Damon Runyon (1884–1946)

2026 reread: I love the style of Runyon's Broadway stories and the occasional interconnectedness of the tales adds to the appeal. Might be the only short story collection where I am happy to keep reading after I finish an individual story. There are a small handful that go too dark to still be considered funny but overall it is a classic.

Original review: How to describe Runyon's stories? Let's start with the simple part - On Broadway is three collections of short stories brought together, show more housing 47 (I think) stories within its voluminous pages. Despite being an easy read, this is such a large book that you can't really carry it around with you.

I'm not usually a fan of short stories, mainly because they are just whetting my appetite when they stop. But Runyon's short stories are interconnected, each one told by the same narrator and often featuring or mentioning familiar characters, so even though the story itself may be over, you never have to leave the world in which it lives. I've twice started making a list of all the recurring characters, but I always get distracted.

The stories are set across the twenties and thirties, during and after prohibition, and follow the unnamed narrator, who can usually be found gambling on the horses, eating in Mindy's restaurant or drinking in Good Time Charley's speakeasy. Most of the stories take place around Broadway in New York but there are a fair few that cover Miami and even some European countries. Our narrator doesn't have a job, never has any money and despite claiming to have little morality or compassion, he is seen as harmless and helpful by absolutely every gambler, thief, bootlegger, hitman and stripper on Broadway, who will either drag him along on an adventure, or dump their life story on him.

The stories are mostly tales of romance or revenge (sometimes both) and always have a twist, or punchline, some little kick at the end. So obviously if you read 47 of these in a row, you pretty quickly pick up on the pattern. Although that's not to say that I can guess how each story will end, just that I know there will be some kind of turnaround. Sometimes Runyon gives you pretty clear clues early on by mentioning a gun or something for no reason. It's kind of like listening to a really long joke and looking forward to the payoff. There are a few stories in this collection that are very similar to each other, almost like 'whoops' similar, but on the whole they all bring their own enjoyment. There's a theme of honour in most of the stories, which is weird considering that the characters are mostly lowlives and murderers, and the events are often horrific, yet you're left feeling satisfied at the end.

As for the style, that's where Runyon lights up. His narrator and therefore all the other bums on Broadway speak in this bizarrely formal, polite and euphemistic manner, making the stories of mob wars etc become delightfully quaint. Added to his use of the present tense, no contractions and endless slang, the dialogue is always hilarious.

There were maybe four or five stories out of the lot that I didn't enjoy as much - those with a darker tone. Quite a few of the stories are tragic but also funny, whereas a couple go for out-right heartbreaking, which isn't my scene. And then there are a couple that are downright horrible - usually Runyon's euphemisms can carry you through but some stories are a little more graphic and while the content is handled in a whimsical manner, what they are actually talking about would make Goodfellas blush.

But overall, Runyon's stories are great fun because of his absolutely crazy style. I'm pretty sure he was a genius. show less

It only took three and a half years but I have finally finished this A+++ collection of stories.

Runyon's evocative style renders up a forgotten world of seedy Broadway, populated with loquacious, and sometimes charismatic, criminals who are always as eager for an easy buck as they are to spin you a yarn of their latest adventures. He is so good at evoking the dialect and almost circular style of speaking that believably conjures up the sort of characters who would inhabit this world.

Each show more story is tightly planned, with an entire world of characters and events fully realised and resolved within ten to twenty pages. They're slick, hilarious, and villainously sentimental, full of the kind of characters who patronise those 1920s New York speakeasies and racecourses. They are liberally peppered with the small time crooks and gamblers of some bygone Broadway era, who all speak in that particular Runyon old-timey gangster slang and participate in the storytelling tradition. A cross between Raymond Chandler and Dorothy Parker.

More Than Somewhat was like that fairground ride which does those sudden drops, no fuss no muss, just a straightforward ride, you know all the set-up is going to pay off and they sure do in the most satisfyingly heartwarming way that lets you romanticise the rough 20s Broadway life.

Furthermore and Take It Easy were bumpier ride, a more janky and lurching rollercoaster with unexpected and uneven ups and downs, sometimes veering into very dark humour (death is definitely more liberally dished out than before), with its last lines still delivering its usual pithy repartees to the reader and only slightly lacking the heart that was so satisfying previously. show less

The Broadway stories which make up the bulk of this collection mark out the territory of the runyonesque: heartfelt humble heroes full of hopeful cynicism risking everything on the next roll of the dice knowing the odds are against them but that’s still more of a chance than they started out with in life. His style is unique. His characters shape and are shaped by their time and place — New York during prohibition. A treat to read still today.

The other writings here confirm that show more Runyon’s strength as a short story writer emerged from his solid grounding in gritty journalism. And they remind us that his life as a writer was every bit as vibrant and colourful as his fiction implied.

Easy to recommend. show less

I found this based on one of the short stories recommended an age ago in an old writing group. Loved the story, went back to the start, and read them all. For a while I tried reading one a night as a going-to-bed treat but that fell down pretty quickly!

The voice is unique: resolutely present-tense even where explicitly referring to the past, rife with contemporary slang while avoiding contractions, and laden with euphemism and irony around the less-than-legal activities engaged in by show more many/most of the characters. It is perfectly delightful. show less