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A Shocking Accident
Jerome is 9 years old when he is called to his headmasters office, and told of his fathers death.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1966
107 people want to read
About the author
Graham Greene
819 books6,269 followersHenry Graham Greene was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century.
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivienne Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a "Catholic agnostic". He died in 1991, aged 86, of leukemia, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland. William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivienne Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a "Catholic agnostic". He died in 1991, aged 86, of leukemia, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland. William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 5, 2026
On a visit to my mother’s last week, she asked if I could take her to visit a friend. It was already a busy day, I was stressed about various things, and I have met this person once in the last 45 years, but know they are emotionally draining, so I said “Sorry, but no”. My mother was shocked and disappointed, adding that this poor person (in their eighties) had recently “been trampled by a horse”. It was such a shockingly unexpected comment, that I nearly laughed.
I blame my reaction on memories of this story, more firmly reawakened when I read a different Greene piece with Short Story Club this week, A Little Place off the Edgware Road, which I reviewed HERE. I've since shared this specific story with TSSC, where it went down well.
In this story, motherless Jerome is at boarding school when he’s told by an embarrassed housemaster that his father, a travel writer, had a shocking accident in Naples, and is dead. Jerome’s instinctive response is comically inappropriate, but believable of a nine-year old in shock.
Image: Spaccanapoli, a typically narrow, balconied street in the heart of Naples. (Source)
As he grows up, the circumstances become a source of teasing and embarrassment. Jerome seeks quiet obscurity, fears anyone writing a biography of his father, but eventually becomes engaged:
“Their relationship was contented rather than exciting, as became the love-affair of a chartered accountant; it would never have done if it had interfered with the figures.”
However, he keeps delaying letting Sally meet his aunt, because he fears Sally’s reaction when she learns how his father died. Everything hinges on her response.
You can read this amusing short story HERE.
(It turned out that my mother’s friend would not have been up to receiving visitors that day. They have had surgery and face a long recuperation, but should be more or less OK.)
Since I first wrote this review, another real-life case has echoed it: a dog handler was getting a dog out of a kennel, but fell back on an uneven floor, pulling the dog on top of them. The human had various injuries. But nowhere did it mention what happened to the dog.
I blame my reaction on memories of this story, more firmly reawakened when I read a different Greene piece with Short Story Club this week, A Little Place off the Edgware Road, which I reviewed HERE. I've since shared this specific story with TSSC, where it went down well.
In this story, motherless Jerome is at boarding school when he’s told by an embarrassed housemaster that his father, a travel writer, had a shocking accident in Naples, and is dead. Jerome’s instinctive response is comically inappropriate, but believable of a nine-year old in shock.
Image: Spaccanapoli, a typically narrow, balconied street in the heart of Naples. (Source)
As he grows up, the circumstances become a source of teasing and embarrassment. Jerome seeks quiet obscurity, fears anyone writing a biography of his father, but eventually becomes engaged:
“Their relationship was contented rather than exciting, as became the love-affair of a chartered accountant; it would never have done if it had interfered with the figures.”
However, he keeps delaying letting Sally meet his aunt, because he fears Sally’s reaction when she learns how his father died. Everything hinges on her response.
You can read this amusing short story HERE.
(It turned out that my mother’s friend would not have been up to receiving visitors that day. They have had surgery and face a long recuperation, but should be more or less OK.)
Since I first wrote this review, another real-life case has echoed it: a dog handler was getting a dog out of a kennel, but fell back on an uneven floor, pulling the dog on top of them. The human had various injuries. But nowhere did it mention what happened to the dog.
January 21, 2022
When Jerome, a boarder at an English prep school, is summoned to his housemaster's room, nothing could have prepared him for the terrible news that awaited him.
Fans of satirical British humour à la Derek and Clive (Peter Cook and Dudley Moore), and Monty Python will enjoy the absurdity of Jerome's terrible news.
This is from a collection of short stories titled May We Borrow Your Husband? and is an extremely short piece of flash fiction that can be finished in the blink of an eye. It's free to read HERE
Fans of satirical British humour à la Derek and Clive (Peter Cook and Dudley Moore), and Monty Python will enjoy the absurdity of Jerome's terrible news.
