Grady never ceases to amaze me with the time and research he puts into satirizing racial prejudices and accepted social norms. I found his essay on the research behind The Yellow Peril enlightening and horrifying. We like to think we’re in a post-racial society, but the “missing dog and cat” jokes told at Chinese restaurants today are only one notch removed of the accusations levelled near the turn of the century of cooking rats. The accusation of uncivilized ingredients is a Society polite vers...

do you remember how we were all really racist in like 2007 because we thought it was ironic post-racism racism, but actually it was just straight-up racism and we were all idiot middle class white people who needed to seriously pull our socks up and educate ourselves about our intrinsically racist society? this is like that, but as short horror stories.

I say this every time but I am a sucker for Grady Hendrix. His writing style is unique and always leaves me feeling something, to which I can't say the same of every author. This book of short stories that is very loosely based on real events was so fun to read! With the 1800's jargon and general rapport between the characters I felt like I was transported back to this time period. The social commentary on political figures and events during the time felt perfect to read during 2021, when the wo...

This is a collection of short stories where Grady Hendrix makes fun of historical white men thinking they're better than everyone with a fantasy twist. I liked the idea of this collection more than I liked the execution. Grady Hendrix is really good at writing from the prospective of a problematic character, making you understand their prospective, and still showing how much of an jerk face that person is. This is told Don Quixote style where the main character is an idiot but still manages to c...

Unfortunately this was a rare Grady Hendrix miss for me. He is ostensibly lampooning Victorian era pot-boiler fiction with its severe casual racism. However, there is no context that provides the reader with this knowledge. This book is in desperate need of an introduction. Also, I didn't find it very funny. I still love Grady, though, and will continue to read everything I can find by him.

Re-read of The Christmas Spirits, which I have now chosed to be an annual tradition. Highly recommended! It's gut-bustingly funny, over-the-top, gleefully monstrous. You should probably also read the book's introduction and story notes, to make sure that you understand the context for the characters' absurd racism, xenophobia and general obliviousness. It's on purpose, and it's for a purpose. Some people might not get that and think the story is deliberately offensive to orphans, Germans, actors...

If you grew up on gaslight adventure stories, you'll love this.Or you might be horrified by it, but it will earn your respect even as you scream and run away.Grady Hendrix pulls no punches in this bitingly funny collection. Not for the politically correct or the faint of heart, each story manages to be both hilarious and a sharp commentary on what we choose to romanticize. The final story had me actually laughing out loud, which is not an easy task to accomplish. I look forward to more White Str...

After enjoying Horrorstör and My Best Friend's Exorcism, I was disappointed by this earlier offering, which Hendrix self-published at the beginning of his fiction career. It's quite clearly meant to be a spoof of a genre that was popular in the 19th century, that of the English Gentlemen's Club ghost storytelling variety. I found it to be dated, offensive, and quite ridiculous. The themes of racial and socioeconomic prejudice that characterize that genre play very poorly in 21st-century Western

I love everything Grady Hendrix writes. He had me at hello, or more specifically the line that read ““Dr. Hagedorn and I had served one another, unofficially, as consultants on difficult diagnoses, usually through the post as he is the possessor of a singular personal odor: like that of a large, sweating cheese. Being Italian, it is to be expected, but even after years of association I was unable to acclimate myself to his unpleasant bouquet.”God, thank you for this man and large, sweating chees...

Well, that was something I read.

Such a fun read. He puts it right out there in the beginning about what you are about to read. Don’t say he didn’t warn you. The gentlemen in these stories are so funny. The old language style was awesome and it was a quick read as well, only 5 stories and I wish there were more. If you are easily offended by outdated racism and whatnot, then maybe you should not read this. However, if you can see the absurdity of the ideas presented and laugh at it, then this is absolutely the right book for yo...

Minor Spoilers.Crude and offensive to a variety of ethnic groups, but still filled with plenty of laughs. This specific collection focuses on the White Street Society, and the old fashioned tales that might be told when its lot congregate. You know, the typical adventures that might be whirling around in the Grady Hendrix realm-sodomizing leprechauns, the weaponized zombie jihad, Chinatown warfare, and, if you’re in holiday spirits, a Christmas classic involving Krampus and an orphanage. Just a

Quite possibly the greatest collection of short stories ever published. Does Alice Munro deal with randy leprechauns? Did Raymond Carver ever confront fundamentalist mummies? Chekhov wrote some short stories but did he ever deal with the issue of people gambling on baby vs. monkey pit fights? I think not.However, you will find that this book does not shy away from any of these controversial and sensitive subjects. Every single one of these stories was turned down by the New Yorker, which might b...

I've never described a book as "refreshingly racist and misogynist" before, but Tales of the White Street Society is hilariously that. All too often in period stories the protagonists have modern 21st century attitudes, but the author keeps our, 'morally flexible when it comes to the lives of orphans' characters firmly rooted in Victorian Natural Superiority. They use capital 'S' science to investigate (Investigate in this context defined as shooting at or clubbing to death) the lowercase 's' su...

The stories are horrifyingly racist parodies of Victorian sci-fi/horror/fantasy that incorporate "scientific" racial theories from that period. Without the context of the introduction (a must-read part of the book) and the story notes at the end, one might just throw this book at the wall in disgust (although surely most people would get that it's satire?). The introduction sets up the collection by introducing the reader to Louis Agassiz, "one of the greatest scientific minds of the nineteenth

There is an old story that a reporter asked Mrs. Lincoln if her husband had any hobbies. She replied, "Cats." I thought that meant he had cats for pets, not that he ate them. According to Grady Hendrix's twisted alternative history, I discovered I was wrong. Not only did Honest Abe eat cats, he was chained up after biting a baby.Mr. Hendrix manages to insult almost everyone, from orphans to the Irish, to Lincoln, so make sure to read his introduction that explains racism and sexism in the Victor...

Just not likeable for meI understand the book is purposefully emphasizing old prejudices. I really get it. The obvious message is the overt ridiculousness of how only the opinion and lives of white men of a certain socioeconomic status matter. It is just not that much fun to read what could be a collection of funny/spooky spiritualist stories when it is focused on maintaining its un-politically correctness. It's just not for me, I guess. I really like the author's other work but this one didn't

'Dead Leprechauns & Devil Cats' is Hendrix before the hype. He self-published this short story collection (following the exploits of an old fashioned gentlemen's club involved in supernatural escapades) back in 2012, and I was interested to see what he had come up with before the input of a publisher was a factor in his works. If you've read from Hendrix before, you'll know that he tends towards the twisted and the grotesque, and he certainly didn't hold back on this occasion. Hendrix managed

I’m guessing early work by Hendrix. Indiana Jones, Weird Tales and twilight Zone in a blender.