I’m going to be honest. I can’t find what I want for a complete works so I’m reading a couple collections of short stories. That’s good enough.

It would be an exaggeration to state that each and every O. Henry short story is a masterpiece; but I'd still recommend a complete edition of his works, just because he has written so many great short stories and you never know in which collection they might turn up. To me, he is one of the greatest American authors of all times, and a true virtuoso of short story. He is known for his surprise endings, but many of his short stories are so much more than just cleverly constructed plot twists. Sto...

One of the finest unsung authors of the 20th century, O. Henry's brilliance lies in his ability to capture,with absolute precision, the idiosyncrasies of the average Joe (and Jane, of course) and portray them with such candor and humor that every character is endearing and sears into your memory. Humans are complex and who knows why they do whatever they do. O. Henry doesn't attempt to unravel or psychoanalyze his characters but serves them up quite deliciously with his charming wit and excellen...

O. Henry is noted for his entertaining stories that always end with a twist. The Gift of the Maggi is his most famous, but he has written hundreds of them. I love how he draws you into each story. It is as if he gets you leaning forward more and more, sneaks around behind you, and then kicks out your chair with a big finish. Hugely entertaining. It is probably best to read these slowly as they do tend to get repetitive. Having said that, I find it very difficult to anticipate what his twist will...

I haven't read this book cover to cover, but have to have an O. Henry fix every few months. I love his observations of human nature and his twists at the end, just when you think that you've figured out what is going to happen. Not all of his stories are happy, but all of them make you think or hope or try harder to make the world a better place.

Short stories are entertaining but formulaic when read one right after the other. You find yourself trying to guess what the next coincidental twist at the end might possibly be. Great, outrageous epithets and flights of fancy-dancy language make up for the over-reliance on coincidental circumstances. Love the stories set in New York.

I've had this volume on my night table for years. In between books, I'd read one or two of the stories. O. Henry had a gift for language and irony. The stories take the reader back in time and are such fun. Nobody writes like this anymore, which makes the experience a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, I've read them all. Pity.

If ever one wishes to indulge in irony, O. Henry is a great place to start. I inherited this rather frail copy. I turn the pages with care and generally look for a gutenberg version if I want to actually work with the text.

What? Five stars to O. Henry? Outrageous! Ridiculous! Feeble-minded! Can I really have any pretentions to perspicacity? Is my judgment that whacked-out? Well, it's like this. It's a story.Just like everyone else I was thoroughly inoculated against O. Henry in Junior High (now Middle School). I was spoon-fed "The Ransom of Red Chief" and "The Gift of the Magi" and "Alias Jimmy Valentine" until it was certain, as with polio vaccine, that I would be immune for life. Time passed. Lots of time. Time

Read: The Four MillionHeart of the WestThe Gentle GrafterRoads of DestinyCabbages and KingsOptionsSixes and SevensRolling Stones or the first 1,000 or so pages.

When this edition says "complete" it means COMPLETE: everything from his first stories to unfinished odds and ends. That's... a lot of O. Henry. There are all the stories we know, and many that are still really good but dated or otherwise inaccessible, and quite a few that I enjoyed even though they were less-known or even more cliche than usual. Henry had a gift for structuring a story and keeping it taut and lean, and it's a pleasure to see his craft in detail. Of course, the problem is that t...

The absolute master of the short story. This collection and an equally good collection of stories by Saki got me hooked to the short story genre for life.

Originally published on my blog here in March-September 1999.The Four MillionA common location and subject - New York and the four million people who lived there at the turn of the century, unite O. Henry's earliest collection of short stories. Each story is fairly typical of his work - short, the longest in this edition being four pages; having a happy ending which may seem a little sentimental to modern tastes (though that doesn't stop people reading, say, Louisa M. Alcott). Each one is skilfu...

Is it possible to be cynical and romantic at the same time?Somehow O. Henry manages to pull it off in numerous stories.While after the first dozen stories, you are pretty familiar with his formula and able to see many of the surprise endings coming, at the same time he is a master at flowery, yet humorous language and creating likable characters and idealized settings that you just go with the flow.His amazing talent for phrasing, description and creating a setting catch hold of you and even tho...

Too many stories in a row reveal that O. Henry was a bit of a one trick pony. But what a trick and with that pony, the show's still irrestible.The ever-present twist, great language, fun stories, characters and times well described and interesting.I love O. Henry and I also clearly like sentence fragments.

What a character. Like any formula writer, you know exactly what you're getting, going in - a setting, a character, an event, a resolution, a twist ending. So be it. The guy was writing for magazines and readers who demanded the formula.And it's fun! He is clearly having a blast slipping his weary little philosophical observations into the cracks between the plot furniture. And he is clearly on the side of the underdog, the little man, the one passed over, the outcast (as long as they're not bro...

I enjoyed this one, except that several (not most) of his stories describe members of minority groups in words we no longer use. Not excusing any offense that might be taken by a 21st century reader, but you should remember that such notions were commonplace when he was writing. If you can work your way through the gag reflex on that point, you'll be greatly entertained. He's a terrific wordsmith and sent me to the dictionary frequently with words that are listed in the OAED as "archaic". Some a...

“And most wonderful of all are words, and how they make friends one with another, being oft associated, until not even obituary notices them do part” (p. 1,046).The above is vintage O. Henry — as is the following: “(l)ove and business and family and religion and art and patriotism are nothing but shadows of words when a man’s starving” (p. 382).Both, I suspect, come from deep within the heart of an author whose collected works of fiction I’ve just finished. These works — all short stories, by th...

Favorite stories:The Gift of the MagiThe Pimienta Pancakes"Me?" said Jud. "I don't ever eat 'em."A Chaparral PrinceLast night he came with his armed knights and captured the ogre's castle. Roads of Destiny

Clearly there are some real stinkers here (I'm smelling you, Gift of the Magi). But every once in a while these stories seem to collapse space and time and someone living 100 years ago has my exact same sense of humor and it's like looking at photographs of your ancestors and realizing they were just like you.Sorry I'm sort of having a Dead Poet's Society moment. Feel free to beat me with a crowbar.Bring a sense of patience and a dictionary from about 1910. Sometimes you'll feel like you're tran...