This is from a collection of short stories titled May We Borrow Your Husband? and is an extremely short piece of flash fiction that can be finished in the blink of an eye. It's free to read HERE
January 17, 2022
Thanks to my friend, Kevin, for passing me this one. I do love Graham Greene and a hearty laugh is always welcomed. Just in case you need one, here is the link:
Read it Here
Read it Here
August 9, 2021
Jerome was only nine years old when he was summoned to the housemaster’s office at his preparatory school to be told some very bad news. Jerome registered Mr. Wordsworth’s odd demeanor when breaking news of a shocking accident that had happened to his father. The nature of the accident was shocking in an unimaginable way that was to affect Jerome in the years to come.
Given my exposure thus far to Graham Greene’s writing, which is typically serious and somewhat ponderous, I was surprised by the comic elements that crept into this short story. But I was not surprised at all by the masterful way in which Greene kept the tension between light and dark. I could almost hear him holding back his laughter even as he told an obviously sad story.
This 5-page story can be read here: A Shocking Accident
Thank you, Cecily, for putting this story on my radar.
Given my exposure thus far to Graham Greene’s writing, which is typically serious and somewhat ponderous, I was surprised by the comic elements that crept into this short story. But I was not surprised at all by the masterful way in which Greene kept the tension between light and dark. I could almost hear him holding back his laughter even as he told an obviously sad story.
This 5-page story can be read here: A Shocking Accident
Thank you, Cecily, for putting this story on my radar.
January 22, 2022
A (very) short story from Graham Greene, taking the strange circumstance of Jerome's father's death. Jerome has supposed his father might have died in some form of glory - a hail of machine gun bullets, for example, but this is not the case.
Free to read HERE
4 stars
'I've had a telephone call, Jerome. From your aunt. I'm afraid I have bad news for you.'And while this situation might bring mirth for many throughout his life, for Jerome it is about framing the story.
'Yes, sir?'
'Your father has had an accident.' [...]
'Did they shoot him through the heart?'
'I beg your pardon. What did you say, Jerome?'
'Did they shoot him through the heart?'
'Nobody shot him, Jerome. A pig fell on him.'
Free to read HERE
4 stars
March 30, 2026
Wonderful tragicomic short story with a great ending!
I read "A Shocking Accident" with the Short Story Club.
I read "A Shocking Accident" with the Short Story Club.
January 19, 2022
An odd, humorous story of a young boy, pulled from class at his boarding school, to be informed of his father's passing the previous day. That, of course, is not the humorous part. How he was killed, however, may be viewed as somewhat amusing (if not bizarre).🐷
Greene's 5-page short story is available here: https://www.vajdajanosgimnazium.hu/we...
Greene's 5-page short story is available here: https://www.vajdajanosgimnazium.hu/we...
January 18, 2022
Here is the link to 'A Shocking Accident", a very short story written by Graham Greene that is making the rounds here on Goodreads. I found it to be ever so playful and so am passing it on. Enjoy!
https://www.vajdajanosgimnazium.hu/we...
https://www.vajdajanosgimnazium.hu/we...
October 31, 2021
It's a 5 page story about a man who gets killed by a flying pig. And it's brilliant.
Read
April 3, 2025"los audiolibros no cuentan" "los comics no cuentan" girl i have free will, es mi cuenta de goodreads y si me da la gana voy a poner cada lectura, ensayo o historia corta que me manden a leer en la facultad, try and stop me
March 31, 2026
A droll amusement from the pen of Graham Greene, about a boy who hears the news of his father's death — he is nine, and does not yet appreciate the complications that arise when the manner of death is potentially seen as comical.
A short film based on this story is available on YouTube. Watching the short film takes longer than reading the short story, but it did win an Oscar.
A short film based on this story is available on YouTube. Watching the short film takes longer than reading the short story, but it did win an Oscar.
March 29, 2023
It's kinda weird, but it's okay...
April 2, 2026
It's impossible to say anything about this one without spoiling it.
