juushika

These bind-ups still aren't as ideal a reading experience as individually printed books, and I'm sad that some of my favorites—particularly The Nursery Frieze—have never been reprinted as standalone volumes, because I'd love to own them.

But that Gorey self-published these slight little books & thus afforded himself room for creativity and experimentation and his distinctive niche grim humor, and that we nonetheless retain easy access to them despite the rarity/cost of first editions, and that reading his work in collection encourages a deep-dive into his work, his themes, how books interact with one another—all of these things are gifts. I wish that the collections were strictly chronological because it would help build that knowledge of his body of work, but honestly the arrangements are fine.

As usual, my most favorites/the most remarkable are outside the cut.


Title: The Beastly Baby
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1962)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 341,710
Text Number: 1213
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: This opens the Amphigorey Too collection, and it's the best way to dive back into Gorey. Gorey sometimes punches down, and he certainly leans into ableist tropes here; but this is so wholeheartedly off-color that it can't but be delightful. The thwarted baby-imperilments are fantastic, and have a well-rounded, giddy spite.


Title: The Nursery Frieze
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1964)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 341,740
Text Number: 1214
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: almost wish this were in alphabetical order, to better sell the conceit and because it if were it would perfectly mimic the "list unusual or tasty words" game that I play to soothe myself to sleep. But I'm still giving this five stars, as it's one of those Goreys I'd like to own and reread ad infinitum. The words selected are often so peculiar as to feel invented; the vaguely-unsettled beasts blob along in deceptive repetition; it throws a banal premise delightfully off-kilter, and I adore it.

1) This blurb/writeup from Dan Koster is so good, particularly "By putting the words in speech bubbles, Gorey encourages the reader to pronounce the words aloud or silently too themselves, savoring their strange syllables."

2) Comments here suggest the beast are capybara; I enjoy and agree.

3) The words are so good, so—as above—fun to say, and I legit thought half of them were invented. Words preserved below, although it's only half-realized without the illustrations. This post contains definitions.

( Archipelago, cardamon, oblouiquy... )

4) Some words are capitalized, for reasons I can't figure (although a few are proper nouns)—probably because they're more pleasing that way.(There's no hidden code in the capitalization and/or letters in the landscape, near as I can find, because I did look.)


( The Pious Infant )


Title: The Evil Garden
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1966)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 341,770
Text Number: 1215
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: The art here is sparser than Gorey's usual, with thin illustrations on white progressing to inky black panels. The structure and tone is familiar, a vaguely-period banality meeting the bizarre and morbid. It's not-unpleasantly samey—samey, that is, within in the context of Gorey, who is a reliable delight. And sometimes what makes a particular Gorey work is just that it appeals to one's personal aesthetic, and I sure am a sucker for an overgrown and weirdly malicious garden.


( The Inanimate Tragedy )


( The Gilded Bat )


Title: The Iron Tonic: Or, A Winter Afternoon in Lonely Valley
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1969)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 35
Total Page Count: 341,950
Text Number: 1220
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: The exaggerated horizontal panels lean into the atmosphere of stretching, inexorable loneliness; Gorey's uniquely pointless titles (titles which, in such a short piece, carry a lot of weight) create an appropriate sense of anticlimax. It's an effective, atmospheric little package: lonely, wintery, absurd, quaint—very Gorey, but the particular setting and stylistic experiments, like the inset circular vignettes, make it stand out within his work.


( The Chinese Obelisks )


Title: The Deranged Cousins
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1971)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 342,860
Text Number: 1225
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I'm trash for a The Secret History-esque "insular group of ne'er-do-wells destroyed from within by their own bombastic flaws" premise and Gorey's take on it a delight: the off-kilter, detailed inkwork sells the decrepit atmosphere; the indulgent melancholy is balanced by Gorey's ever-ready wry humor; it's theatric and critical, romantic and tragic, and profoundly silly. Insofar as Gorey's consistent, distinctive style means that specific works stand out just because their gimmicks appeal to the individual reader, this one could have been written just for me & I appreciate the gift.


Title: The Eleventh Episode
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1971)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 342,860
Text Number: 1225
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review:I prefer it when Gorey's series of unfortunate events have a tight focus, as this does—it grounds, or at least contains, the nonsense elements and nails the tragic:comic balance. This has a lovely gothic atmosphere, pleasantly melancholic and sometimes dreamlike, and one of my favorite endings: "'Life is distracting and uncertain,' she said and went to draw the curtain"—pointless and profound.


( The Untitled Book )


( The Lavender Leotard; or, Going a Lot to the New York City Ballet )


Title: The Disrespectful Summons
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1971)
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 15
Total Page Count: 342,920
Text Number: 1228
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Gorey does Lolly Willowes: a sudden dance with the devil means a woman has no choice but to curdle milk and read from Ninety-two Entirely Evil Things to Do before she's swept away to hell. The period-appropriate caricature of feminine respectability applied to witch clichés falls squarely within Gorey's stylistic wheelhouse and has an understated feminist vibe—without the autonomy of, again, Lolly Willowes, but Gorey's take on "well, I suppose I have to be evil now" is deceptively bland and enviously fun. Delightful; I want to read Ninety-two Entirely Evil Things to Do; this isn't perfect, but it's one of my favorite Goreys.


