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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Other Pieces
James Thurber is universally admired for his hilarious sense of humour, off-beat imagination, and unique take on the world around him. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, in which a young man's fantasies have a much more powerful hold on him than reality, is probably his best-known prose work but this selection also contains wonderfully entertaining essays, poetry and cartoons gathered from all of Thurber's collections. Poking fun at his own weaknesses and those of other people (and dogs) - the English teacher who looked only at figures of speech, the Airedale who refused to include him in the family, the botany lecturer who despaired of him totally - James Thurber is essential reading for everyone who loves to laugh.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
27 people are currently reading
2173 people want to read
About the author
James Thurber
357 books607 followersThurber was born in Columbus, Ohio to Charles L. Thurber and Mary Agnes (Mame) Fisher Thurber. Both of his parents greatly influenced his work. His father, a sporadically employed clerk and minor politician who dreamed of being a lawyer or an actor, is said to have been the inspiration for the small, timid protagonist typical of many of his stories. Thurber described his mother as a "born comedienne" and "one of the finest comic talents I think I have ever known." She was a practical joker, on one occasion pretending to be crippled and attending a faith healer revival, only to jump up and proclaim herself healed.
Thurber had two brothers, William and Robert. Once, while playing a game of William Tell, his brother William shot James in the eye with an arrow. Because of the lack of medical technology, Thurber lost his eye. This injury would later cause him to be almost entirely blind. During his childhood he was unable to participate in sports and activities because of his injury, and instead developed a creative imagination, which he shared in his writings.
From 1913 to 1918, Thurber attended The Ohio State University, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He never graduated from the University because his poor eyesight prevented him from taking a mandatory ROTC course. In 1995 he was posthumously awarded a degree.
From 1918 to 1920, at the close of World War I, Thurber worked as a code clerk for the Department of State, first in Washington, D.C. and then at the American Embassy in Paris, France. After this Thurber returned to Columbus, where he began his writing career as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch from 1921 to 1924. During part of this time, he reviewed current books, films, and plays in a weekly column called "Credos and Curios," a title that later would be given to a posthumous collection of his work. Thurber also returned to Paris in this period, where he wrote for the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers.
In 1925, he moved to Greenwich Village in New York City, getting a job as a reporter for the New York Evening Post. He joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1927 as an editor with the help of his friend and fellow New Yorker contributor, E.B. White. His career as a cartoonist began in 1930 when White found some of Thurber's drawings in a trash can and submitted them for publication. Thurber would contribute both his writings and his drawings to The New Yorker until the 1950s.
Thurber was married twice. In 1922, Thurber married Althea Adams. The marriage was troubled and ended in divorce in May 1935. Adams gave Thurber his only child, his daughter Rosemary. Thurber remarried in June, 1935 to Helen Wismer. His second marriage lasted until he died in 1961, at the age of 66, due to complications from pneumonia, which followed upon a stroke suffered at his home. His last words, aside from the repeated word "God," were "God bless... God damn," according to Helen Thurber.
Thurber had two brothers, William and Robert. Once, while playing a game of William Tell, his brother William shot James in the eye with an arrow. Because of the lack of medical technology, Thurber lost his eye. This injury would later cause him to be almost entirely blind. During his childhood he was unable to participate in sports and activities because of his injury, and instead developed a creative imagination, which he shared in his writings.
From 1913 to 1918, Thurber attended The Ohio State University, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He never graduated from the University because his poor eyesight prevented him from taking a mandatory ROTC course. In 1995 he was posthumously awarded a degree.
From 1918 to 1920, at the close of World War I, Thurber worked as a code clerk for the Department of State, first in Washington, D.C. and then at the American Embassy in Paris, France. After this Thurber returned to Columbus, where he began his writing career as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch from 1921 to 1924. During part of this time, he reviewed current books, films, and plays in a weekly column called "Credos and Curios," a title that later would be given to a posthumous collection of his work. Thurber also returned to Paris in this period, where he wrote for the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers.
In 1925, he moved to Greenwich Village in New York City, getting a job as a reporter for the New York Evening Post. He joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1927 as an editor with the help of his friend and fellow New Yorker contributor, E.B. White. His career as a cartoonist began in 1930 when White found some of Thurber's drawings in a trash can and submitted them for publication. Thurber would contribute both his writings and his drawings to The New Yorker until the 1950s.
