Fancies and Goodnights

by John Collier

Book Overview

Originally published: Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1951. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000BY5BCW
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Time-Life Books
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Don't lend this book to anyone if you want to keep it!

I know from bitter experience, having done just that to a "friend" who proceeded to "lose" it. The stories, many of which feature a tongue-in-cheek use of supernatural or other fantastic elements, are generally of a somewhat cynical bent. Some, however, are actually quite moving, like one (the title of which I forget) about a lovable pyromaniac. Warning! There are at least two editions of this book, one of which has fewer stories. Be sure to get the full version. If you like Collier, you will also like Roald Dahl, Charles Beaumont, Stanley Ellin and Fredric Brown.

The Logic of Elfland Revisited

The book comes as a revelation. One simply does not expect such invention on such a scale and with such constant intensity. These short stories ought to be strictly rationed so that one will read no more than a single example per day. This way the maximum pleasure can be obtained and that sly, wry smile of the connoisseur will surface often. Collier can do more with a paragraph than King does in a whole volume. This is what truly excellent writing is all about.

Why is John Collier out of print?

Never has there a writer who has written so many brilliant and exquisite short stories. Each one is a gem. Better than Saki. The tongue in cheek humour and satirical presentation of human behaviour in his stories is unique. Check out the brilliant movie where he wrote the screenplay, "The War Lord" starring Charlton Heston. Also, I Am A Camera, Elephant Man, African Queen, etc. John Collier's books should be republished and studied in universities. No doubt the liberal humanities departments of today who prefer the feminist and political correct claptrap to real writing will not look at his writings.

Funny, haunting, unforgettable stories

John Collier has the distinction of being the only writer who wrote a short storywhich I read decades ago, and remembered for years _as having been a novel_.The story was "Youth from Vienna" and it is only twenty pages long. I find that quite a few people remember individual John Collier stories which have been burned indelibly into their minds, without, alas, remembering the name of the author. "Oh, the story of the people living in the in the department stores..." "Oh, the one where Helen of Troy says 'here I am on a bearskin again.'" My continuing quest to replace worn-out, falling-apart paperbacks with new hardbounds continues to frustrate. How can this book possibly be available on cassette, but not in print?