The Four Million

About the book

O. Henry's collection moves through boarding houses, cafés, streets, shops, and other meeting places of a crowded city. Its characters include young couples, shop workers, drifters, would-be sophisticates, and people hoping that a small change in circumstances will transform their lives. 'The Gift of the Magi,' 'The Cop and the Anthem,' and 'After Twenty Years' appear among stories that combine brisk narration with tightly arranged reversals. Comedy and sentiment often share space with loneliness, poverty, or the pressure to appear more prosperous than one is. The title's broad social claim is reflected in the range of people given narrative attention. Each compact plot offers another angle on the hopes and misunderstandings passing through New York's everyday life.

• Urban lives
• Money and appearance
• Unexpected connections

Why read it

Read it for economical storytelling that finds surprise and feeling in the encounters of a crowded city.

English text