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sandygx260's review against another edition
5.0
Why haven't I read this book before now? I don't know, because I'm an idiot?
jason_pym's review against another edition
2.0
I'd only came across Edward Gorey maybe a year or so ago. His cats and strange creatures are endearing, and some of his other images remind me of Tim Burton, I was looking forward to this.
But it's not good. The dark, edgy attempts at humour in flippant (and possibly intentionally bad) rhymes don't sit well now if they ever did - children and women are abused and murdered, big men beat powerless men. I think the best comparison is Charles Addams who also has black and white cartoons filled with dark humour, but Addams is clever, charming, and genuinely funny. Gorey just comes across as a man with issues, and is obtuse, charmless, and tedious.
There are many writers and artists who aren't known outside of America, before the film came out you'd be hard pressed to find someone in the UK who'd heard of A Wrinkle in Time but it's a school staple over there. And it's a weird and interesting book, I'm happy so many kids get to read something so original. But then you get people like Gorey who are unknown because they just aren't that good.
But it's not good. The dark, edgy attempts at humour in flippant (and possibly intentionally bad) rhymes don't sit well now if they ever did - children and women are abused and murdered, big men beat powerless men. I think the best comparison is Charles Addams who also has black and white cartoons filled with dark humour, but Addams is clever, charming, and genuinely funny. Gorey just comes across as a man with issues, and is obtuse, charmless, and tedious.
There are many writers and artists who aren't known outside of America, before the film came out you'd be hard pressed to find someone in the UK who'd heard of A Wrinkle in Time but it's a school staple over there. And it's a weird and interesting book, I'm happy so many kids get to read something so original. But then you get people like Gorey who are unknown because they just aren't that good.
foofers1622's review against another edition
4.0
I first saw Edward's art in A House with a Clock in its Walls and it has haunted me ever since. These stories are just as creepy and very interesting.
gimpyknee's review against another edition
5.0
Gorey's tales and illustrations put the "g" in grim, ghastly, grisly, gloomy, and gruesome. My favorites here are The Hapless Child where the daughter and father are finally reunited, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, "K is for Kate who was struck with an ax", and the wordless The West Wing.
ezramol's review against another edition
5.0
The happiness this book has brought me is unmatched. Edward Gorey writes as if he was spilling tea (pun intended). Breezily, effortlessly, like it's almost a mistake he has just produced the most core shaking gut spilling soul unsettling masterpiece. His art, his mind, both flawless.
Fav stories: The Bug Book, The Happles Child, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Insect God, The Wuggly Ump.
Fav stories: The Bug Book, The Happles Child, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Insect God, The Wuggly Ump.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Death
_lilbey_'s review against another edition
5.0
The limericks are spectacular. The Doubtful Guest made me laugh so hard- especially laying in inconvenient places and drowning things he liked- reminds me of the monsters in my house. The Gashlycrumb Tinies are classic, and the West Wing is beautiful (I wish someone would do an escape room game based on it, it had that empty eerie feel that is just mesmerizing). And as always, none of the "stories" had closure or linear thought, but it was all so absurd and enchanting it didn't matter.
paperbacksandpines's review against another edition
3.0
Gorey was a man of dazzling intellect and he had a talent not only in his stunning artwork but in his writing itself. His creative anagrams of his own name, his brilliantly British sounding character names and places, and bizarre storylines that could only come from someone with a prodigious intellect and a voracious imagination. In addition, I loved pouring over his finely tuned artwork, what originally attracted me to his books. His drawings show painstakingly effort and attention to detail, especially in backgrounds and interiors. Some of his drawings were barely there, what I assume to be his early work. It's very clear that his artwork only got better with time.
This omnibus contains fifteen brief illustrated stories. I especially picked this book up for his story that intrigued me most of all: [b:The Gashlycrumb Tinies|47558|The Gashlycrumb Tinies (The Vinegar Works, #1)|Edward Gorey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327933644l/47558._SX50_.jpg|3211551], a deliciously dark abcdarium featuring outlandish causes of childhood deaths. Dark and macabre, these books are not intended for children. Gorey's drawings, vocabulary, bizarre names, and unimaginable plots make this book a very fun read.
This omnibus contains fifteen brief illustrated stories. I especially picked this book up for his story that intrigued me most of all: [b:The Gashlycrumb Tinies|47558|The Gashlycrumb Tinies (The Vinegar Works, #1)|Edward Gorey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327933644l/47558._SX50_.jpg|3211551], a deliciously dark abcdarium featuring outlandish causes of childhood deaths. Dark and macabre, these books are not intended for children. Gorey's drawings, vocabulary, bizarre names, and unimaginable plots make this book a very fun read.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
5.0
I have loved Edward Gorey since about the age of six--a friend gave my mother a copy of the Utter Zoo, and I have never looked back!