Another Flashman novel, plus quick reads (12 - 16 out of 52) in Back entries: 2013 - 2015

Flashman and the Tiger by George MacDonald Fraser (347 pages, including notes) is a trio of shorter stories detailing Flashman’s adventures towards the latter part of the 1800s. He discusses his hand in dealing with a cheating scandal, is involved in a plot to prevent assassination of Emperor Franz Josef and runs into an old enemy that he thought he’d never see again after a stint in South Africa. Sherlock Holmes makes a brief cameo in the title story.
This book probably isn’t my favourite out of the Flashman novels, The Subtleties of Baccarat (the story about the cheating scandal) wasn’t my thing. I prefer to read about the more adventurous scrapes Flashman gets himself into. Still, it was interesting to read about him as a grandfather (in the title story). Still, I’m glad I read it.

The next four books are part of the Penguin Little Black Classics series, which were published this year and covers short stories, excerpts, etc. Good to try and expand my reading!

Wailing Ghosts by Pu Songling (56 pages, number 7 in the series) is a collection of bite sized short stories covering hauntings, tricks and monsters. The first couple of stories (The Troll/ The Monster in the Buckwheat) tended to be a bit too short, and the endings felt a little abrupt. But on the whole this was a great read - imaginative, and I’ll be reading this again at some stage.

The Meek One by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (57 pages, number 44 in the series) is about a middle aged man who drives his young wife to suicide and was based on a news report from St. Petersburg. A somewhat depressing read.

The Great Fire of London by Samuel Pepys (51 pages, number 47 in the series) is a couple of extracts from Pepys’ diary. The first covers a period in 1665, and discusses the plague that’s just hit London and a war the Royal Navy is involved in. The second extract covers a period in 1666 when fire breaks out in London. I’m seriously considering getting a hold of Pepys’ diary and reading the whole thing after reading the extracts. An interesting look in to how people survived in the 1600s.

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol (53 pages, number 46 in the series) contains two short stories - in the title story, a man wakes up one morning minus his nose. And the next story, The Carriage, shows what boasting and being ill-prepared can do to a person. A quick read, but I may have to re read it at some point. I was just starting my “bored with reading stage”, so I may pick this up again at some stage.

Books read so far: 16/52

Last updated December 21, 2015