Thurber was married twice. In 1922, Thurber married Althea Adams. The marriage was troubled and ended in divorce in May 1935. Adams gave Thurber his only child, his daughter Rosemary. Thurber remarried in June, 1935 to Helen Wismer. His second marriage lasted until he died in 1961, at the age of 66, due to complications from pneumonia, which followed upon a stroke suffered at his home. His last words, aside from the repeated word "God," were "God bless... God damn," according to Helen Thurber.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
April 19, 2020
Se trata de una serie de relatos breves de humor que toma el nombre de su cuento más famoso. Unos tienen un hilo con un protagonista común o son fábulas de la misma temática, aunque la mayoría son independientes. De hecho, debo decir que la mayoría no me han gustado, con la excepción del que da nombre al título y alguno más. Si bien no puedo dar una buena nota al conjunto, estar reseña sí se va a centrar en el que tiene mi absoluta aprobación.
"La vida secreta de Walter Mitty" es un relato breve que sorprende por su horizonte ambicioso. Mitty es un hombre casado que va a hacer recados en su coche una vez deja a su mujer en la peluquería, lo cual no puede resultar más aburrido. Sin embargo, el protagonista sufre de una desbordante imaginación que al menor estímulo le transporta a un escenario de frenética actividad: se ve a sí mismo en plena guerra, ante una difícil intervención quirúrgica o intentando probar su inocencia en un juicio por asesinato. Todo ello transcurre en su universo mental, que le lleva a distraerse en la vida real como atestiguan otras personas desde fuera.
Walter Mitty no tiene ninguna habilidad sobresaliente y tiene una vida de lo más insulsa, pero vive feliz porque eleva la realidad a un paranoico exponente. Así consigue gestionar la intensa frustración diaria. En su imaginación se despersonaliza, Walter Mitty es todo lo que se propone ser. Insufla esperanza en que hay miles de mundos más allá entre cada detalle de nuestra rutina, la que luego le pincha los planes. En la película de 2013, pese a que el argumento es totalmente diferente, se capta bien la esencia de un hombre que sobrevive con la emoción de un niño.
Porque hace falta muy poco para soñar.
"La vida secreta de Walter Mitty" es un relato breve que sorprende por su horizonte ambicioso. Mitty es un hombre casado que va a hacer recados en su coche una vez deja a su mujer en la peluquería, lo cual no puede resultar más aburrido. Sin embargo, el protagonista sufre de una desbordante imaginación que al menor estímulo le transporta a un escenario de frenética actividad: se ve a sí mismo en plena guerra, ante una difícil intervención quirúrgica o intentando probar su inocencia en un juicio por asesinato. Todo ello transcurre en su universo mental, que le lleva a distraerse en la vida real como atestiguan otras personas desde fuera.
Walter Mitty no tiene ninguna habilidad sobresaliente y tiene una vida de lo más insulsa, pero vive feliz porque eleva la realidad a un paranoico exponente. Así consigue gestionar la intensa frustración diaria. En su imaginación se despersonaliza, Walter Mitty es todo lo que se propone ser. Insufla esperanza en que hay miles de mundos más allá entre cada detalle de nuestra rutina, la que luego le pincha los planes. En la película de 2013, pese a que el argumento es totalmente diferente, se capta bien la esencia de un hombre que sobrevive con la emoción de un niño.
Porque hace falta muy poco para soñar.
August 29, 2018
Son varias historias cortas en las que no guardan relación unas con otras. La principal que da título al libro es de las más entrañables, el resto de las historias aunque curiosas y unas pocas originales no despiertan demasiado interés.
October 5, 2025
Short Stories by James Thurber just as amusing as this is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u...?
