Tales from the White Hart

I found this a charmer--it grew on me--a sum more than its parts. This isn't the usual collection of stand-alone stories. In his Preface Clarke wrote that the tales came out of, "a long unfelt want--for what might be called the "tall" science-fiction story. By this I mean stories that are intentionally unbelievable; not, as is too often the case, unintentionally so. At the same time, I should hate to say exactly where the Great Divide of plausibility comes in these tales, which range from the perfectly plausible to the totally improbable."

Oh, but that's what makes this set of stories fun. These "tall tales" are told at the White Hart--a London pub in sight of the Thames river near Fleet Street. There can be found writers, scientists, show more and hybrids who are both--including Arthur C. Clarke, who is apparently addressed in one of the stories--he seems to be the first person narrator. He's not the storyteller though--that (almost always) is "Mr. Harry Purvis, B.Sc. (at least), Ph.D. (probably) F.R.S. (personally I don't think so, though it has been rumored.)"

Another thing that's rather fun about these stories written from 1953 to 1956 are the allusions to the times--the cold war, McCarthyism, the beginnings of the sexual revolution. Even though not graphic, I was startled at how risque was "Patent Pending." I'm positive I first read this book as a child under ten years old. I can't remember my reaction, and wondered just how much went over my head. Also fun was, well, how these books gave Clarke some scope to show his diverse interests and knowledge. The "Edward England" mentioned in "Silence Please" has to be Benjamin Britten. Orwell's 1984 gets a mention only a few years after it was first published. There's some sharp (but mostly gentle) satire, some black humor--nothing laugh-out-loud funny, but consistently amusing. And even though these tales were written separately, I think they benefit from being read together. I don't think any one tale should rank among Clarke's best short stories. I'm really fond of "Moving Spirit" and "The Reluctant Orchid" but I wouldn't list it up there with "Rescue Party" "The Star" or "The Nine Billion Names of God." But these are fun. show less

These stories don't strike me as real "science fiction" -- mainly because we know that the source of the stories, Harry Purvis, is full of blarney. The individual stories also aren't very creative, relying as they do each on some individual comic twist-ending.

What makes this collection outstanding is the narrative voice, the pub setting, and the humor that derives not so much from the twist-endings but from the narrative voice itself.

Almost all of the stories were originally published for other publications, according to Tales from the White Hart's Wikipedia entry, but they cohere in this anthology because of the narrative voice of Charles Willis (as stand-in for Clarke himself) and the unifying figure of Harry Purvis as the source of show more the tales. The humor and whimsy come from the contrast between the narrative voice and Harry's stories themselves.

Inspired by Lord Dunsany, the anthology structure and the whole tone of Clarke's narrative voice somehow reminds my of Dickens' Master Humphrey's Clock -- probably, though, because I've never read anything by Lord Dunsany. show less

Absolutely outstanding. I hadn't re-read this book for at least twenty years. Somehow it had gotten pigeonholed in my memory as a bit boring and dull.

But it's anything but dull or boring! Classic and funny science fiction stories using the classic bar-story format. Over and over I found myself coming across phrases and ideas which I'd incorporated into my personal lexicon, only to forget where they'd come from. "Oh, so this is where I first read that!" I kept saying.

It's a pity that Clarke wrote so few of these stories. They're wonderful.

I've noticed that when traditionally serious writers or TV shows (Clarke, Asimov, "Bonanza", "Star Trek", and a host of others) attempt humor, it often works very well. Perhaps the element of unexpectedness is a factor. Anyway, this is a series of humorous science fiction stories, told by a scientist, Harry Purvis, who has had the most amazing experiences, and does not hesitate to tell to the imbibers at the "White Hart". Each story is a gem, and Clarke shows himself the master of the surprise twist ending here.

Fun book of stories about scientific inventions and their unintended consequences, all told by Harry Purvis to his friends at London's White Hart pub. The inventions are usually strange, and the consequences are always unexpected and funny. The book presents a really interesting contrast between the world of 60 years ago and today; in a way these are "mad scientist" stories, in that the inventors/scientists are usually working by themselves or with very small groups, very much unlike the way most science is practiced today. A fun exercise might be to write some stories like this about software development. Entertaining.

The stories in this book are among my favorite Clarke short stories, and he is my favorite hard SF short story writer. I think the very idea of SF tall tales is brilliant and Clarke executes it perfectly — it's a great mix of humor, science fact, science fiction, and some thought provoking ideas. Many of the stories were on the edge of believability back in the 50's, and, for better or worse, many of them remain there now (although some have been created — thankfully active noise cancellation systems don't work the way he predicted...)

This is a set of short stories all told by members of a club that meets at the White Hart. The members are scientists, science journalists, and science fiction writers. We are to understand that the narrator is the author himself. Al but one of the tales are told by club regular Harry Purvis, who can dominate any conversation with one of his tall tales. The tales tend not to end well for the inventors of the strange contraptions, like the scientist who is probably still stuck in an anti-gravity bubble somewhere in Australia. Poor fellow. There’s a story about a machine that can record the brain waves of a person, to be played back and experienced by someone else. The lab assistant who steals this naturally applies the technology to show more best financial gain: porn. He records professionals, but then becomes so obsessed with the recording that his girlfriend murders him for his electronic infidelity. The stories are off-the-wall and really funny. I definitely recommend this book. show less