Avis sur le produitAmphigorey Again by Edward Gorey (2007, Trade Paperback)

Gorey Like No Other!

Amphigorey Again is the fourth, and possibly last, anthology of works by American author and artist Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000). So what lies within?

The Galoshes of Remorse, a periodical illustration
Signs of Spring, a newspaper feature
Seasonal Confusion, a newspaper feature
Random Walk, a newspaper feature
Categor y, trade publication
(Man reading with cats in armchair [unlisted pen and ink and watercolor illustration])
The Other Statue, trade publication
10 Impossible Objects (abridged), pen and ink illustrations
The Universal Solvent (abridged), privately published
Scènes de Ballet, privately published postcards
Verse Advice, a newspaper feature
The Deadly Blotter: Thoughtful Alphabet XVII, privately published
Creativity, a periodical pen and ink illustration
The Retrieved Locket, privately published
The Water Flowers, trade publication
The Haunted Tea-Cozy, trade publication
Christmas Wrap-Up, a pen and ink and watercolor illustration
The Headless Bust, trade publication
The Just Dessert: Thoughtful Alphabet XI, privately published
The Admonitory Hippopotamus, a previously unpublished work
Neglected Murderesses, privately published postcards
Tragédies Topiaries, privately published postcards
The Raging Tide, trade publication
The Unknown Vegetable, privately published
Random Walk, a newspaper feature
Serious Life: A Cruise, a newspaper feature
Figbash Acrobate, privately published
La Malle Saignante, a previously unpublished work
The Izzard Book, by Mrs. Regera Dowdy, a previously unpublished work

Two previously unpublished works, The Admonitory Hippopotamus and The Izzard Book, are supposedly unfinished. The other unpublished work, La Malle Saignante is wonderfully conceived and realized; I wonder why it never made it to the bookshelves. But it is The Admonitory Hippopotamus I am especially fond. A compact epic, a touching and vivid portrayal, it is all text. Originally announced in the first Amphigorey back in 1972, I always kept a third eye out for its debut. Though it lacks illustrations, I easily let my mind cast the parts of Angelica and Sneezby with Gorey demoiselles and hippo in the manner of The Nursery Frieze (1964) – and am pleased as punch it’s included.

The newspaper and periodical features are pleasing treasures. Unless one was diligently clipping NY Times Magazine and NY Times Book Review and the like, one would’ve missed most of these. These seasonal limericks and short stories remind me how versatile Gorey was with the English, and occasionally French, languages. His Dogear Wryde postcard series, like Tragédies Topiaries, are strong examples of Gorey’s ability to tell stories in a similarly abbreviated medium, nearly all resemble well-articulated storyboards.

But what I really like is Gorey’s acres of black & white, pen & ink hatching & cross-hatching – and Gorey went to town in La Malle Saignante. The story could have fallen from a Louis Feuillade notebook, but the artwork is thick with graphic motifs used in earlier works like The West Wing (1963) and The Gilded Bat (1966). The density of hatch & x-hatch, if measured in strokes-per-inch, seems as painful as it is beautiful to regard. One can only hope Gorey enjoyed creating these as much as we enjoy soaking them in. Like so many other Edward Gorey classics, the closer one looks, the more one is drawn in.

-- G. EmilLire l'avis complet...

Good addition to the other Amphigorey books

If you're a Gorey fan, it is great to have some of the things not published before or that are hard to find. There is a repeat or two, but that did not bother me.

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Amiphigorey Again- A Experience That All Should Have

If you appreciate art, words, wit, and imagination, I suggest you immediately go out and find an Edward Gorey book. Although each story may not be linear each is an experience. His ink etches and simple use of words carry the book making it near impossible to put down.Lire l'avis complet...