They

One of my favourites, easy to dip in and out of, or read in one sitting.

As a brief anthology of three short stories-"They", "Mary Postgate", and "The Gardener"-this serves as the perfect panacea to the more familiar, up-beat and sometimes humorous voice that generations have grown to know as Kipling."They" is a brooding story about the lost ways of the old world, a tale en-witching in its simplicity, and a reminder that technology and the other raiments of progress will never lay claim to all corners of human experience."Mary Postgate" is a hard tale of sacrifice and war, out of which shines the unstinting and resolute flame of the female spirit. Shocking as it is satisfying, it offers a direct view of human life rooted firmly in nature and unencumbered by the unnecessary complexities of civilisation.While "The Gardner" falls flat and doesn't work particularly well as a story, it's careful backdrop of war and loss provides an ideal landscape for considering grief. As the protagonist drifts into fulfilling a detached but dutiful service, the story not only reminds the reader of the ghosts that haunted Kipling, but also that the complexities of the human heart are boundless, and the real nature of the human condition is not one of pain, but of an unescapable and indelible numbness.

I can understand why Penguin publishes these three stories together as they have a common theme. But it is not a theme I want to get into close contact with. Kipling obviously wrote when he was feeling very down and depressed, sometime after WWI. One is about a stately house filled with glimpses of lost children where the reader guesses the truth about the situation long before the visiting man; the other two about the relatives of soldiers dead in WWI. Stories on such sad subjects can be beautiful and helpful but neither is the case here, at least not for me.

Product arrived in expected conditions

An oldie but goodie. Wonderful and entertaining, what a great find!

10-19-10 It is always interesting to hear another version of a familiar story. Some day I'd like to write one myself. I have already written an essay called The Exact Dimensions of Heaven, but after writing 1600 words I ended it with "Of course, I will have to make it up!" Mark Twain is funny and serious. His book was another unique adventure. vilima

printed in a large 9x12 magazine format, strange, sent it back.