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About 50 min to read.Inizia 90 giorni gratisA chi è rivolto
You will love this if you enjoy fast, silly comedy, old gangster slang, mad scientists with bubbling flasks, and narrators who miss the obvious. It suits listeners who like a whole story in one sitting.
Che cos’è questo libro
What would you do if the guests at your wedding reception began to burst, one after another, into puffs of dust, and the man behind it was your own uncle? That is the problem of Homer Nicholas, a rich, kindly and cheerfully oblivious young man who has been married for barely twenty-four hours. He sits in the back room of a tavern and writes to David Nixon, chief of police of Morton City, to explain why the city's gangsters have vanished.
And That's How It Was, Officer is a screwball science fiction comedy by Ralph Sholto, set in the years after the Second World War. Homer tells it all in a polite, stuffy voice, and he can describe a disaster like a bus timetable. You get a quick, bright farce with a mad scientist, a bride full of surprises, and a boxer who hears bells.
In questo riassunto
- 1A husband writes to the police chiefFree
- 2An uncle with a serum and a closet
- 3A wedding where the guest list goes wrong
- 4The crooks' convention in the living room
- 5A masked gunman and a very odd massacre
- 6A chase through town and a stick of gum
- 7A narrator who always misses the point
Punto chiave 1 di 7
A husband writes to the police chief
A letter begins the tale. Homer Nicholas addresses it to David Nixon, chief of police of Morton City. He says the chief and his men must be bewildered. They have probably lost weight wondering where all the gangsters went. The underworld has vanished like a bucket of soap bubbles.
Homer feels the chief deserves to know what has been happening in his city. The chief has never met Uncle Peter, Bag Ears Mulligan, the gorgeous Joy or Homer himself. When the letter reaches its destination, Homer and Joy will be heading to Europe for the honeymoon he says keeps slipping away. Uncle Peter will travel to Tibet for interviews with several prominent figures. Bag Ears will probably be off looking for his bells.
A great deal of good has been done at no cost to the taxpayers, Homer adds, so the chief should read the letter and then forget the whole thing.
This frame sets the tone. Homer is polite, proper and sure he is a model citizen. He explains things so calmly that the wildest events sound like a minor misunderstanding. The reader soon learns to see more than he does. Enjoy the gap between what Homer says and what is really going on, because the whole book lives in that gap.
That’s 1 of 7 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of "And That's How It Was, Officer"
About 50 min to read.Inizia 90 giorni gratisPaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 10,700 words
- Reading timeAbout 45 min
Questions about "And That's How It Was, Officer"
What is And That's How It Was, Officer about?
It is a comic science fiction story told as a letter. Homer Nicholas explains to the Morton City police chief why the city's gangsters have vanished, and how his uncle's serum and a wild wedding reception are involved.
Who is Bag Ears Mulligan?
Bag Ears is Homer's friend, a former boxer who once chased the lightweight title. He took so many punches that his mind sometimes stops, and he hears bells that nobody else hears. He is kind and cheerful.
Who writes the letter and who gets it?
Homer Nicholas, a newly married young man, writes to David Nixon, the chief of police of Morton City. He writes from the back room of a tavern, to explain events he thinks the chief deserves to know.
What does the name Cement Mixer Zinsky mean?
Zinsky is a mob boss who earned his nickname by inventing a way to get rid of rivals. He put their feet in a tub of cement and threw the whole tub into the lake.
Is it easy to follow?
Yes, in its own way. It is a short story in one voice, told in order from a single letter. The jokes, the quick dialogue and the plain, lively slang carry you from scene to scene.
Cite this edition
Sholto, Ralph. "And That's How It Was, Officer". Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/and-that-s-how-it-was-officer.
Sholto, R. (2026). "And that's how it was, Officer". Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/and-that-s-how-it-was-officer
Sholto, Ralph. "And That's How It Was, Officer". Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/and-that-s-how-it-was-officer.
@book{sholto2026thats,
author = {Sholto, Ralph},
title = {"And That's How It Was, Officer"},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/and-that-s-how-it-was-officer}
}
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