26 stories by Nobel prize winning authors - a list that includes Kipling, Tagore, Knut Hamsun, Shaw, Hesse, William Faulkner, Camus, Pasternak. I bought the book at the airport due to some hustle and thought it would be an easy read but heck no, they are all dreary and depressing stories.
The one story that I can never forget is 'The Massacre of Innocents' by Maurice Maeterlinck. A group of soldiers attack a village and are rebuffed by the peasants. The army walks in a while later and a general massacre is ordered - namely to murder all children less than two years old. Its a crazy story and one wonders how the mind works and how far the envelope can be pushed. Shaw's story was the one that had some wit and some mischief. 'The Father' by Bjornsen is incredibly sad. Kipling's 'The Man who Was' is about a man who joins the army under a false name or something and is exposed. 'The outlaws' by Selma Lagerlof is about a murderer and a petty thief who share an odd relationship when on the run.
And so on and so forth. It took me a while to complete. Heavy stuff.
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