On my newly-created American reading list are the two most famous short stories by Washington Irving: Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Both extremely fast reads, they are summarized below.
Rip Van Winkle
A hen-pecked husband takes a nap in the woods, only to wake up finding 20 years have elapsed. He finds his daughter and lives with her. Not much to this one- either in content or point.
Rating: C
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Wiry schoolmaster Ichabod Crane is competing for the lovely Katrina Van Tassel's hand with local stud and mischief-maker Brom Bones. The latter is believed to have played a central role in the former's disappearance, when it becomes apparent that Ichabod's vanishing is due to a believed manifestation of the legendary headless horseman.
Rating: B
Irving wrote over 60 short stories in the early 1800s, so reading only two is hardly representative. Still, it became clear that his writings focused on Dutch-settle regions of New York, the Hudson river, and the natural surrounds. His prose is quite good, even if some stories (like Rip Van Winkle) don't appear to have much point.
No comments:
Post a Comment