refreshing and inspiring. If there is anything to complain about with this petite collection, it's that, even in just six stories, the themes (the liberatory power of natural world, the way that the rules and categories of so-called civilized society destroy the human spirit, the proximity of both the very young and the very old to some hidden cosmic truth) become repetitive. By the sixth story, some novelty had worn off. Nevertheless, this collection one of my new favorites.
msand3's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. It’s hard to believe this collection of stories was written by the same man who wrote [b:A Room with a View|3087|A Room with a View|E.M. Forster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388781285s/3087.jpg|4574872], [b:A Passage to India|45195|A Passage to India|E.M. Forster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421883612s/45195.jpg|4574850], and [b:Howards End|38374795|Howards End|E.M. Forster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1518837828s/38374795.jpg|1902726] -- all of which I love, and the first of which I consider to be one of my favorite novels of all time. I have heard the stories described as “fantasy” (on the back book cover) or speculative fiction, but really they are just allegories with a mythological bent. They contain none of the darkness or creativity of previous Victorian tales of the supernatural (M.R. James, Blackwood, Machen, Doyle, etc.) nor the thought-provoking speculative predictions -- and pure entertainment -- of Wells or Verne. They are light and corny, with the typical overbearing symbolism of allegory. To quote the final line of “The Curate’s Friend,” which was intended by Forster to be ironic, but quite frankly sums up how I feel about each of these tales: “[T]his is a short story, suitable for reading in the train.”
saraluna's review against another edition
4.0
"Please, is that an Omnibus?"
My first encounter with E.M. Forster, after starting the first of this collection's stories in a used bookshop, which also happens to be Forster's first published story "The Story of a Panic". "The Celestial Omnibus" compiles a smattering of Forster's other delightfully peculiar short stories. His writing is very English, and his stories full of classic Hellenization, ancient literary allusions and paganistic elements. They're mostly enigmatic and perhaps somewhat impenetrable to the casual reader, but I certainly enjoyed them.
My first encounter with E.M. Forster, after starting the first of this collection's stories in a used bookshop, which also happens to be Forster's first published story "The Story of a Panic". "The Celestial Omnibus" compiles a smattering of Forster's other delightfully peculiar short stories. His writing is very English, and his stories full of classic Hellenization, ancient literary allusions and paganistic elements. They're mostly enigmatic and perhaps somewhat impenetrable to the casual reader, but I certainly enjoyed them.
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