10 out of 10
The Courtship of Arthur and Al
Arthur and Al are…two beavers, with different life styles, the former is older, more conservative and prone to overwork, a firm believer in activity, dedication and ‘Delayed gratification’ – incidentally, there are quite a few marvelous and amusing tests you find on the internet, where children have been given the choice to take a cookie now, or wait a bit and have two (in other words, delayed gratification) and then they looked at what these kinder would do later and it was proved that the ones who had shown resilience, stoicism, perseverance a preference for the long term and we could put in here many more qualities, would go on to ‘rule the world’, they are the ones that reach the top, have success in professional lives, albeit the fable concocted by the astounding James Thurber has a different conclusion
James Thurber looks at what happens with the two beavers and presents us with the moral that it does no good to work too hard, for indeed, Arthur and Al are in love with the same female, and while Arthur will convince her with his prowess, dedication, resilience, and Al would just fool around and thus the older beaver gets the ‘prize’, it just so happens that the working male will exhaust himself without experiencing any pleasure, the archetype of the ‘rat racing’ beaver, the pone who keeps at it, without any leisure – somehow, the joke mentioned in a note the other day comes back in a loop, with the fellow who thought of golf while at work, of sex on the green course, between ‘holes’ and finally, he worried over the office business while having sex…which would eventually stop, for he will not be up to it with this attitude for long…
The point here is humor, but it is plain that we have a lot to learn from these fables, and though the notion that we must act as the ‘grasshopper, from the ant and the grasshopper fable’ is devious, it is still wise to look at the likes of Trump, the biggest fool in the world (all things considered, there would be others that could compete for that spot, like the nearly one hundred million that voted for him, but if we look at the ration of opportunity versus delivery, he is a pretty damn good candidate) and see that he has never worked a day in his life (unless we count cheating, lying, being a scoundrel and other such malicious endeavors as work) and still managed to get to the top of the world and moan constantly about it…
We need to apply the Golden Mean of Aristotle and not die of exhaustion at the office (or wherever we do our bidding) while trying to be useful, achieve our meaningful goals and the best thing to do is to find early what our calling is, by looking at the three groups of activities the ones we like, are good at and have meaning for us and the place where those three intersect is the one where we need to look for the vocation…
Research has looked at work and found that in every domain, there are three types of employees, those who do it for the money, then the people who want a career and finally, the ones who have a calling and the three areas are almost equally divided – in hospitals, there would be janitors that feel they do not have the task of just cleaning floors, windows, but there is much more for them and their contribution is important, they are involved in what they do, interact with others, ask patients if they can help, they move a painting, tray, bring something over, even when it is not in their job description to do it.
This category is happier than the doctors who do their jobs just for the money and take very little joy from it – yes, they will be pleased to take they paycheck, but not beatific about it, indeed, the division between Maximizers and Satisfizers comes to mind (which we could place in the negative versus the positive matrix) where the former group wants the Maximum, the perfect results, car, gift, feedback, praise and they are obviously not going to get it and thus they are destined to buy a car, and then the same day, look on the road and see a better model, starting right away the moaning, complaining.
On the other hand, we have the Satisfizer, who is ‘satisfied’ with the best option, it makes sense that people in general desire to have the best they can - with the exception of the challenged, those who are into BDSM and other life styles, who want to be punished, or like to be cruel and therefore the gentle is not want they desire, they want violence and humiliation and hence they have a reversed spectrum of targets – but there is a huge difference between being content with the best available television set, under the circumstances, price, size, practicality, time spent or not in front of it and complaining forever on various aspects, it is too big, nobody is watching anyway, or a manufacturer has just released one model that is 20 meters, and it costs five hundred thousand dollars or maybe two million…