( The Abandoned Sock )


( The Lost Lions )


Title: Story for Sara: What Happened to a Little Girl
Author: Edward Gorey, Alphone Allais
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1971)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 30 [I'm guessing, can't find details on original publication & have since returned by reprint and can't count panels]
Total Page Count: 343,010
Text Number: 1231
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Apparently a translation and illustration of a poem by Alphonse Allais, who I've never read. But it's a natural fit for Gorey, who does great work both with apparently-imperiled-but-actually-evil children and with series of unfortunate event narratives, and this combines both to fun effect. Delightfully vicious, with a sweet zinger.


Title: Salt Herring
Author: Edward Gorey, Charles Cros, Alphonse Allais
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1971)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 343,060
Text Number: 1232
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Credited to Charlos Cros and Alphonse Allais, this piece has a storied history. Regardless, it's a natural fit to Gorey. Some of his work is so simple as to feel slight; this takes that and points it, a nonsense work for the sake of nonsense, with appropriately off-kilter panels that rotate orientation halfway through. Delightful!


Title: Leaves from a Mislaid Album
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Perigree, 1975 (1972)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: ~20, guessing again
Total Page Count: 343,080
Text Number: 1233
Read Because: reading the author, paperback bind-up borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Like The West Wing, this is a wordless work given context only by the title. The West Wing is better—its mysterious interiors invite investigation, so their haunting atmosphere really lingers. These are portraits, and perforce more explicable; the atmosphere is instead tropey and ominous, with shadow-faced figures and eyelines leading out of frame. But the overall effect is successful, especially in collection with other Gorey—his works are short, so every word matters; and in their absence, every detail of the inkwork is precious. (Also, the Doubtful Guest is there!)


( A Limerick )

I want to read fewer, longer, more substantial books this year, I said. As soon as I'm done reading all these picture books &c!, I said.


Title: The Lost Thing
Author: Shaun Tan
Published: Simply Read Books, 2004
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 314,380
Text Number: 1079
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: This is half pure aesthetic, a sort of "Machinarium pre-fall/with people" pseudo-steampunk, whimsical and visually dense with a touch of organic strangeness; it's charming and distinct. The half which is narrative is a mixed success. A meditation on the way that society encourages conformity and smothers individuality works well within the steampunk-esque style, capitalizing on the aforementioned visual density of cubicles, pipes, residents. But it's a trite, self-satisfied theme, and while the wry and melancholy tone introduces some depth there's not enough room in a picture book for nuance. This is interesting as the first picture book from & my introduction to a promising author/artist; it's not satisfying, but it encourages me to read more Tan.


Title: The Arrival
Author: Shaun Tan
Published: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 130
Total Page Count: 314,540
Text Number: 1081
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: The Van Allsberg-style diffused grayscale photorealism combined with the McKean-style statuary creates an engaging fantastic world with lush panoramas. But it doesn't feel like a fully realized world for the same reason that I don't love it as an exploration of the immigrant experience: everything has a 1:1 parallel, interchangeable except for initial confusion and strange appearance—and there's value in exploring displacement and acclimation, but I wish this went deeper to look at the ways that immigrants change and are changed by their new homes. There's not much room for that here, particularly because the wordless narrative demands a relatively straightforward plot (although there's room for mysteries to linger in the backstories). But that wordlessness draws the reader in, demanding they interpret—and inhabit—the narrative. It trades nuance for introspection and wonder, making it more emotionally affecting than substantial.


Title: The Osbick Bird
Author: Edward Gorey
Published: Pomegranate, 2012 (1970)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 314,410
Text Number: 1080
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: This can be read as a charming odd couple or a metaphor for making peace with a life changed (say by illness or grief), but it succeeds because it's both. Gorey's style is a balance of humor and macabre, and here that creates a playful, knowing ambiguity. The use of negative space is effective (and unusual within the Gorey I've read thusfar), and the bird is distinctively drawn, with expressive legs that contort to mimic his human counterpart. While this isn't my favorite Gorey, I find that it lingers.


Title: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Published: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 16
Total Page Count: 314,540
Text Number: 1082
Read Because: reread/reading the author, hardback from my personal collection
Review: Faces and children (particularly mouths) are Van Allsburg's perpetual weakness, so the best panels here are the rare exception to that rule or obscure the faces. Otherwise, the art is phenomenal—a diffused grayscale photorealism which is dreamy but precise. It's the perfect style for the speculative elements: just on the edge of reality are silly golden-age SF concepts, are eerie and ominous magics, are stories just beginning. The panels with their single-sentence captions snapshot that moment of beginning and offload the logic of lead-up and resolution in the best way. This was a childhood favorite but, contrary to the introduction, it's never inspired me to write an accompanying story. I prefer the potential, enchanting and inspirational, of a story glimpsed but unknown—as thus perfect. (Apparently a tie-in short story collection came out in 2011 and I can think of no book less desirable.) This has a flaw or two but I love it beyond reason, as much on this reread as I did back then.