April 23, 2024
Greene Delivers.
This was very good, but not going to review it.
For the moment at least.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1966] [7p] [Fiction] [Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Greene Sabe.
Estuvo muy bien, pero no voy a reseñarlo.
Al menos por ahora.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1966] [7p] [Ficción] [Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
This was very good, but not going to review it.
For the moment at least.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1966] [7p] [Fiction] [Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Greene Sabe.
Estuvo muy bien, pero no voy a reseñarlo.
Al menos por ahora.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1966] [7p] [Ficción] [Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
June 4, 2025
1 estrella pq me hizo acordar a la secuencia de muertes cuando se cayo el caniche del balcon
August 19, 2025
A Shocking Accident by Graham Greene
Fabulous Story
When pigs fly means never- usually.
But in this comic short story, there is a pig travelling through the air
The start of the tale is not announcing the animal and its travails–
- Jerome was called into his housemaster's room in the break between the second and the third class on a Tuesday morning. He had no fear of trouble, for he was a warden...
After this gentle introduction, there is a steep increase in tension:
- I have bad news for you
And as we expect some sad turn for the saga, we get a very fine sample of humor-
- Jerome worshipped his father: the verb is exact. As man re-creates God, so Jerome re-created his father - from a restless widowed author into a mysterious adventurer who travelled in far places - Nice, Beirut, Majorca, even the Canaries. The time had arrived about his eighth birthday when Jerome believed that his father either 'ran guns' or was a member of the British Secret Service. Now it occurred to him that his father might have been wounded in 'a hail of machine-gun bullets'.
But the truth is not the one that Jerome is imagining and the fact that he expresses his version of events only makes the situation worse. The headmaster has problems trying to keep calm and not break into laughter-
'In fact, Jerome, he died yesterday. Quite without pain.'
'Did they shoot him through the heart?'
'I beg your pardon. What did you say, Jerome?'
'Did they shoot him through the heart?'
'Nobody shot him, Jerome. A pig fell on him.' An inexplicable convulsion took place in the nerves of Mr Wordsworth's face; it really looked for a moment as though he were going to laugh. He closed his eyes, composed his features and said rapidly as though it were necessary to expel the story as rapidly as possible. 'Your father was walking along a street in Naples when a pig fell on him. A shocking accident. Apparently in the poorer quarters of Naples they keep pigs on their balconies. This one was on the fifth floor. It had grown too fat. The balcony broke. The pig fell on your father.
And then Jerome asks what looks like a strange question:
- What happened to the pig?
This story affects the boy, who was called Pig, after the story made the rounds in the school.
People laughed when they heard it, so Jerome had to devise strategies to avoid that>
He would tell people about the customs in Italy, the high rise buildings in cities like Naples, which resembled New York and how they kept on their balconies not vegetables, but animals…all this in order to bore the interlocutor who would be surprised and…not laugh.
The other alternative was to tell it quickly:
- 'My father was killed by a pig.'
'Really? In India?'
'No, in Italy.'
'How interesting. I never realized there was pig-sticking in Italy. Was your father keen on polo?'
Then Jerome falls in love and wants to marry a woman- sally and he is worried sick that she would laugh at the story of his father’s death and that would affect their relationship.
What happens? Read this fabulous story and you will find out.
Graham Greene is a fantastic writer that I love. I have enjoyed The Heart of The Matter, Travels with My Aunt, Our Man in Havana and The Power and The Glory
You can read this legally online at:
http://www.nbu.bg/webs/amb/british/6/...
Fabulous Story
When pigs fly means never- usually.
But in this comic short story, there is a pig travelling through the air
The start of the tale is not announcing the animal and its travails–
- Jerome was called into his housemaster's room in the break between the second and the third class on a Tuesday morning. He had no fear of trouble, for he was a warden...
