“The End of the Party” by Graham Greene #GBSS23/27

“The End of the Party” by Graham Greene Number 23 of 27 Great British Short Stories 

Premise: A game of hide and seek is terrorising and terrible

Review: He was a master, in my opinion, ol’ GG.  Should have read this decades ago. Top marks for terror.

Outa ten: 10

Keywords: youth, fear, twins, courage

Quotes: 

“Peter watched his brother and saw, as he had expected, the lips tighten. Francis, he knew, had feared this moment from the beginning of the party, had tried to meet it with courage, and had abandoned the attempt.” p326

“All that he could say now, still in the precise tone which other children hated, thinking it a symbol of conceit, was, “I think I had better not play.” p.327

(The last sentence too, but, well, spoilers) 

His brain, too young to realise the full paradox, yet wondered with an obscure self-pity why it was that the pulse of his brother’s fear went on and on, when Francis was now where he had been always told there was no more terror and no more darkness.” p329

Words: 

Look up: 

Afterlives of the story/connections to other stuff: 

Have a look at the Wikipedia pageIs it online? Yes