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A review by katykelly
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde
5.0
A short story by the inimitable Wilde, and every page oozes him. You'd know his style instantly - his wit shines through.
Lord Arthur, along with all of London society, is rather taken with the palm reader who tells fortunes at an event. Unfortunately, his fortune isn't too positive - he learns he will murder someone.
Unlike most sane people though, Lord Arthur decides to get on with it, choose a victim, murder them and then get back to his fiancee. But in increasingly farcical scenarios, his intended victim(s) manage to slip through his fingers... Will he ever be able to fulfil his destiny?!
This is completely unbelievable, but very funny. Just because no sane person would take the path Lord Arthur chooses, it's a very entertaining story with a lot of wonderful Wildean lines. Dark humour abounds, it's a world away from Earnest (though closer to Dorian Gray at heart), but a lovely little read.
I did audio read this, and it was part of a 'and other stories' CD, but the others didn't really interest me. As a stand-alone, this is great, and works well as a narrated tale.
If you're a Wilde fan, you really should try this minor work as well. If you're a novice, it's a good place to start to see both he light and dark sides one of our greatest writers.
Lord Arthur, along with all of London society, is rather taken with the palm reader who tells fortunes at an event. Unfortunately, his fortune isn't too positive - he learns he will murder someone.
Unlike most sane people though, Lord Arthur decides to get on with it, choose a victim, murder them and then get back to his fiancee. But in increasingly farcical scenarios, his intended victim(s) manage to slip through his fingers... Will he ever be able to fulfil his destiny?!
This is completely unbelievable, but very funny. Just because no sane person would take the path Lord Arthur chooses, it's a very entertaining story with a lot of wonderful Wildean lines. Dark humour abounds, it's a world away from Earnest (though closer to Dorian Gray at heart), but a lovely little read.
I did audio read this, and it was part of a 'and other stories' CD, but the others didn't really interest me. As a stand-alone, this is great, and works well as a narrated tale.
If you're a Wilde fan, you really should try this minor work as well. If you're a novice, it's a good place to start to see both he light and dark sides one of our greatest writers.