Amphigorey: Fifteen Books [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

First is "The Unstrung Harp" about a befuddled and (in appearance) paranoid writer who trudges through his maddening existence, as so many a writer inevitably will. The casual reader might find this tale odd, but anyone who has ever taken to writing seriously will feel nothing but empathy. Has one of the greatest ending lines of any story I've ever read.

Next is "The Listing Attic", a series of devilish ryhmes with correlating illustrations. Many of these are horrible in design yet strangely you'll find yourself laughing at the unfortunate mishaps that fall upon the characters.

Now, on to "The Doubtful Guest" about a mysterious penguin-like creature that arrives at a residence only to act in a seemingly irrational way, doing things for inexplicable reasons. Personally I think this is nothing more than a metaphor for the unexpected in life and how it's more irrational for people to waste time trying to make sense out of these things. But that's just me.

"The Object Lesson" is just plain confusing, as if Mr. Gorey was just penning random thoughts and then illustrating them. Definitely weird.

"The Bug Book" is pretty childish in design and, to me, not particuarly noteworthy.

"The Fatal Lozenge" is another series of ryhmes, although the level of morbidity and violence is pretty much maxed out. Reading these you won't find yourself able to laugh, only maybe able to produce a nervous twitter as you ponder how very real these situations could be.

"The Hapless Child" is nothing short of a masterpiece, evoking every emotion from love to terror this tragedy should have a place in American high school curriculum, but alas public education systems in this nation would rather not deal with horrible reality.

"The Curious Sofa" is an attack on preconceived notions of sexual morality, being pornographic only in suggestion the point is that if someone who considered him/herself to be in the right in his/her sexual ideals he/she wouldn't understand the innuendo of the words and illustrations. A very interesting piece.

"The Willowdale Handcar" is a story I didn't like.

"The Gashlycrumb Tinies" has to be my favorite Edward Gorey piece, a sinister telling of the Alphabet with a small child meeting its demise for each letter, kind of an anti-Alligators All Around. I have a separate review posted for this story as it is deserving of the title of literature.

"The Insect God" is another disturbing work involving intelligent, and apparently religious, giant sized bugs.

"The West Wing" is a series of illustrations that force the reader to create his/her own captions for what is depicted.

"The Wuggly Ump" is a silly song about a very hungry monster.

"The Sinking Spell" is another tale of an unexpected visitor, a creature on an indecipherable journey.

Last, is "The Remembered Visit" about a woman who can't forget the odd travels of her youth or her meeting of a once famous man.

That's it, the coffee table book to beat all coffee table books, the ultimate conversation piece. But, then again, everything Edward Gorey did was worthy of conversation.

Edward Gorey's work is at times subtle or broad, ironic or slaptstick, and always brilliant. How dare this man call himself a children's book author! His books are for everyone, not just tots. Startlingly funny and morbid, the books in this volume (and his other collections) will make the reader laugh and snicker until they are sick. The dark humor of "the Gashlycrumb Tinies", the burlesque of "the Curious Sofa", the absurdity of "the Doubtful Guest", the dry wit of "the Unstrung Harp", every story is different. Every story is a gem. Gorey's books are a must-have for absolutely everybody.