The last book of wonder Book

Before I started reading, all I knew about Dunsany was that H. P. Lovecraft was a fan. I can see the connections, with both writers using the method of leaving Big Important Things unexplained, but where Lovecraft spins existential dread out of the unknown, Dunsany just takes it as a witty trick to enable him to say whatever the hell he wants without any obligation to wrap it all up at the end. It's the wit of Dunsany that was the main surprise for me, ranging from subtle winks about how storytellers can't be trusted, to totally taking the piss, as in the story of 'Why the Milkman Shudders When He Perceives the Dawn'. If you like the freewheeling ideas of Lovecraft but find it all a bit serious, maybe give this guy a try.

Pretty much every story involves someone passing on the tale while totally off their head on drink or drugs. If some of Lovecraft's stories - 'Shadow over Innsmouth', say - were told by Sir Rowley Birkin QC from The Fast Show, with a large glass of whiskey in his hand, I imagine it would be something like this.