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A review by ashleylm
The Deranged Cousins, or, Whatever by Edward Gorey
2.0
I read this as part of Amphigorey Too, the collection of stories that didn't seem worthy of Amphigorey. Some are better than others. Most are better than this one. The alternative title "Whatever" seems apropos.
There are three cousins with similar names for no reason (in fact, it's excessively unlikely, as a few people would have to have set out to marry someone else whose last name was a mishmash of other family names, which is not how people decide on a spouse).
They do things, then die. The only part that cheered me up a bit was them merrymaking late into the night, since, as orphans, they had no one to tell them not to.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
There are three cousins with similar names for no reason (in fact, it's excessively unlikely, as a few people would have to have set out to marry someone else whose last name was a mishmash of other family names, which is not how people decide on a spouse).
They do things, then die. The only part that cheered me up a bit was them merrymaking late into the night, since, as orphans, they had no one to tell them not to.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)