Twenty-One Stories (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

Some of Graham Green's best work

I read at least one of these twenty-one Graham Green mordant short stories every night, for over two weeks. Attention-grabbing beginnings. Accumulating anxiety, Characters deftly and rapidly drawn, like charcoal sketches. A usually unexpected denouement. Graham Greene did not disappoint this reader.

I have read about Greene for years, and seen some of the movies based on his writing, for years, so when this book came up for sale I thought I'd try it out. Boy, these are depressing stories, for the most part, about horrible children or sad, friendless individuals. Are the characters well-drawn? Absolutely. But these are not for those who are looking for uplifting stories.

The stories in this collection will make you laugh and cry, feel enriched and appalled. Any of them could have been pulled from portions of his novels, and give insights into his writing process and into the writer himself.

I read Graham Greene's collection of short stories after reading "The Power and the Glory" and "The End of the Affair" and before I read "The Quiet American". I think they were largely quite good with some very solid stories. They range from the appalling in "The Destuctors" to the very amusing such as "The Blue Film". However, I still prefer the author as a novelist; "The Heart of the Matter" and "The Power and the Glory" in particular.

Bought this to re-read "Greek Meets Greek", which I remembered fondly from the 1960's when my book club read Greene's equally funny "Our Man In Havana". Enjoyed that story very much, but found the dour outlook in some of the other stories quite depressing.

Some stories seemed to stop before any resolution, but Green no doubt knew what he was doing. I sometimes wanted to know, "So what happened next?"

and make them exciting. I recommend this book for a fast read, or a few stories at a time. Thank you

Mainly written in the late twenties and thirties, these stories form a wonderful introduction to ‘Greeneland’. There are no duds and some really gripping and haunting tales. It’s impossible not to be impressed by Greene’s versatility and story-telling skill. The stories are the work of a true master, and also evocative of social and cultural mores that are long gone.

I've only just got around to reading Graham Greene and this collection is an entertaining read. There's a reason whysome writers have a high reputation, Greene deserves his. I'm reading the novels now.

Great book of GG short stories, some of his best work is in the short stories, The Destructors for instance is a classic read, should you laugh or be disgusted by the behaviour of the protagonists- it’s a tough call, I laughed!

Excellent book I remember the first story called The Destructors well I did an essay on it for my GCSE English and got the highest mark from all my work

Excellent.