After this gentle introduction, there is a steep increase in tension:
- I have bad news for you
And as we expect some sad turn for the saga, we get a very fine sample of humor-
- Jerome worshipped his father: the verb is exact. As man re-creates God, so Jerome re-created his father - from a restless widowed author into a mysterious adventurer who travelled in far places - Nice, Beirut, Majorca, even the Canaries. The time had arrived about his eighth birthday when Jerome believed that his father either 'ran guns' or was a member of the British Secret Service. Now it occurred to him that his father might have been wounded in 'a hail of machine-gun bullets'.
But the truth is not the one that Jerome is imagining and the fact that he expresses his version of events only makes the situation worse. The headmaster has problems trying to keep calm and not break into laughter-
'In fact, Jerome, he died yesterday. Quite without pain.'
'Did they shoot him through the heart?'
'I beg your pardon. What did you say, Jerome?'
'Did they shoot him through the heart?'
'Nobody shot him, Jerome. A pig fell on him.' An inexplicable convulsion took place in the nerves of Mr Wordsworth's face; it really looked for a moment as though he were going to laugh. He closed his eyes, composed his features and said rapidly as though it were necessary to expel the story as rapidly as possible. 'Your father was walking along a street in Naples when a pig fell on him. A shocking accident. Apparently in the poorer quarters of Naples they keep pigs on their balconies. This one was on the fifth floor. It had grown too fat. The balcony broke. The pig fell on your father.
And then Jerome asks what looks like a strange question:
- What happened to the pig?
This story affects the boy, who was called Pig, after the story made the rounds in the school.
People laughed when they heard it, so Jerome had to devise strategies to avoid that>
He would tell people about the customs in Italy, the high rise buildings in cities like Naples, which resembled New York and how they kept on their balconies not vegetables, but animals…all this in order to bore the interlocutor who would be surprised and…not laugh.
The other alternative was to tell it quickly:
- 'My father was killed by a pig.'
'Really? In India?'
'No, in Italy.'
'How interesting. I never realized there was pig-sticking in Italy. Was your father keen on polo?'
Then Jerome falls in love and wants to marry a woman- sally and he is worried sick that she would laugh at the story of his father’s death and that would affect their relationship.
What happens? Read this fabulous story and you will find out.
Graham Greene is a fantastic writer that I love. I have enjoyed The Heart of The Matter, Travels with My Aunt, Our Man in Havana and The Power and The Glory
You can read this legally online at:
http://www.nbu.bg/webs/amb/british/6/...
January 24, 2023
A little sip of hot chocolate!
Treat yourself to a little pick-me-up, a sip of hot chocolate on a cold day. (Gawd, I sound like a stupid ad for cocoa!!) No, seriously, I’m just plugging this story, which warmed my cockles. I shy away from classics, always afraid an oldie will disappoint. I tend to choose contemporary literary fiction—ha, yes, the shiny new things! But I’m glad I read this gem by the famous Graham Greene. It reminds me that old stories can be scrumptious, too.
This super-short story mixes absurdity with pathos. Here’s the deal—a headmaster calls a kid to the office to tell him his dad was involved in a bizarre accident. The rest of the story is about how he and others react to the event. Greene manages to make us care deeply for the boy, all in about five pages. It’s pure wizardry, I tell you. I love me a well-written short story with some zip. Absurdity wins every time.
Greene is a pro, as we all know. I read a novel by him when I was young. I remember nothing, of course, other than I liked it. Now I want to read more of his stuff, including the collection, May We Borrow Your Husband?, which includes this story.
Shout out to Kevin and Jodi for letting me know about this one.
You can read the story here:
https://www.vajdajanosgimnazium.hu/we...
Treat yourself to a little pick-me-up, a sip of hot chocolate on a cold day. (Gawd, I sound like a stupid ad for cocoa!!) No, seriously, I’m just plugging this story, which warmed my cockles. I shy away from classics, always afraid an oldie will disappoint. I tend to choose contemporary literary fiction—ha, yes, the shiny new things! But I’m glad I read this gem by the famous Graham Greene. It reminds me that old stories can be scrumptious, too.
This super-short story mixes absurdity with pathos. Here’s the deal—a headmaster calls a kid to the office to tell him his dad was involved in a bizarre accident. The rest of the story is about how he and others react to the event. Greene manages to make us care deeply for the boy, all in about five pages. It’s pure wizardry, I tell you. I love me a well-written short story with some zip. Absurdity wins every time.