There is also the Flow factor that we need to consider here, if we think of Arthur and Al, for the former does not seem to get any bliss from the frantic building of dams, while the latter, at least for the purposes of the short story, does look like he is elated, enthused with the games he plays and probably has reached Flow a few times http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/f... as you discover in the classic Flow, where all you need to know about Being in the Zone, Ecstasy is available, the conditions for that Magical State, where challenges are met by skills – you cannot play tennis with Djokovic, first of all because he seems to be a disreputable fellow, anti vaxer and the like, or with the Russian number two, who should be on the list of the banned (where he is for Wimbledon Alhamdulillah) except if he really makes an explicit statement condemning Putin, the war in Ukraine, and enjoy it, because of the reasons mentioned and you will be just running for the missing balls and would not be able to see the trajectory of the flying objects, never mind return anything above the net
In order to reach Flow, you need to be in control, time changes significance – the ballerina that is on stage for half a minute feels like she has spent there a day or to quote Einstein “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour…Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute…That's relativity’ and we could add – ecstasy, Flow
10 out of 10
The Courtship of Arthur and Al
Arthur and Al are…two beavers, with different life styles, the former is older, more conservative and prone to overwork, a firm believer in activity, dedication and ‘Delayed gratification’ – incidentally, there are quite a few marvelous and amusing tests you find on the internet, where children have been given the choice to take a cookie now, or wait a bit and have two (in other words, delayed gratification) and then they looked at what these kinder would do later and it was proved that the ones who had shown resilience, stoicism, perseverance a preference for the long term and we could put in here many more qualities, would go on to ‘rule the world’, they are the ones that reach the top, have success in professional lives, albeit the fable concocted by the astounding James Thurber has a different conclusion
James Thurber looks at what happens with the two beavers and presents us with the moral that it does no good to work too hard, for indeed, Arthur and Al are in love with the same female, and while Arthur will convince her with his prowess, dedication, resilience, and Al would just fool around and thus the older beaver gets the ‘prize’, it just so happens that the working male will exhaust himself without experiencing any pleasure, the archetype of the ‘rat racing’ beaver, the pone who keeps at it, without any leisure – somehow, the joke mentioned in a note the other day comes back in a loop, with the fellow who thought of golf while at work, of sex on the green course, between ‘holes’ and finally, he worried over the office business while having sex…which would eventually stop, for he will not be up to it with this attitude for long…
The point here is humor, but it is plain that we have a lot to learn from these fables, and though the notion that we must act as the ‘grasshopper, from the ant and the grasshopper fable’ is devious, it is still wise to look at the likes of Trump, the biggest fool in the world (all things considered, there would be others that could compete for that spot, like the nearly one hundred million that voted for him, but if we look at the ration of opportunity versus delivery, he is a pretty damn good candidate) and see that he has never worked a day in his life (unless we count cheating, lying, being a scoundrel and other such malicious endeavors as work) and still managed to get to the top of the world and moan constantly about it…
We need to apply the Golden Mean of Aristotle and not die of exhaustion at the office (or wherever we do our bidding) while trying to be useful, achieve our meaningful goals and the best thing to do is to find early what our calling is, by looking at the three groups of activities the ones we like, are good at and have meaning for us and the place where those three intersect is the one where we need to look for the vocation…
Research has looked at work and found that in every domain, there are three types of employees, those who do it for the money, then the people who want a career and finally, the ones who have a calling and the three areas are almost equally divided – in hospitals, there would be janitors that feel they do not have the task of just cleaning floors, windows, but there is much more for them and their contribution is important, they are involved in what they do, interact with others, ask patients if they can help, they move a painting, tray, bring something over, even when it is not in their job description to do it.
This category is happier than the doctors who do their jobs just for the money and take very little joy from it – yes, they will be pleased to take they paycheck, but not beatific about it, indeed, the division between Maximizers and Satisfizers comes to mind (which we could place in the negative versus the positive matrix) where the former group wants the Maximum, the perfect results, car, gift, feedback, praise and they are obviously not going to get it and thus they are destined to buy a car, and then the same day, look on the road and see a better model, starting right away the moaning, complaining.
