The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories of the Four Million
Ratings1
Average rating3
4.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
A collection of short stories set in New York City by O. Henry.
Review
This again is the O. Henry I remember from my youth. Very much along the same lines as The Four Million, these are stories and sketches with a wry sense of humor and at times a satirical outlook.
You can feel O. Henry at times dipping into formula, and there are some stories that feel, not half-hearted, but not labored over either. The remainder do follow the common scheme of The Four Million, but they feel more like keenly observed portraits than formulas. In this collection, O. Henry allows himself a somewhat more directly sardonic critique of human nature. However, there are also stories that are intensely heartfelt and at times heartbreaking.
While this volume feels a little more uneven than its predecessor, I very much recommend it as much for its earnest stories as for its clever ones.
My favorites among the stories were:
- “A Madison Square Arabian Night”
- “Brickdust Row”
- “The Guilty Party”
- “A Midsummer Knight's Dream”
- “The Last Leaf”
- “The Count and the Wedding Guest”
- “Elsie in New York”
