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emotional
reflective
medium-paced
sad
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
fast-paced
I read this because a coworker who grew up in another country referenced The Happy Prince the way someone from the United States would reference Goldilocks. And it's funny, because I've been trying to read Hans Christian Anderson for WEEKS and these reminded me exactly of his stories (except there were only 4 in this collection so I made it through). Certainly I've read works by OW before, but mostly his plays (theatre major, after all) and I knew him as a famous gay person in history, but this is the first I had heard of him as a fabluist (WHY IS THIS SPELLED THIS WAY?) whose works influenced other cultures. And all four I ended the story saying, "What?!" out loud. Fables are weird. (In case you're curious, HCA 1805-1875 and OW 1954-1900.)
Take it as it is, children’s fables. Some of the short stories in this collection are better than other. The Selfish Giant is reminiscent of the world of MacDonald or other fairytales greats. Meanwhile, The Nightingale and the Rose is deeply sobering. In general this lacks the usual flair and wit Wilde possessed in his prose and drama.
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The prose in this book is as lovely as everything else I've read for Wilde, and as always, there were certainly some lines that really stuck with me. But I just don't think it left overall as much of an impact as his other works.
The messages of each of the short stories all felt very simple to me, which might just be the fault of my own interpretation, but still. Despite that, they were still all enjoyable to read. The nightingale and the rose was probably my favourite based on vibes alone, for lack of a better word
The messages of each of the short stories all felt very simple to me, which might just be the fault of my own interpretation, but still. Despite that, they were still all enjoyable to read. The nightingale and the rose was probably my favourite based on vibes alone, for lack of a better word