The Sunny Side
Short Stories and Poems for Proper Grown-Ups
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3.9 • 39 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
From the beloved creator of Winnie-the-Pooh comes an irresistible collection of short stories guaranteed to delight readers of all ages.
Drawing from a collection of stories originally published in 1921 and chosen exclusively by the author himself, The Sunny Side gathers the best short works by the inimitable A. A. Milne. Written for the satire magazine Punch, these brief stories and essays perfectly capture Milne's sly humor, beguiling social insight, and scathing wit. From "Odd Verses" to "War Sketches," "Summer Days" to "Men of Letters," Milne takes his readers from the stiff British drawing room to the irreverent joy of a boy's day at the beach. Ideal for curling up with in the hammock or stretching out by the fire, these tales shine brightly any day of the year.
Complete with a series of whimsical illustrations, The Sunny Side offers the perfect chance to rediscover this forgotten classic by one of our most cherished authors.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First published in 1921, this witty, pleasantly rarefied miscellany from Winnie-the-Pooh creator Milne features his contributions to the British magazine Punch, where he was assistant editor, in the years before and after WWI. In disarming short pieces grouped around various themes, the deft Milne gently very gently skewers the peccadilloes of his generation and its classes, such as Simon Simpson, the "litterateur of some eminence but little circulation," who invites all his friends to join him on a lazy holiday on the French Riviera ("Oranges and Lemons"). In the section "Men of Letters," Milne has great fun caricaturing the self-serious pomposity of fellow writers and poets, and even offers a sampling of the tedious fare presented at Lady Poldoodle's Poetry At-Homes. Some of the pieces in the "War-Time" section chronicle the humble predicament of the French infantryman: managing an intractable horse or finding comfort in a toy dog. A set of "Home Notes" concerns the narrator's dear thoughts on married life with the sensible but rather fluttery Celia; one piece finds the couple instigating a mystifying dinner party game of Proverbs. Milne's quotidian observations remain quite moving in their wry simplicities, which are not simple at all.
