Munro is actually regarded as one of the finest short story writers of his time due to his wit and brilliance. When I decided to read this, I actually thought Gabriel Ernest was the name of the author, but it turns out it is the title. I am not going to start telling you guys how I plan on writing more short stories. I will just try to do more of that in the coming weeks.
- Author - Hector Hugh Munro
- Title - Gabriel-Ernest
- Originally Published - 1909
- Genre - Fiction, Short Stories
PLOT
! [Hidden Spoiler Text]
The story opens with the protagonist driving his artist friend to the station when his artist friend remarked that there was a wild beast in his woods. The protagonist doesn't take too much consideration into his friend's remark until one day he sees an unclad boy in his woods. Curious, he questions the boy. The boy reveals some rather disturbing facts, and the protagonist starts to wonder if truly his artist friend had seen a wild beast and if the boy was it. He encountered the boy again, this time inside his house. He runs off to his friend his artist to confirm what his friend had seen, but tragedy struck before he could return.
CHARACTERS
- Van Cheele the Protagonist
- Cunningham the artist
- Miss Van Cheele the aunt of the protagonist
etc.
SETTINGS
No location was mentioned in the story. The scenes were mostly set in the woods.
PURPOSE
Always seek the truth.
irony
A truly fascinating story that leaves you desiring more. I have had high praise for the works of Edgar Allan Poe and a number of others, but I think these go right up there. The author employs the use of a lot of literary devices to tell a well-crafted story. For a short story, you won't expect too much suspense but this was done very well. An uncanny Humor, with a touch of irony, makes for a delightful read. I really like some sense of ambiguity in literature, and this story packs a lot of it. Till the end you'd keep wondering a lot of things, leaving you with different interpretations. There are a number of themes that were explored in this story, ranging from Paranoia to the idea of identity, etc. I really like how it was all blended into this piece. I will totally recommend this for your reading pleasure. I would also rate it a 4 out of 5.