Over coffee, a self-proclaimed idiot baffles and charms his fellow boarders with outrageous logic. His nonsense is oddly profound. Can foolishness be the wisest voice in the room?
Coffee and Repartee and The Idiot are companion pieces of sparkling comic fiction, centered on a series of breakfast-table debates led by an eccentric lodger known only as "The Idiot." Through rapid-fire exchanges, he disarms and delights his more serious-minded companions with a blend of absurd reasoning and earnest charm. What begins as nonsense gradually reveals sly insights into society, intellect, and human behavior. Set in a New York boardinghouse and composed largely of dialogue, these works showcase Bangs's flair for humor and parody in the Gilded Age. The result is a light but layered satire that still entertains with its clever repartee and gentle critique of conventional wisdom.
John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was an American author, satirist, and editor of Puck Magazine. Coffee and Repartee and The Idiot are linked novellas.
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