The Chronicles of Clovis

De: H. H. Munro - Saki

Narrado por: Ian Richardson

The Chronicles of Clovis, published in 1911, was the third in Saki (H. H. Munro)'s series of very funny and very vicious stories. As an insider, Saki was ideally poised to eviscerate the Edwardian middle class way of life, and his pitiless and magnetic sense of humour - teamed with an ability to wield that sharpest of writer's tools, the (very) short story - makes these some of the funniest and most quotable of tales.

All of the running themes in Saki's work are here: the ghastly maiden relatives, plucked directly from Munro's experiences as a boy with a pair of overly disciplinarian aunts and delivered up to retribution in such famous stories as "Sredni Vashtar"; the somewhat dodgy attitude to female emancipation, shown very short shrift by the newly crowned fictitious King of England in "Hermann the Irascible"; and the ease with which nature, red in tooth and claw, overcomes the seeming power of the Edwardian sense of its own civilisation in the merciless hunting story "Esmé".

There are 29 stories in this collection, each one exquisitely crafted, totally vicious and very, very funny.

Public Domain (P)2007 Silksoundbooks Limited

Where has Saki been all my life?

Would you listen to The Chronicles of Clovis again? Why?

I recently "discovered" Saki and am surprised as a literature buff and after MANY courses in Lit., I just stumbled on him.I will keep Clovis close to me, along with other Saki books.

What other book might you compare The Chronicles of Clovis to and why?

Saki writes in a similar vein to Jerome K. Jerome in Three Men in a Boat and Stephen Fry reading any book is a bonus. (I always think I should be paying more to have such wonderful British gentleman in my home!)

Which scene was your favorite?

This is a book of short stories and therefore does not have scenes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no but I love the way Saki develops characters quickly so the listner feels as if they have known exactly who the character is in the story.

Any additional comments?

Selecting books for listening rather than reading becomes more complicated because, in reading it is our voice we hear and when someone elses reads to you, their personality, voice tone and pronunciation of words becomes hugely important. On more than one occasion I have sent a book back simply because the reading was so horrid.I wish there was a better screening process for selecting readers.But I LOVE Audible.com!

Weighed down...

Christopher Morley aptly characterized Saki's writing as "delicate, airy, lucid, precise, with the inconspicuous agility of perfect style". Richardson's reading could be appropriate for Shakespeare, but this ponderous, florid performance does Saki's effervescent stories a disservice.