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Dusk

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In the dusk, the hour of the defeated, Norman Gortsby finds himself tricked by a young man's silly story

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About the author

Saki

1,797 books598 followers
British writer Hector Hugh Munro under pen name Saki published his witty and sometimes bitter short stories in collections, such as The Chronicles of Clovis (1911).

His sometimes macabre satirized Edwardian society and culture. People consider him a master and often compare him to William Sydney Porter and Dorothy Rothschild Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window," perhaps his most famous, closes with the line, "Romance at short notice was her specialty," which thus entered the lexicon. Newspapers first and then several volumes published him as the custom of the time.

His works include
* a full-length play, The Watched Pot , in collaboration with Charles Maude;
* two one-act plays;
* a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire , the only book under his own name;
* a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington ;
* the episodic The Westminster Alice , a parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland ;
* and When William Came: A Story of London under the Hohenzollerns , an early alternate history.

Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Joseph Rudyard Kipling, influenced Munro, who in turn influenced A. A. Milne, and Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
48 (33%)
4 stars
48 (33%)
3 stars
37 (25%)
2 stars
6 (4%)
1 star
4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Nayra.Hassan.
1,260 reviews6,938 followers
April 24, 2022
الذكاء هو سرعة المحاكمة*
*و العقل هو صحة المحاكمة
عندما تشهد غروب ذكائك و ثقتك و تعاطفك في يوم واحد. .و يتطايروا امامك كرغوة الصابون؛فانت لست في يوم سعدك البتة
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Profile Image for Aryan.
50 reviews69 followers
October 27, 2019
این کتاب صوتی در اپ کتابراه رایگان و ۱۰ دقیقه میباشد

طنز خیلی جالبی بود اینکه نرده فکر میکرد خیلی باهوشه ولی فریب خورده بود😅
Profile Image for K. Anna Kraft.
1,184 reviews39 followers
October 22, 2016
I have arranged my thoughts on this short story into a haiku:

"The dusky hour,
It may be meant for failures,
But sees dumb luck too."
Profile Image for Bahar meow.
219 reviews54 followers
March 7, 2025
The young man pretending to be without any money, deceives Mr. Gortsby. the young man is indeed a swindler.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kushagri.
234 reviews12 followers
April 4, 2026
Oh I’m reminiscing my middle and high school literature curriculum today — Dusk basically taught me that dusk is when strangers get mildly unhinged and evenings are for wandering, observing absurd people, and dodging unsolicited soap entrepreneurship.
Profile Image for Katyayini Singh.
180 reviews13 followers
August 12, 2025
Read it ages ago. I still think about the story sometimes- that’s how good it is.
14 reviews
July 28, 2017
Unexpected ending, leaves you thinking and questioning reality. Things are not always as they seem.
Profile Image for Steph.
157 reviews6 followers
December 14, 2020
Arguably the best short story I've read this year (to date?). Setting the motif of dusk as the time of the defeated and the sequence of events led to a very amusing story that left me giggling. I'm wary of giving too much detail, so just read it yourself!

Reading this story also got me curious in the life and writing of career of Saki (H.H Munro), which is an interesting story on its own. I am grateful to discover talented authors every so often.
71 reviews
March 31, 2023
داستان خیلی جالب و سرگرم‌کننده‌ای بود. از این داستان‌ها که اولش حس باهوش بودن بهمون دست میده و قضاوت می‌کنیم، وسطش می‌فهمیم اشتباه کردیم و پشیمون میشیم، و آخرش باز می‌فهمیم ساده‌لوحی کردیم.

غروب رو از طاقچه بخونید:
https://taaghche.com/book/44542
Profile Image for Arimi Reads.
1,052 reviews9 followers
June 26, 2025
Short and soapy. Quite a funny short story . I wasn't expecting this from a short to be honest but this one had me smiling at the end. A dazzle of luck and a dazzle of strange circumstances and boom you have this short story.
Profile Image for Dave.
1,365 reviews11 followers
February 9, 2020
This one felt more like an O Henry story, very good!
Profile Image for Yukti Joshi.
22 reviews24 followers
December 31, 2023
this was fun! goes from a serious, slow contemplative mood to quick cake of soap-loaded shenanigans quickly.
Profile Image for s.
81 reviews
February 20, 2024
A fun, albeit entirely not outstanding, short story.
Profile Image for Heidi.
899 reviews2 followers
September 8, 2025
I would like to give
this 10 stars.

Very different from most of
Saki's short stories.

I was impressed by the
realism and how well the
plot was constructed.

Absolutely one of the best short
stories I have read in my life. And
I have read very many.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews