The Gentle Grafter (Transaction Large Print S.)

by O Henry

First published in 1908, these typical O. Henry short stories blend humour, sentiment and sentimentality. With a breezy, slangy style and specializing in recognizable types, they move quickly and the unexpected twist at the end of each is the O. Henry patented trademark.

• ISBN10: 0649592344
• ISBN13: 9780649592340
• Publish Date: 28 May 2018 (first published 30 January 2003)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Trieste Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[Metaphorosis Reviews]

3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews.
Summary
A collection of stories about intermittently honest con artist Jeff Peters and his compatriots.

Review
On this fifth collection of stories, O. Henry tries again to give the collection a theme – as he did with his western stories. This time, retired con man Jeff Peters is relating his experiences – invariably the story of a grift that didn’t always go right.

The stories are pleasant, but the conceit doesn’t really work here. I never felt as engaged by Peters and his cohort as I’d have liked. There’s also necessarily a sameness to the stories that palled fairly quickly. While each con is different, the general approach and tone is often the same. O. Henry applies his trademark fun with vocabulary and the occasional twist ending, but it’s not enough to make the collection stand out.

While I enjoyed this well enough, and the stories are all short and easily digested, I was never really eager to pick the book up.