Fantastic Fables

Ambrose Gwinnett BierceProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 164K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Fantastic Fables by Ambrose BierceAuthor: Bierce, Ambrose, 1842-1914?,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 1, 1995

Editor's review

Fantastic Fables is a collection of Bierce's short, sharp fables, some a page long and some only a few lines, each minimal narrative closing on a twist or a cold conclusion. It uses the ancient form of the fable to carry satire and skepticism: mockery of human weakness, social convention, and moral rhetoric, often turning abruptly in the final sentence so that the reader laughs first and shivers after. Bierce is known for his short stories and aphoristic writing, and this book shows off his understated black humor. There is no need to read for continuous plot; treat it as a collection to dip into, a few fables at a time, noticing how the ending's turn rewrites what came before. For writers, it is a handy model for learning short-form structure and ironic endings; for general readers, it is an entertaining book for commutes or bedtime, readable in fragments, though one must accept its cold, unconsoling tone.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short satire and black humor
Commuters who want short pieces for fragmented reading time
Writing enthusiasts studying short-form structure and ironic technique
Readers interested in modern reworkings of the fable form

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting warm, comforting, or uplifting moral tales
Readers who prefer long continuous narratives and immersive plots
Readers sensitive to cold satire and depictions of human darkness

Reading tips

Read only three to five fables at a time, then savor the turning point of each ending.
Keep a pen handy and write down your predicted ending for each fable, then compare it with the text.
Try retelling a few fables to friends to test whether the twist still works.
Don't read straight through in order; flip to any fable and keep a relaxed mood.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Are these fables suitable for children?

Use caution. Though called fables, the book has a cold tone; its satire often targets human weakness and social convention, and the endings rarely offer positive lessons, unlike the gentle moralizing of ordinary children's fables. If reading to children, parents should pre-screen the selections and be ready to discuss and explain.

Each fable is very short—will it feel scattered?

Scattered is part of its formal character. The book suits fragmented reading; there is no need to read it continuously. Treat it as an aphoristic collection of short pieces, and reading a few at a time may actually make each point easier to remember; for systematic reading, you can group them by theme yourself.

Who is Bierce? Do I need to know about him first?

Ambrose Bierce was a nineteenth-century American writer known for short stories and satirical aphorisms, with a cold, often skeptical style. According to the given material, this book is his work. You need not study his biography first, but knowing that he habitually uses irony and black humor will make it easier to enter the text's tone.

Is the English in this book difficult?

The pieces are short, so a single fable is not daunting, but Bierce chooses his words carefully and hides satire in tone and irony, which requires some English reading ability to appreciate. An intermediate level is suggested; when you meet unfamiliar expressions, infer from context first and then check, rather than grinding through word by word.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce Author · American · 1842–1914

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914), an American writer, journalist, and satirical novelist, was born in Meigs County, Ohio. A veteran of the American Civil War, he drew heavily on that experience in his fiction. His short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is known for its startling ending and austere style, while the satirical dictionary "The Devil's Dictionary" is famous for its biting definitions. He excelled in horror and war fiction, writing in a grim, restrained, and ironic style that earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce." He disappeared in Mexico in 1913, and the exact year of his death is unknown, though some sources give 1914. His work has deeply influenced American short fiction and satirical literature.