"The Music on the Hill" by Saki aka. Hector Hugh Monroe

Pen names confuse me when people finally realize who the author is. Especially when he's been dead for almost a hundred years. But, I'm a reader and not an author. So onto this 'uncommonly humorless' story. Because naturally, the editor of this collection WOULD choose this story to exemplify the author's works...

So I stopped reading after one paragraph just to write this: This woman sounds like she was only interested in marrying her husband to prove that she could. I need to quote almost this entire paragraph to show you how determined she is to have what she wants, even if he wasn't even interested at all..
"To have married Mortimer Seltoun, "Dead Mortimer" as his more intimate enemies called him, in the teeth of the cold hostility of his family, and in spite of his unaffected indifference to women, was indeed an achievement that had needed some determination and adroitness to carry through; yesterday she had brought her victory to its concluding stage by wrenching her husband away from Town and its group of satellite watering-places and 'settling him down', in the vocabulary of her kind, in this remote wood-girt manor farm which was his country house."

Wait, seriously? So his family hates you, he doesn't really give a damn either way, and you not only marry him in the face of all this, but then 'wrench' him away from the town to his country house? My god, I would have run screaming from this woman. Nobody is going to wrench me up and settle me down elsewhere, unless that someone is me. This woman is wearing her ovaries on the outside, and this man doesn't seem to have any testicles. Or is a zombie and doesn't have a brain. Either way, I'm already not pleased. But I'll finish reading the story and continue posting.

--- 5 minutes later ---

Hmm, I can't say I'm all that upset at Sylvia's demise. You don't taunt the gods, especially Pan. Especially when you live in the country now. And your husband told you to respect Pan whether or not you truly believe in him. Serves you right for being so snobby and selfish. "Oh, but I don't want to stay in the country anymore. I feel lonely and creeped out." Hey, it was your 'victory' after all.

I was SO ANNOYED by Sylvia. Getting married and moving to the country, even if your in-laws hate you, shouldn't be taken as a 'victory' for you. Especially if you likely bribed or somehow coerced your husband into marrying you, despite his 'indifference' of women. Stupid annoying woman. I'm all for women being strong and independent and all that, but Sylvia was just a pompous, self-righteous brat.

And on that note, I'll have two more posts tomorrow and I'll (FINALLY) be all caught up. Just a few more posts till this book is over, and then I'll get back to my book reviews. I have to give you guys reviews of my October reads: Warm Bodies, The Last Werewolf, and Virals. Potentially Dominance and The Night Circus if I manage to get those done soon too, but I've been a little more focused on the short stories (I don't want to fail this self-challenge!!) :)

Justin