Saki

Saki is the penname of the British writer Hector Hugh Munro. In The Unbearable Bassington, he tells the story of the whimsical Francesca Bassington, an upper middle class woman whose main concerns in life are her modest possessions and the career and marriage of her only son, Comus. The latter is portrayed as a jobless and irresponsible boy who takes life very cynically. The mother, who is herself idle and opportunist, keeps on arranging things for her son in an attempt to secure his future. She first manages to find him a job as a secretary and then an advantageous relationship with a wealthy young woman that she wants him to marry. However, Comus's haughty and wisecracking attitude indifferently spoils everything. After such failures, Francesca sends him to Africa with the hope of a business career. Yet, his lack of motivation and interest make him fail too. Generally, Saki endows his story with a high degree of humor and satire directed towards the Edwardian society and culture of the time. His beautiful descriptions and carefully-selected diction with which he adorns the narrative are accompanied by a deep investigation of human behavior.

Francesca Bassington sat in the drawing-room of her house in Blue Street, W., regaling herself and her estimable brother Henry with China tea and small cress sandwiches. The meal was of that elegant proportion which, while ministering sympathetically to the desires of the moment, is happily reminiscent of a satisfactory luncheon and blessedly expectant of an elaborate dinner to come.

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Excerpt: ...when to be silent,

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