Very sweet story. Gratifying end.

"Please, is that an Omnibus?"

My first encounter with E.M. Forster, after starting the first of this collection's stories in a used bookshop, which also happens to be Forster's first published story "The Story of a Panic". "The Celestial Omnibus" compiles a smattering of Forster's other delightfully peculiar short stories. His writing is very English, and his stories full of classic Hellenization, ancient literary allusions and paganistic elements. They're mostly enigmatic and perhaps somewhat impenetrable to the casual reader, but I certainly enjoyed them.

I really enjoy E. M. Forster and liked this collection quite a bit.

But why were there So. Many. Fauns? I get that the satyr is a motif in the Edwardian period, but it was pervasive enough to be distracting.

Even though that the dialogue are somewhat archaic and difficult to follow and there are moments where you have to re read if you missed something in the story, it is an incredible lecture that lets the reader feel the empathy of the characters that want to be outside the status quo and are spiritually awake. That's what I liked about these short stories. It's about people or situations that let you open your eyes of what really matters in life.

The Celestial Omnibus is a sentimental allegorical fantasy where adults are bad because they have no wonder and imagination.

Oh Forster, you muse you

The stories in this volume share a similar fantasy/surreal feeling.
The only one I had read before, The Other Side of the Hedge, I find to be particularly chilling.

4.5 stars overall. A couple stories deserve 5 stars on their own though, particularly the title story. And even when I don't care for the story itself, there is something about Forster's writing that I connect with. Definitely recommend trying this out if you're a fan of short stories.

One of the greatest short stories of all time...captures perfectly why ALL of us are on this website. Enjoy!

This was my first reading of E. M. Forster, and I’m glad I started with this quirky, hard-to-describe little collection. It was a refreshing, fun read and while I know his longer novels won’t be in quite the same (fantasy) vein, I’ll surely begin on his novels soon because his writing style here was so appealing. I loved these short pieces of unexpected fabulousness!

You can tell that Forster really enjoyed writing, as an act.
He's playful in a very sincere and honest way that I find continuously engaging

Much more about this book later, but I finished this book about 3 a.m. this morning and I literally have not stopped thinking about it since. I just ordered Forster's Selected Stories, hoping that the other stories in that book are as good as these are.

Seriously -- super book. My favorite quotation from the entire collection:

"Lasciate ogni baldanza voi che entrate."