Greene is a pro, as we all know. I read a novel by him when I was young. I remember nothing, of course, other than I liked it. Now I want to read more of his stuff, including the collection, May We Borrow Your Husband?, which includes this story.
Shout out to Kevin and Jodi for letting me know about this one.
You can read the story here:
https://www.vajdajanosgimnazium.hu/we...
March 31, 2026
Well, this was a huge surprise! This week’s GR Short Story Club selection knocked me off my feet.
I did not realize Greene also wrote short stories and definitely not humorous ones. Graham Greene’s work has been more of a casual interest to me with serious dark plots. The dark humor in A Shocking Accident was totally unexpected and therefore all the more amusing. I absolutely loved Sally’s question at the end, mirroring nine-year-old Jerome’s own question when his prep school Headmaster Wordsworth informed him that his father had died in a “street accident”. The two, Sally and Jerome, were a perfectly matched set of bookends.
The absurdity of the story lies not only in the plot itself but also in a deflated Jerome’s humiliation that his father was not shot through the heart as might be considered the acceptable demise for a guns runner or member of the British Secret Service – not to mention his need to create a mind-numbing description of the circumstances leading up to the death of a father he had hitherto worshipped.
Okay, okay, for those of you who did not read this week’s selection in the GR Short Story Book Club I won’t leave you in suspense. If you really need to know NOW, how Jerome’s father died, a .
You are probably wondering, "So what happened to the pig?". Me too! I mean, after that cushy landing, did he walk away unscathed? 😊
I did not realize Greene also wrote short stories and definitely not humorous ones. Graham Greene’s work has been more of a casual interest to me with serious dark plots. The dark humor in A Shocking Accident was totally unexpected and therefore all the more amusing. I absolutely loved Sally’s question at the end, mirroring nine-year-old Jerome’s own question when his prep school Headmaster Wordsworth informed him that his father had died in a “street accident”. The two, Sally and Jerome, were a perfectly matched set of bookends.
The absurdity of the story lies not only in the plot itself but also in a deflated Jerome’s humiliation that his father was not shot through the heart as might be considered the acceptable demise for a guns runner or member of the British Secret Service – not to mention his need to create a mind-numbing description of the circumstances leading up to the death of a father he had hitherto worshipped.
Okay, okay, for those of you who did not read this week’s selection in the GR Short Story Book Club I won’t leave you in suspense. If you really need to know NOW, how Jerome’s father died, a .
You are probably wondering, "So what happened to the pig?". Me too! I mean, after that cushy landing, did he walk away unscathed? 😊
February 6, 2023
As I am reading Journey without Maps by Graham Greene, I thought I would take a squiz at one of his short stories - A Shocking Accident, has been doing the rounds recently. It's a 5-page beauty, and a bit funny.
So if you like the idea of a pig falling off a balcony, ricocheting off a building and careering into an unfortunate pedestrian - this is one for you. I found it funny.
4 Stars
So if you like the idea of a pig falling off a balcony, ricocheting off a building and careering into an unfortunate pedestrian - this is one for you. I found it funny.
4 Stars
February 23, 2023
A hilarious and unexpectedly tender story of a truly shocking accident and a devoted son's desperate attempts to make it less dramatic for the world at large. Greene was such an underrated humourist, among many other things, as evidenced by this excellent story from a collection so rich with witty comedy and wistful nostalgia. And once again, an unusually poignant story of a son who worships a lost father so much that he is willing to reduce the hilarity of his death. Brilliant.
April 22, 2026
Young Jerome was concerned about the pig himself but eventually became rather jaded in the course of life so of course when his betrothed wonders the same thing he has lost his sense of wonder and so it goes
April 11, 2023
"What happened to the poor pig?"
October 8, 2023
Thank you to my friend Kevin for posting the link to read this free short story. It was a delightful little story!
March 16, 2025
I don't know why but this was just funny.
April 2, 2025
perfect balance between tragedy and comedy in just 5 pages.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews