From A Cottager's Sketchbook, Vol.2

A Cottager's Sketchbook is a collection of informal essays written by Liang Shih-chiu over a span of more than four decades. The earliest pieces originally appeared in a weekly in the wartime capital of Chongqing and, in the subsequent articles, the author continues to ridicule human foibles and social follies. His elegant and graceful prose, enriched by his liberal use of classical quotations and literally allusions, is sprinkled with lampoons of contemporary life and culture. Volume II of this collection features pieces from the seventies and eighties. Liang's distinct style continues to shine, but these late essays reveal a mellowness that comes with age. While the poignant sarcasm subtly and slowly shifts to a benign humor, the nostalgia for his hometown becomes more and more palpable during his exile in Taiwan. 《雅舍小品》源於戰時陪都重慶，梁實秋應邀為週報撰寫專欄，週報停刊後文緣不斷，四十餘年笑談人性與世態。梁氏的散文典雅雋永，信筆博引中西經典，詠古諷今，調侃當代的生活與文化，頗見率真可喜的智趣。 選集卷二輯錄了梁氏二十世紀七十至八十年代的作品。他的文筆精煉如故，風格日趨穩健和醇厚，惟從尖刻的諷刺微妙地轉向謔而不虐的幽默；不過，他的鄉愁卻與歲月俱增。