The Umbrella Man And Other Stories (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
”The Great Automatic Grammatizator” (from “Someone Like You”): A mechanically-minded man reasons that the rules of grammar are fixed by certain, almost mathematical principles. By exploiting this idea, he is able to create a mammoth machine that can write a prize-winning novel in roughly fifteen minutes. The story ends on a fearful note, as more and more of the world's writers are forced into licensing their names-and all hope of human creativity-to the machine. ”Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat” (from ”Kiss Kiss”): Mrs. Bixby cheats on her meek, dentist husband with a rich, dashing colonel. When their relationship breaks off, the colonel offers Mrs. Bixby a gorgeous and expensive mink coat. In an attempt to explain the coat away, Mrs. Bixby sets up an elaborate trick with the help of a pawn shop -- but her husband learns of the ruse and manages to turn the tables. ”The Butler” (from ”More Tales of the Unexpected”): An obnoxious and newly wealthy couple employs a butler and chef to impress dinner guests. The butler recommends that the husband buy expensive wines to please company, and the man slavishly follows the idea. The butler and the chef reap the rewards of this idea, while making the "fashionable" couple look like fools. ”Man from the South” (from ”Someone Like You”): At a seaside resort in Jamaica, a strange old man makes a bet with an American man in his late teens. If the young man's cigarette lighter can spark ten times without fail, the American will win a brand-new Cadillac car -- but failure means losing the little finger on his right hand. The high-tension wager ensues, and with only a few sparks left, a woman -- who knows only too well the cost of the old man's bets -- appears and stops the madness. ”The Landlady” (from ”Kiss Kiss”): A young man traveling to London on business stops at a bed and breakfast along the way, where a strange -- and slightly dotty -- landlady eagerly welcomes him. The offsetting nature of the house -- and the news that only two other young men have ever stayed there -- confuses and frightens the young man. In the end, the landlady -- who indulges in the odd hobby of taxidermy -- and the boy share a drink of tea that tastes of bitter almonds, and the landlady softly smiles, staring at what may be her latest stuffing project. ”Parson's Pleasure” (from “Kiss Kiss”): A man discovers an extremely rare piece of Chippendale furniture at the farm of some boorish ranchers. He desperately attempts to buy the piece cheap, in hopes of selling it an auction to earn a huge sum. He manages to buy the piece -- only for the ranchers to destroy it in an attempt to make it fit in his car. ”The Umbrella Man” (from ”More Tales of the Unexpected”): A mother and daughter meet a gentlemanly old man on a street corner, who offers them a beautiful silk umbrella in exchange for a pound note. They trade, and the daughter notices that the "feeble" old man suddenly seems much sprier. They follow, and discover that the gentleman is really a clever con artist, who visits various pubs, has a drink, and then steals another umbrella to continue the cycle! ”Katina” (from ”Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying”): A group of RAF pilots stationed in Greece during World War II discover a hauntingly beautiful young girl, whose "family is beneath the rubble." She becomes their squadron's unofficial "mascot". In the end, her fragile life is taken as she stands defiantly against a rain of bullets from Nazi airplanes, shaking her fists into the heavens. ”The Way Up to Heaven” (from “Kiss Kiss”): Mrs. Foster suffers from a chronic phobia of being late for things. Her husband seems to enjoy the cruel sport of purposely delaying their actions, just to see his wife become riled. On the day when Mrs. Foster must fly to Paris to visit her grandchildren, her husband engages in his usual tricks. But as Mrs. Foster rushes to return to the house, she hears a strange noise -- and suddenly turns triumphantly toward her cab. It is only when she returns, and calls a man to "repair the lift" that was stuck between floors in the house, that readers can guess Mr. Foster's fate. ”Royal Jelly” (from “Kiss Kiss”): A new pair of parents fears for the life of their little girl, who is sickly underweight. The husband, a beekeeper, remembers hearing of the miraculous royal jelly used by bees to transform one particular larva into a queen. He adds the mixture to his daughter's bottles, and she puts on weight at an astonishing rate. The mother senses that something is amiss, and the husband confesses his actions -- along with the fact that he himself swallowed buckets of the jelly for months in an attempt to cure his impotence. The royal jelly did the trick -- but the strange side effects include a disturbing metamorphosis for both father and daughter. ”Vengeance is Mine Inc.” (from ”More Tales of the Unexpected”): Two brothers who are short on cash bemoan their fates over breakfast while reading the society column of a newspaper. Reading it, they hit upon a scheme to take revenge on cruel tabloid writers in exchange for money from wealthy patrons. The unconventional plan works, and the brothers line their pockets with the spoils of their plans. ”Taste” (from ”Someone Like You”): A rich man with a beautiful young daughter hosts a dinner party, inviting a famous partaker of fine wines. When the rich man boasts that he has a wine that the expert cannot identify, the stakes become frighteningly high -- if he can guess the make of the wine, he will win the daughter! After an elaborate show, the expert guesses everything right; however, the family's maid appears on the scene and manages to expose the guest as a cheat, saving the girl. ”Neck” (from ”Someone Like You”): A newspaper heir finds himself suddenly engaged to the voluptuous and controlling Lady Tutton. He loses all control of his life, and only his trusted butler and friends realize how broken he is by her control. A weekend trip to their estate, however, proves the perfect opportunity for Lord Tutton to engage in a bitter case of revenge against his wicked wife -- her head is trapped in a piece of sculpture, and he decides to use a sharp saw to "cut" her free. Splendidly written, each story gives some insight into human nature. Dahl lays out his stories in a way to make you feel that you are reading a sort of twisted fairy tale, using surreal language and situations. It is really unlike anything I have ever read before and it is sure to spark your imagination whether you are young or old. (P.S.: If you're an avid Dahl lover like me, you might have seen some of these stories already. That's all right -- you're bound not to have seen all, or even most of them.)More of Purplycookie’s Reviews @: http://www.goodreads.com/purplycookie Book Details: Title The Umbrella Man and Other Stories (also published as “The Great Automatic Grammatizator")Author Roald DahlReviewed By Purplycookie
