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A tiny book with tiny comments on Christmas and all the stress it usually brings. I was hoping to be delighted with this little book, but it was pretty boring. The illustrations (Edward Gorey) didn't really enhance the words. My son seemed to like it though.
I really enjoyed this sort of anti-Christmas book. It points out how weird the Christmas holiday really is. Isn't the idea of Santa going down the chimney really strange?
Call me Scrooge but I found this little (and it's tiny) book disjointed and disappointing. I was hoping it would be a great little gift but I wouldn't gift it. Gorey's illustrations are always awesome although this is not his best work. As for Updike, the twelve pages vary in quality. Some are much more clever than others. Of Santa he says, "Something scary and off-key about him, like one of those Stephen King clowns." I wish all the prose was this good! It is nostalgic in the sense that it was
My type of Christmas. Bah Humbug!!!
(3.5 stars) Die Hard (1988), Gremlins (1984), Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Black Christmas (1974)... If you think any of these are just as acceptable Christmas entertainment as the more traditional ones, then maybe Updike's cynical (and often reasonable) musings and Gorey's creepy drawings about the different side of this holiday is for you. Whether you're wondering why Santa Claus is allowed to break in, or you hate the incessant push of trying to make people buy piles of
If Christmas is not your thing, if shopping for presents in overcrowded, sweaty, carol-blasting malls fills you with dread and you long for Halloween - this book is for you. Merry Crisis!
2021: Updike and Gorey – what could go wrong? Plenty! Always a fun one to revisit around the Holidays.I LOVED this! I'm a huge fan of both Updike and Gorey, so was tickled to find they had collaborated on a Christmas tale together. This truly is a hoot.
Merry Christmas, my Goodreads friends!Imagine what I find in my Christmas stocking but a lump of coal in the form of a tiny book written by John Updike and illustrated by Edward Gorey, inviting the Scrooge in every family to view the dark side of Christmas. One review where you can see some of the real highlight, Gorey's drawings:https://tygertale.com/2012/12/12/dece...A few excerpts of Updike's Grinchy humor:Santa, the Man: "if he's such a big shot, why is he drawing unemployment eleven months
I really love Edward Gorey's style, and that's main reason why I am giving this a 4 star rating. Otherwise, I'd only give it a 3 star rating. The text/prose was decent and made me smirk at times, but overall this little book was very short and could have been better.
A fan of Gashleycrumb Tinies and Amphigorey, I thought I would enjoy this book more. I appreciated the illustrations, in typical Gorey fashion, and the dark and cynical commentary on the holiday season, but the prose was a little too dry. A cute addition to my unique and skewed collection of Christmas paraphernalia nonetheless.
Gorey's illustrations would make terrific wrapping paper for gift giving to the Xmas Scrooges and curmudgeons on anyone's list --failing that give them this tiny treasure - Updike's text is upstaged a bit by Gorey's work but that's ok it's still a treat for the eyes ;)
I swear my tree does drink water in the middle of the night. This is strange because it is a fake tree. Have doubts about the holiday season? You should read this. And Updike nails the bits about presents.Update - students enjoyed this one
Aaaaaa! So much to fear!From the tree - At night, you can hear it rustling and slurping water out of the bucket. To the big man himself -If he's such a big shot, why is he drawing unemployment for eleven months of the year?Not to mention those sinister elves, tick-covered reindeer, shopping for, giving, receiving and returning gifts - the torture never stops!Though Updike has never been funnier, the absolute highlight of this little gift book is Gorey's art. His people, creepy and green in the g...
The weather has started to turn here in the UK, it is June and people are starting to put the heating back on so it must be nearly Christmas, right?This book is wonderful, it captures all the cynicism that anybody might have about christmas, like Santa being as scary as a character from a Stephen King novel. Those creepy little elves willing to work in dire conditions in one of the coldest places on Earth, what is their game? Mt favourite part is the ending about The Carols:What were our favouri...
I always knew that Santa was a fat lazy drunk. Don't trust that man in your house....Started off terrifying and ended up snoozy. Consumerism at its blahest. (Not actually a word)....Edward Gorey will always be the master of weird horror. This is a poor example of his work and it saddens me......
Probably need to read this every year. The illustrations by Edward Gorey are an added treat.
Nice little stocking stuffer for the anti-Xmas element in your family.
While I cherish and adore Edward Gorey's art, this was an odd book written by John Updike and illustrated by Edward Gorey (who is the reason I own it in the first place).
I wonder what exactly Mr. Updike was trying to accomplish with this little book. Humor? Entertainment? Or a warning of what to beware at Christmas! Regardless, you may find a pearl of wisdom in here – well, probably not. But the illustrations are worth seeing.
A simple story with great artwork.