On the other hand, we have the Satisfizer, who is ‘satisfied’ with the best option, it makes sense that people in general desire to have the best they can - with the exception of the challenged, those who are into BDSM and other life styles, who want to be punished, or like to be cruel and therefore the gentle is not want they desire, they want violence and humiliation and hence they have a reversed spectrum of targets – but there is a huge difference between being content with the best available television set, under the circumstances, price, size, practicality, time spent or not in front of it and complaining forever on various aspects, it is too big, nobody is watching anyway, or a manufacturer has just released one model that is 20 meters, and it costs five hundred thousand dollars or maybe two million…
There is also the Flow factor that we need to consider here, if we think of Arthur and Al, for the former does not seem to get any bliss from the frantic building of dams, while the latter, at least for the purposes of the short story, does look like he is elated, enthused with the games he plays and probably has reached Flow a few times http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/f... as you discover in the classic Flow, where all you need to know about Being in the Zone, Ecstasy is available, the conditions for that Magical State, where challenges are met by skills – you cannot play tennis with Djokovic, first of all because he seems to be a disreputable fellow, anti vaxer and the like, or with the Russian number two, who should be on the list of the banned (where he is for Wimbledon Alhamdulillah) except if he really makes an explicit statement condemning Putin, the war in Ukraine, and enjoy it, because of the reasons mentioned and you will be just running for the missing balls and would not be able to see the trajectory of the flying objects, never mind return anything above the net
In order to reach Flow, you need to be in control, time changes significance – the ballerina that is on stage for half a minute feels like she has spent there a day or to quote Einstein “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour…Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute…That's relativity’ and we could add – ecstasy, Flow
April 24, 2021
He disfrutado tanto esta selección de cuentos de James Thurber. Llegué a él por una referencia de Doris Lessing al síndrome de Walter Mitty, esa condición de los hombres que se ausentan imaginando historias fantásticas protagonizadas por ellos mismos. Síndrome que toma su nombre de un famoso cuento de Thurber. Es maravilloso.
February 14, 2008
When I was in 4th grade, my Mom started college. I remember reading, "The Catbird Seat" from her Literature book. It was the first thing I ever read that was not written for children. I couldn't find it on it's own so I put this book up instead.
Link to Actual Story
Funny that this is the first thing I ever read -- It kind of blows my mind. I wonder if, subconsciously, this totally affected my life. I mean, I could see it. Shit, I was 9.
Link to Actual Story
Funny that this is the first thing I ever read -- It kind of blows my mind. I wonder if, subconsciously, this totally affected my life. I mean, I could see it. Shit, I was 9.
April 3, 2025
Tenía otras expectativas. Los primeros relatos tenían los mismos protagonistas y pensé que las historias tenían una continuidad, que cambiará de personajes me ha descuadrado. La mayoría de relatos se me han hecho pesados, unos pocos estaban bien.
October 15, 2013
My son read this in his 9th literature book and was telling me that they made a movie out of it. He showed me the trailer for it, so I decided to read it. I really enjoyed the short story!
October 12, 2021
Un “sin más” en toda regla. Algunos relatos mejor, otros peor. Es interesante de leer, pero no lo disfruté especialmente.
July 15, 2017
Leí este libro para comprobar de dónde salía una película tan moñas (lo siento si os encantó), y ahora sé que no se puede culpar a James Thurber. De hecho, la impresión que tengo es que el relato y la película nacen de mentalidades completamente opuestas. La película de Ben Stiller (que alguien definió de forma muy acertada como un anuncio de Nike en formato película para hipsters de mediana edad) glorifica la figura del aventurero-triunfador-tío guay que se ha atrevido a cumplir sus sueños y dejar de ser un pringao soñador y anodino. Pero es que James Thurber precisamente retrata a ese tipo de pringaos con ternura y reivindicando su derecho a ser, e incluso se identifica con ellos en alguno de los escritos autobiográficos de este libro.
Pero me estoy dejando llevar. Lo siento. Es que es mucha la tirria que le tengo a todo lo cool. En cuanto al libro en sí:
Es muy, muy divertido si te gusta este tipo de humorismo bondadoso y basado en peripecias desastrosas. Yo he soltado unas cuantas carcajadas durante su lectura. Como a mitad del volumen te topas con "La tarde cae a las siete", un relato tan diferente a los del resto de la recopilación, que parece que se ha colado un fragmento de otro autor. Pero no, es Thurber en un registro mucho más moderno y de una amargura no mitigada por el humor. Este cuento me ha parecido tan bueno que, como lectora primeriza de James Thurber ya me estoy preguntando dónde encontrar otros así entre sus obras.
Pero me estoy dejando llevar. Lo siento. Es que es mucha la tirria que le tengo a todo lo cool. En cuanto al libro en sí:
Es muy, muy divertido si te gusta este tipo de humorismo bondadoso y basado en peripecias desastrosas. Yo he soltado unas cuantas carcajadas durante su lectura. Como a mitad del volumen te topas con "La tarde cae a las siete", un relato tan diferente a los del resto de la recopilación, que parece que se ha colado un fragmento de otro autor. Pero no, es Thurber en un registro mucho más moderno y de una amargura no mitigada por el humor. Este cuento me ha parecido tan bueno que, como lectora primeriza de James Thurber ya me estoy preguntando dónde encontrar otros así entre sus obras.