According to the inscription inside the book, my BFF Becky gave me a copy of this book for my birthday in 2007. So on my birthday in 2013, I started reading it.I know I’ve read a few of Roald Dahl’s children’s books in the past, you know, the staples. But I like his short stories better now. They remind me of Flannery O’Connor, and I guess all of his works have that element of shock and surprise, or some twist at the end. Some are more horrifying than others, some have good endings and some have bad ones. But I like that I didn’t figure everything out before the story ended each time. Dahl switches things up for each story. I like it.“Taste” was hands-down my favorite story in the collection, even though it was one of the stories I anticipated the ending to. It’s just so well-constructed with its characters and the plot. Plus, it deals with wine, so how could it not be great?One story that had an ending that surprised me was “The Way Up to Heaven,” but in a good way. I appreciated the characters the most in the story — the teasing husband, the worrywart wife, and the way they interacted and how those interactions built up to get me to the surprising ending.Each story has such fascinating and quirky characters. They’re so much fun, and if you’re not sure you’ll like short stories, I’d definitely recommend reading some of Dahl’s. They’re easy, short, and very entertaining. I’m not normally a short story reader but it’s been nice lately because I can read and finish a story during my subway commute. It’s a nice way to feel satisfied at the end instead of frustrated that I wanted to keep reading.After finishing this collection, I realized I had a second Dahl short story collection on my to-read bookshelf, so I picked it up. However, when I went to put Skin and Other Stories onto Goodreads, my Goodreads profile told me that I’d already read it in 2004. If that were true, why was it on my to-read shelf and why didn’t I remember many of the stories? I read it, enjoyed it, and it wasn’t until about the fourth story that something started sounding familiar. Huh. Anyway, I read Skin and Other Stories, too, but I guess I can’t count it as a new read for 2013 since it wasn’t a new read.
What do You think about The Umbrella Man And Other Stories (2004)?
The umbrella man is a collection of thirteen tales that teaches a lesson in some sort of way. The stories grab you and makes you keep on wanting to read more and more. Every lesson it teaches has to do with something special like cheating,stealing, or scamming some one and how it can have a major consequence in the end. One major story is called the man from the south. This story begins in a small country club when a normal citizen is just sitting around on the benches when a foreign man come up to him and asks for a lighter. The man gladly gives the man a light for his cigarette and the foreigner sits next to him. He starts talking about how he's very impresses with his lighter and would like to make a bet. The man asks him what kind and the foreigner says if u can light your lighter 10 time with no problem ill give you my car but if you can't ill chop off your finger. The regular man considers the bet and thinks about it, him being cocky and young, he agrees but then loses his finger. See this is just one of the major stories that shows a personal lesson about life.
—Ryan Lum
Roald Dahl re-secured his place as my favorite author in this collection of short stories. I picked up a used copy in Powell's City of Books when I was in Portland, and I am almost finished with it already. It was great to have on the plane! Some of these are dark sort of tales, some are just funny, and some are wistful. He's good at every type. You might remember "Lamb to the Slaughter," in which a woman kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb (a Twilight Zone episode was based on this). Well, that one ISN'T in here, but "Man from the South," on which Quentin Tarantino based his "room" in "Four Rooms," is. So far, there isn't one single story in here that I haven't really loved.
—Gina
I was ever so little when I'd read this! I remember it so well in spite of that. The Umbrella Man happens to be the first Roald Dahl story I've ever read. Each story in this is good, nay, beyond great! Perhaps I felt that way since it was the first time I'd touched Dahl. What ever it might be, I guess there's a consensus out there that this book holds great stories!This book contains a collection of 13 short stories, crafted in a fascinating manner by Dahl. Now, I wont be going in to the details and summaries of each of them. I somehow feel that will spoil the fun. After all these are short classics! You would wanna read them yourself, trust me!Oh! Now I cannot stop myself from mentioning about The Umbrella Man. Bear with me for a paragraph. This little story is about a little girl and her mother who meet a man on the street on a rainy day. The man trades his umbrella for a dollar. Without giving the suspense away, what attracts me to this story is the definition of gentleman the mother holds, the way she pokes the inside of an egg before eating it and of course the man with the umbrella himself! There, I said it!You gotta look at the shoes to know if he's a gentleman!I'm surprised these stories are not much popular. For one I'd say these are better than The Twits and mind you The Twits is featured in BBC's Big Read.Enjoy the stories! :)
—Asra Ghouse
