A review by msand3
The Celestial Omnibus and other Stories by E.M. Forster

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.”