The Devil's Mode

by Anthony Burgess

At the centre of the collection is a 109-page novella, Hun, telling the story of Attila and the confused motives which drive him to devastate the divided Roman Empire of the fifth century, and lead him to Rome and to his death. Accompanying it are eight other varied stories. The author's multifarious talents, learning and wit give us a volume of glittering many-faceted pleasures.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Literature, Historical Fiction, British Literature, 20th Century, Anthologies

271 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 1989

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Seriocomic novels of noted British writer and critic Anthony Burgess, pen name of John Burgess Wilson, include the futuristic classic A Clockwork Orange (1962).

He composed also a librettos, poems, plays, screens, and essays and traveled, broadcast, translated, linguist and educationalist. He lived for long periods in southeastern Asia, the United States of America, and Europe along Mediterranean Sea as well as England. His fiction embraces the Malayan trilogy ( The Long Day Wanes ) on the dying days of empire in the east. The Enderby quartet concerns a poet and his muse. Nothing like the Sun re-creates love life of William Shakespeare. He explores the nature of evil with Earthly Powers , a panoramic saga of the 20th century. He published studies of James Joyce, Ernest Miller Hemingway, Shakespeare, and David Herbert Lawrence. He produced the treatises Language Made Plain and A Mouthful of Air . His journalism proliferated in several languages. He translated and adapted Cyrano de Bergerac , Oedipus the King , and Carmen for the stage. He scripted Jesus of Nazareth and Moses the Lawgiver for the screen. He invented the prehistoric language, spoken in Quest for Fire . He composed the Sinfoni Melayu , the Symphony (No. 3) in C , and the opera Blooms of Dublin .

Reviews

[Tim Pendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly lightweight collection of Burgess' stories, a mix of imaginative reconstructions of literary and political events, pastiches and tales from his time in Malaya 'doing a Maugham' - that is, observing very late colonial Brits and the natives.

It is entertaining enough and Burgess cannot write badly but little is going to be truly memorable in a year's time. His Attila the Hun novella reads like the playbook for a Hollywood epic that perhaps he would like to have been in on - a good read but not really quite true to life or history.

He also shows off his intellect far too much ... boondoggling the reader with detailed arcane knowledge and literary 'insider' stuff. We know he is intelligent and talented. He really does not need to show off. At times, he is classically too clever by half.

But this was not a disappointing collection only because I was not expecting too much from a rather obvious pulling together of bits and pieces from an illustrious career towards the end of it - a sort of completist collection for fans.

Having said this, the best lies in the two very short Malay stories and both of them gain their strength from a subtle exploration of sexual meaning or rather how meanings are manipulated or misunderstood within the social reality of a dying colonialism.

The theme of 'The Wine of the Country' reminded me a little of Alberto Moravia's exploration of how male and female expectation and assumptions of the correct and appropriate can be so much at odds while 'Snow' is an acute evocation of power shifting as the old colonials lose their place.

Mostly enjoyable, sometimes frustrating, sometimes cavalier or offering writing as intellectual exercise to keep in practice, the book is, as I say, for completists but look out for the two Malay stories if they are anthologised elsewhere and if you are not interested in the collection as a whole.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erudite (e.g., one story is centered on Shakespeare and one on classical music, two of Burgess's notable interests) and stylish, one of the best things I've read recently. Short stories and novellas, mixture of historical fiction and modern expat-oriented works. The longer novella "Hun" (yes, it's about Attila) drags a bit, but the other pieces are first-rate. For the most part, Burgess avoids the ostentatious cleverness that occasionally has bugged me.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of nine short stories by Burgess. Anthony really shows off his aptitude in writing prose. In particular, I really liked the "eponymous" story.

[David]

I read this when it was first released, around 1990, but hadn’t looked at it since. Burgess published this first collection of short fiction in his 70s. The immediate reaction is that he should have done more of it. The stories feature most of his usual obsessions—music, history, Shakespeare, Europe, England, linguistics—and the Sherlock Holmes pastiche is quite entertaining.

[Luke Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great collection of short stories. Some are fictionalized accounts of historical personages, including Shakespeare, Cervantes, Debussy, and Attila the Hun. Some are adaptations of existing stories, taken from opera and old legends. Some are focused on British expatriates in the far east (along the lines of his Malayan trilogy). And one is a Sherlock Holmes story. Good times.

[Christopher Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unbelievable set of short stories, and one novella about the life of Attila the Hun that is the best piece of historical fiction I've ever read. Precisely what Flaubert wanted to achieve with Salambo I would guess, though here Burgess achieves more. Incredible.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthony Burgess’ intelligence and erudition are clear in these pieces, but it’s equally clear that it takes more to write great short stories. I particularly liked the light comic opera of “The Cavalier of the Rose” and following Debussy in “1889 and the Devil’s Mode,” but found the other stories either less interesting or less enjoyable. Burgess can portray with wit and style any time period, place, any thematic mode, but any setting just becomes window dressing to showcase his formidable intellectual capacities without any deeper emotional engagement. “Hun,” the novella-length short had unexpectedly funny moments, but my interest in the Holy Roman Empire wasn’t strong enough to keep it from being a slog from the middle onwards.

[Rafael · Rating 3 out of 5]

'You will never produce a Don Quixote.'
'And why should I or we?' Will said hotly. 'I have produced other things and I will still.' But: Will I? he thought. Do I wish to? 'I have made good comedy and eke tragedy, which is the highest reach of the skill of the dramaturgue.'
'God does not suffer the tragic consequences of a flawed essence. Tragedy is all too human. Comedy is divine.'

[Al Maki]

Short stories that take place in a variety of settings but that generally have something cranky or cankered at their core. They also display Burgess’s delight and fascination with erudition and language: both English and a variety of others.

[Ryan Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

historical fiction in 10-15 page doses for ya.

[Andrew Spink · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice idea but not very well executed. Perhaps it is just rather a dated writing style.

[Sarrah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too hifi for me but the parodys on classic charcters/ stories was fun

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having only read “A Clockwork Orange” by Burgess, and not having particularly cared for it, but having also heard many good things about Burgess’ work in general I decided to give this collection of short stories a try. I am glad I did. Burgess shows a vastly different side of his writing as well as masterful ability to imitate many different writing styles, from historical fiction to his take on Sherlock Holmes. It is Burgess’ deft use of detail that manages to push the stories to greatness, making these men, and it is always men, come alive in his depiction of their work and worldview. These stories were simply a delight to read and I would really recommend it as way of appreciating Burgess marvelous talent.

[Philip Tidman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual with a short story collection, it is a hit and miss affair. The one longer story, 'Hun' however, makes it a worthwhile read. It is a pity this historical story of Attila could not have been developed further.

[Steve Clark]

Edition: 1st US