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Квадратурата на кръга: разкази
Американският писател О’Хенри е явление, което се радва на литературно безсмъртие повече от сто години. Книгата „Квадратурата на кръга“ ни запознава с непревеждани досега негови разкази. От дванайсетте издадени приживе сборника на О’Хенри е направен подбор, представящ най-доброто от творчеството му.
Истинското име на О’Хенри (1862–1910) е Уилям Сидни Портър. Започва да пише като хоби, но скоро това се превръща в негова съдба. Работил като журналист и банков чиновник, писателят е обвинен в злоупотреби и прекарва повече от три години в затвора. Вместо да лежи в килия обаче, управата се възползва от способностите му на отличен фармацевт. За краткия си живот публикува стотици разкази. Благодарение на неговия талант познаваме прерията, пустошта, Ню Йорк и провинциална Америка от края на XIX и началото на XX век. Произведенията на О’Хенри са с неповторим стил, пълни с хумор, съпричастност и състрадание, с романтика и остроумни коментари. Сюжетите му са с парадоксални обрати – той е смятан за майстор на разказите с неочакван край. Наричали са го „американският Ги дьо Мопасан“.
Огняна Иванова
Истинското име на О’Хенри (1862–1910) е Уилям Сидни Портър. Започва да пише като хоби, но скоро това се превръща в негова съдба. Работил като журналист и банков чиновник, писателят е обвинен в злоупотреби и прекарва повече от три години в затвора. Вместо да лежи в килия обаче, управата се възползва от способностите му на отличен фармацевт. За краткия си живот публикува стотици разкази. Благодарение на неговия талант познаваме прерията, пустошта, Ню Йорк и провинциална Америка от края на XIX и началото на XX век. Произведенията на О’Хенри са с неповторим стил, пълни с хумор, съпричастност и състрадание, с романтика и остроумни коментари. Сюжетите му са с парадоксални обрати – той е смятан за майстор на разказите с неочакван край. Наричали са го „американският Ги дьо Мопасан“.
Огняна Иванова
264 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2020
11 people want to read
About the author
O. Henry
2,913 books1,871 followersSuch volumes as
Cabbages and Kings
(1904) and
The Four Million
(1906) collect short stories, noted for their often surprising endings, of American writer William Sydney Porter, who used the pen name O. Henry.
His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. His era produced their voices and his language.
Mother of three-year-old Porter died from tuberculosis. He left school at fifteen years of age and worked for five years in drugstore of his uncle and then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch.
In 1884, he went to Austin, where he worked in a real estate office and a church choir and spent four years as a draftsman in the general land office. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him.
He failed to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him.
In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras.
Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves .
In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling .
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York.
In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed.
Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed.
People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.
His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. His era produced their voices and his language.
Mother of three-year-old Porter died from tuberculosis. He left school at fifteen years of age and worked for five years in drugstore of his uncle and then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch.
In 1884, he went to Austin, where he worked in a real estate office and a church choir and spent four years as a draftsman in the general land office. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him.
He failed to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him.
In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras.
Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves .
In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling .
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York.
In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed.
Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed.
People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 3, 2025
Разказите са приятни. Понякога ми доскучаваха, но винаги краят им беше изненадващ. Четях ги точно заради него. Понякога последните изречения ме размиваха, друг път умиляваха, но винаги ми докарваха някаква емоция. Не случайно О. Хенри е майстор на краткия разказ с неочакван край.
December 6, 2023
Изобщо не е вярно това, че разказите са непубликувани досега... но, както всичко на О. Хенри, са прекрасни.
December 23, 2021
Брилянтен О'Хенри - един от най-добрите разказвачи. В книгата са добре подбрани разкази на различни теми, разкриващи пластовете на човешката душа и чарът на човешкото съществуването.
March 2, 2024
За жалост само 3 разказа ми харесаха и не се разбрахме с хумора на О.Хенри.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews