The Collected Tales of E.M. Forster

by E.M. Forster

E.M. Forster's short story collections "The Celestial Omnibus" and "The Eternal Moment" published in one book, with an introduction by the author.

The Story of a Panic
The Other Side of the Hedge
The Celestial Omnibus
Other Kingdom
The Curate's Friend
The Road From Colonus
The Machine Stops
The Point of It
Mr. Andrews
Co-ordination
The Story of the Siren
The Eternal Moment

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Fantasy

308 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Edward Morgan Forster, generally published as E.M. Forster, was an English novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. His humanistic impulse toward understanding and sympathy may be aptly summed up in the epigraph to his 1910 novel Howards End: "Only connect".

He had five novels published in his lifetime, achieving his greatest success with A Passage to India (1924) which takes as its subject the relationship between East and West, seen through the lens of India in the later days of the British Raj.

Forster's views as a secular humanist are at the heart of his work, which often depicts the pursuit of personal connections in spite of the restrictions of contemporary society. He is noted for his use of symbolism as a technique in his novels, and he has been criticised for his attachment to mysticism. His other works include Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908) and Maurice (1971), his posthumously published novel which tells of the coming of age of an explicitly gay male character.

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never understood reviewers who believe that Forster's writing was too old fashioned or conventional, even for the time he was writing in. To all such critics, I say, read his collected short stories. They are phenomenal and surprisingly modern.

Forster is just plain a good writer, and the ideas he expresses in this collection are interesting and relevant. "The Eternal Moment" contains some witty observations -- parents complaining about the exorbitant cost of higher education (yup, back in the 1940s!), a description of an aging man's chin "which was dividing and multiplying itself like some primitive form of life." And two of the other stories in particular echo in popular culture today.

"The Machine Stops" is a fascinating sci-fi story, focusing on a future "utopia" where people live in one room and have all of their needs met by The Machine, what we would probably call now a vast computer network. But in true Matrix-style, the Machine is using men more than vice versa, and only a few realize it. I find it hard to believe that the writers of "The Matrix" didn't take some ideas from this story. Too bad they didn't include Forster's light tone and ability to keep my attention.

"Mr. Andrews" tells the tale of, yes, Mr. Andrews, and his trip to heaven. I was very surprised to see that Forster's fictional heaven included everyone getting what they expect, and the existence and health of gods based on the number of their living worshipers. Either Neil Gaiman read this book before writing "American Gods," or he is Forster incarnate.

All of the stories link together beautifully, flowing from one idea to another with ease, so that one can pick up and read the whole volume without any disjointed jumps.

I enjoyed very much enjoyed reading this book, and was quite sad when I was finished. I wish Forster had written many more collections of stories -- his fantastical visions, set in Europe amongst the upper classes, are, to my knowledge, utterly unique.

[Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection mirrors my experience with Forster overall. I absolutely loved “Maurice” but found his collection of gay-related stories, “The Life to Come and Other Stories” a bit of a hit and miss. I decided to give this collection a try after seeing “The Machine Stops” included in it. I had really liked that story and hoped that the collection would have similar stories. I was a little disappointed. The best thing that I can say about the stories on this collection, aside from “The Machine Stops”, is that they are whimsical. So depending on your mood they might be evocative and send your mind wandering or they can come across as silly. Unfortunately, my experience was the latter kind. Still, I could see someone coming across these stories and finding them delightful.

[Socraticist · Rating 4 out of 5]

The good stories are fine, even memorable, but the bad stories are very bad. Of the twelve these are the only ones worth reading:

The Story of a Panic
The Celestial Omnibus
Other Kingdom
The Road from Colonus
The Machine Stops
The Eternal Moment

That’s only half the book.

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of this author's work is very good. All the rest is interesting reading.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are Forster’s foray into the genres of fantasy, magic realism, and in the case of “The Machine Stops”, science fiction. Funny that none of his novels are in this genre, while all but one of his short stories are. It’s a genre that many writers have used as a medium for social criticism, and this works well for Forster, critical as he was of conventional British society, unimaginative people, and the way well-to-do Brits treated the lower orders, including Italians in general. I would say this was the main theme in his novels and in his stories as well, along with an appreciation of nature and a certain nostalgia for an agrarian life that was disappearing in his time.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it would be interesting to read some of E.M. Forster, so chose his short stories. Interesting, indeed! Though I have not given serious study to them, in the midst of figures of mythology and some things absurd, I saw parallels to Christian teachings.

The Celestial Omnibus is one of these stories as it describes the journey into heaven of an open-hearted boy and a tight professor of poetry. I am reminded of "a little child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11.6). Do I "meditate on beauty or experience it?" He even (mis)quotes John 4.24 "and they that worship (poetry) must worship in spirit and in truth." Scary.

In The Curator's Friend, a fawn pulls the minister out of the bondage of his obsession with the obligation to deny himself in the care for his parishioners and into a life of freedom to be true to himself, cross or happy, to enjoy life.

The Machine Stops was fascinating. It could have been written to us in the 21st century in light of today's culture of technology. And it was written in 1909!

"Men made it (the Machine), do not forget that. Great men, but men. The Machine is much, but it is not everything. I see something like you in this plate (screen?), but I do not see you. I hear something like you through this telephone, but I do not hear you."

"The clumsy system of public gatherings had been long since abandoned . . . . Seated in her arm-chair she spoke, while they in their arm-chairs heard her, fairly well, and saw her, fairly well."

"I was naked, and all these tubes and buttons and machineries neither came into the world with us, nor will they follow us out, nor do they matter supremely while we are here."

[Alex Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although E.M. Forster wrote in the early 20th century much of these stories still feel fairly contemporary in that he talks about characters and situations which are still relevant today. There is some antiquated feeling with some of the stories though, as though some of the vision seems off. Forster reaches for a certain deep in human nature, connecting what is in common beyond ideology (religious or technological). We see here that Forster has a deep understanding of human nature, highlighting how we inhabit the world. Some people are able to step beyond their upbringing, other people are not. Forster wants to show us the moments when people are able to rise above their context, and touch upon something deeper and eternal about what we are all doing, and where we all are.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compendium combines the two collections of fantastical tales that E. M. Forster wrote. The first collection, published in 1911, is titled The Celestial Omnibus. My favorite stories in this collection are The Story of a Panic, The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Kingdom. I rate these stories five stars. The other three stories in this collection aren't quite as good, but nonetheless they are four-star quality. The second collection of stories, published in 1928, I didn't like nearly as well. I rate this second collection three stars.

[Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impressive how contemporary these stories still feel despite their being written in the 40's. Overall I enjoyed but was not blown away as he can be a bit dry for my taste at times and I often find that I was losing track of who was who and what their character arch was.

There were some standout stories though - the oft cited The Machine Stops is worthy of the praise and This Eternal Moment is excellent as well.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this collection of short stories from one of my favorite authors. My favorites, in no particular order:

- The Story of a Panic
- The Celestial Omnibus
- Other Kingdom
- The Machine Stops
- The Story of the Siren