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A review by jason_pym
Amphigorey by Edward Gorey
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.