November 9, 2022
Llegué a este libro sin saber muchas cosas. Amo la película de 2013 (La de Ben Stiller) y después me enteré que ya había una película anterior (De 1947, que aún no he visto) y me enteré que estaba basada en un cuento de James Thurber. Y fue por eso que, en una de esas decisiones que uno toma en su vida, busqué tanto ver la versión anterior como leer el cuento, y bueno, ya hice una de esas dos.
El cuento en realidad es muchísimo más corto de lo que pensaba y obviamente no tiene nada que ver con la película mas que con la idea principal, la de un hombre que vive soñando despierto y se evade así de la realidad. y de verdad me pareció increíble que de tan poco (hablando de la extensión del relato, no de la calidad) se pudiera crear algo tan maravilloso.
El libro es una colección de cuentos cortos que algunos son muy graciosos y otros no tanto, pero que por su forma de estar escritos y lo consiso en que se abordan las historias son bastante llamativas.
El cuento en realidad es muchísimo más corto de lo que pensaba y obviamente no tiene nada que ver con la película mas que con la idea principal, la de un hombre que vive soñando despierto y se evade así de la realidad. y de verdad me pareció increíble que de tan poco (hablando de la extensión del relato, no de la calidad) se pudiera crear algo tan maravilloso.
El libro es una colección de cuentos cortos que algunos son muy graciosos y otros no tanto, pero que por su forma de estar escritos y lo consiso en que se abordan las historias son bastante llamativas.
December 2, 2022
1.5
Sigh. They're not really that weird, the stories, more so just men imagining themselves as more than they are. Or getting annoyed at women.
Sigh. They're not really that weird, the stories, more so just men imagining themselves as more than they are. Or getting annoyed at women.
March 10, 2019
i read these shorts over a span of a month or so— i wanted to prolong them as much as i could. i certainly missed a tube stop or two because i was engrossed in one of thurber’s stories. his work is full of different moods and characters. he’s full of wit and so much fun to read. i would pick up any of these shorts and gladly read them again.
June 11, 2024
Entertaining short stories, about; day dreamers; married couples; a biting dog; a lonely man; a pilot; and others.
March 25, 2017
Un libro lleno de historias cortas pocas veces relacionadas entre sí, con mucho humor, palabras inventadas y situaciones absurdas.
He de admitir que ha conseguido sacarme alguna que otra sonrisa en varias ocasiones, aunque contiene algunas historias son un tanto sexistas por lo que al leerlas en la actualidad resultan un poco chocantes.
6,5/10
He de admitir que ha conseguido sacarme alguna que otra sonrisa en varias ocasiones, aunque contiene algunas historias son un tanto sexistas por lo que al leerlas en la actualidad resultan un poco chocantes.
6,5/10
August 17, 2015
Back in February 2014 I listened to the audiobook version of the short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and loved it. Following that I have since listened to that again and watched the film adaptation starring Ben Stiller several times and it is probably now my favourite film of all time so when I received this short story collection for Christmas I was extremely happy and had to start it straight away.
This collection contains many styles of story, some better than others, and it was a joy to read. Although I didn’t particularly like all of the stories, there were none that I really disliked, just a few that I am indifferent too, but the ones that I liked are stories that I am bound to reread again in the future.
Apart from ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ which is a wonderfully imaginative tale, my favourite is ‘The Macbeth Murder Mystery’. I remember reading an extract of this in university last year without knowing what it was and I am so glad that I have now read the whole story. It is only a few pages long but full of social commentary and humour, as is the whole collection.
Overall I would thoroughly recommend this collection. I do not usually read short story collections but I found that I was really interested in all of these stories and I didn’t want to put it down. All of the stories are less than ten pages but some of them are really poignant and I would love to read some more of James Thurber’s writing at some point.
This collection contains many styles of story, some better than others, and it was a joy to read. Although I didn’t particularly like all of the stories, there were none that I really disliked, just a few that I am indifferent too, but the ones that I liked are stories that I am bound to reread again in the future.
