Difficulties of a Bridegroom - Hardcover

Hughes, Ted

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031214587X ISBN 13: 9780312145873

Publisher: Picador USA, 1996

Synopsis

A collection of stories by the Poet Laureate of England includes among others the fable "O'Kelly's Angel," about a man who captures and cages an angel, and "The Wound," about an episode in World War II.

About this title

Review:

Ted Hughes once confessed that most of his short fiction was merely "an accompaniment to my poems." But there are many gems here, including the affecting trilogy portraying the poet's South Yorkshire childhood. The finest tale in this collection may be "The Wound," actually a radio play about a dying soldier trekking across a pitiless desert. The death-march transforms itself into an allegory of the Buddhist path from death to rebirth. Most of these short stories date from the 1950s and 60s, before Hughes became a famous poet.

Review:

"Radiates all the rare intensithy readers will come to associate with Hughes's later poetry . . . Always, beneath the scenes, lu;rks Hughes's inescapable wonder at the mysterious, incalculable depths of all human endeavor."--Robert Johnson, "The Denver Post" "Landscapes are evoked with a Wordsworthian appetite . . .These works . . .convey . . . gripping incidents, brightened by the poet's shimmering imagery."--Andy Solomon," The New York Times Book Review" "Evocative . . . Each story is a compact gem, concise, beautifully rendered and holding a small seed of illumination."--Corey Messler, "The Memphis Commercial Appeal" "Taut, intense . . . These stories . . . show how effectively he can concentrate his talent for forceful images into compelling narratives."-"-Publishers Weekly"

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador USA
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 031214587X
• ISBN 13: 9780312145873
• Binding: Hardcover