Apart from ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ which is a wonderfully imaginative tale, my favourite is ‘The Macbeth Murder Mystery’. I remember reading an extract of this in university last year without knowing what it was and I am so glad that I have now read the whole story. It is only a few pages long but full of social commentary and humour, as is the whole collection.
Overall I would thoroughly recommend this collection. I do not usually read short story collections but I found that I was really interested in all of these stories and I didn’t want to put it down. All of the stories are less than ten pages but some of them are really poignant and I would love to read some more of James Thurber’s writing at some point.
September 3, 2024
3.5
Libro de relatos de James Thurber. El humor de Thurber me ha recordado al de P. G. Wodehouse (ambos son de la misma época aunque Thurber era norteamericano y Wodehouse inglés), es un humor costumbrista, a veces absurdo o incluso ridículo, pero siempre amable, no de sacarte una carcajada pero sí alguna que otra sonrisa.
Del relato que da título a la colección "La vida secreta de Walter Mitty" se han hecho dos películas (no he visto ninguna), pero después de haberlo leído supongo que se inspiraron en él más que basarse, porque es, como todos los demás, un relato muy corto que no da para una película, a mí me ha gustado pero ni siquiera me ha parecido el mejor del libro. Del resto me han gustado más los del principio, los del matrimonio Monroe, y los protagonizados por animales.
Siempre que leo un nuevo autor termino la reseña diciendo si lo volveré a leer, en este caso no lo sé, me ha gustado relativamente, pero la temática y el género del autor no son de mis favoritos.
Libro de relatos de James Thurber. El humor de Thurber me ha recordado al de P. G. Wodehouse (ambos son de la misma época aunque Thurber era norteamericano y Wodehouse inglés), es un humor costumbrista, a veces absurdo o incluso ridículo, pero siempre amable, no de sacarte una carcajada pero sí alguna que otra sonrisa.
Del relato que da título a la colección "La vida secreta de Walter Mitty" se han hecho dos películas (no he visto ninguna), pero después de haberlo leído supongo que se inspiraron en él más que basarse, porque es, como todos los demás, un relato muy corto que no da para una película, a mí me ha gustado pero ni siquiera me ha parecido el mejor del libro. Del resto me han gustado más los del principio, los del matrimonio Monroe, y los protagonizados por animales.
Siempre que leo un nuevo autor termino la reseña diciendo si lo volveré a leer, en este caso no lo sé, me ha gustado relativamente, pero la temática y el género del autor no son de mis favoritos.
December 19, 2013
Everybody uses the phrase "Walter Mitty" to describe a fantasist, but until now, I'd never read its point of origin. It's an enjoyable enough short story, but it's a shame it's regarded as Thurber's magnum opus. There are numerous pieces in here that are far funnier; as an animal lover, I liked the escapades of Muggs, a veritable hound from Hell, as well as the shenanigans of various Thurber family members.
But if we're talking in terms of satire and plot, the laurel surely goes to The Greatest Man in the World. What would the American government do if a national treasure was actually a venal, dimwitted scuzzball? Read it and find out!
But if we're talking in terms of satire and plot, the laurel surely goes to The Greatest Man in the World. What would the American government do if a national treasure was actually a venal, dimwitted scuzzball? Read it and find out!
March 12, 2007
james thurber is one of the most brilliant new yorker cartoonists of all time, and long before i even saw my first new yorker, i read 'the secret life of walter mitty' in an english class. i actually ended up drawing a comic version of the story instead of writing an essay
from that time to this day, it has been my favorite short story. just go find it somewhere and read it; it's too short to even talk about.
from that time to this day, it has been my favorite short story. just go find it somewhere and read it; it's too short to even talk about.
June 19, 2007
I like Thurber...he is hilarious. The Catbird Seat is another great one but I couldn't pull it up on here. Everyone should read Walter Mitty, if for no other reason because there are so many cultural refrences to it.
August 13, 2007
I read this in junior high and loved it. I felt sorry for Walter but also admired him because he could take a day of doing ordinary things and imagine a wonderul, exciting life. Thurber shows us the value and fun of daydreaming.
January 11, 2021
Divertida colección de historias, unas más que otras, que muestran un retrato caricaturesco muy sencillo de leer del hombre estadounidense de principios del siglo pasado.
No, no tiene demasiado que ver con la película.
No, no tiene demasiado que ver con la película.
September 27, 2020
Una colección un tanto desigual (como la inmensa mayoría de este tipo de libros) cuyo relato principal, el que da nombre al título, no deja de ser una oda a la huida de la realidad que deja poco una vez terminado...
March 2, 2008
Tapoketa-pocketa-pocketa!
June 2, 2008
I love this short story. Walter Mitty reminds me of my dad.
October 12, 2008
James Thurber has dropped off most book readers radar. Too bad. Nobody does funny better. These stories are a little dated but still tickle.
December 15, 2013
Poor Walter. A great imagination, a sad little life. Good short story expertly narrated by Ben Stiller.
Want to read
March 23, 2014I just saw the movie and loved it so now I have to read the book (usually I read the book before seeing the movie).
January 23, 2017
Was a humorous Catcher in the Rye for me. I acknowledge the talent, but 100% not for me!
May 30, 2021
Y esta fue mi cara durante toda la lectura...
April 30, 2023
El libro debería llamarse el cuento de Walter Mitty y otros relatos, ya que así se compone el libro, de varios cuentos sobre la vida cotidiana y situaciones diarias que busca resaltar a través del humor y que an algunos casos falla miserablemente.
Ahora hablando del relato Walter Mitty, por el que hago esta reseña, es el más extenso y popular gracias a la película, también es el más divertido y gracioso, pero también trágico si se le da una segunda lectura. Bien escrito, con humor y conocimiento de las relaciones interpersonales y de pareja. Es un es un excelente relato.
El personaje principal, Walter Mitty, es un hombre común y corriente que se evade de su aburrida vida cotidiana a través de su imaginación. En cada uno de los relatos, Mitty se sumerge en una fantasía diferente en la que se convierte en un héroe valiente y audaz, un aviador, un cirujano y otros personajes heroicos.
Aunque las fantasías de Mitty son divertidas y entretenidas, Thurber utiliza el personaje para criticar la falta de acción y la pasividad en la vida moderna. Mitty representa al hombre común que se siente atrapado en una rutina aburrida y sueña con una vida más emocionante.
La prosa de Thurber es ingeniosa y bien escrita, con un toque de humor e ironía. El autor utiliza el lenguaje para crear un mundo imaginario que refleja los anhelos y deseos de Mitty.
En resumen, "La vida secreta de Walter Mitty" es una colección de relatos ingeniosos y divertidos, que utiliza la imaginación y la fantasía como una forma de escapar de la realidad. El libro es una crítica a la vida moderna y a la falta de acción y aventura en la vida cotidiana. Es una obra recomendada para aquellos que buscan una lectura entretenida y con un toque de humor.
Ahora hablando del relato Walter Mitty, por el que hago esta reseña, es el más extenso y popular gracias a la película, también es el más divertido y gracioso, pero también trágico si se le da una segunda lectura. Bien escrito, con humor y conocimiento de las relaciones interpersonales y de pareja. Es un es un excelente relato.
El personaje principal, Walter Mitty, es un hombre común y corriente que se evade de su aburrida vida cotidiana a través de su imaginación. En cada uno de los relatos, Mitty se sumerge en una fantasía diferente en la que se convierte en un héroe valiente y audaz, un aviador, un cirujano y otros personajes heroicos.
Aunque las fantasías de Mitty son divertidas y entretenidas, Thurber utiliza el personaje para criticar la falta de acción y la pasividad en la vida moderna. Mitty representa al hombre común que se siente atrapado en una rutina aburrida y sueña con una vida más emocionante.
La prosa de Thurber es ingeniosa y bien escrita, con un toque de humor e ironía. El autor utiliza el lenguaje para crear un mundo imaginario que refleja los anhelos y deseos de Mitty.
En resumen, "La vida secreta de Walter Mitty" es una colección de relatos ingeniosos y divertidos, que utiliza la imaginación y la fantasía como una forma de escapar de la realidad. El libro es una crítica a la vida moderna y a la falta de acción y aventura en la vida cotidiana. Es una obra recomendada para aquellos que buscan una lectura entretenida y con un toque de humor.
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