Years went by. Drusilla was still inclined to be forgetful.
One of the most touching books by Gorey. The illustrations are gorgeous, as it is always thYears went by. Drusilla was still inclined to be forgetful.
One of the most touching books by Gorey. The illustrations are gorgeous, as it is always the case, but the character’s wistful eyes are more striking than usual, since this is not an ordinary cautionary tale - it’s a beautifully written tale about that which has been neglected and will never return.
O what has become of Millicent Frastley? Is there any hope that she’s still alive? Why haven’t they found her? It’s rather ghastly To think that the chil
O what has become of Millicent Frastley? Is there any hope that she’s still alive? Why haven’t they found her? It’s rather ghastly To think that the child was not yet five.
As dark as it gets. From cinnamon balls to unspeakable ritualistic practices.
Have you ever wondered what happens to all the poems people write? The poems they never let anyone else read? � Shaun Tan, “Distant rain�
Tales from Outer
Have you ever wondered what happens to all the poems people write? The poems they never let anyone else read? � Shaun Tan, “Distant rain�
Tales from Outer Suburbia is my kind of book: eccentric characters and their naturally weird stories accompanied by gorgeous, bizarre and even heartwarming illustrations. Tan blends the ordinary and the fantastic so majestically that I’m grateful I found this book during a search for something quite different � that’s how the best books are discovered. In this one, I find traces of Tim Burton’s The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories (1997), which I read years ago and loved it. Tan’s book was published eleven years later and I found it now. What does that mean? It means I have an entire career to catch up with, which I’ll peruse as I try to keep my expectations low to avoid disenchantment � we all know how that is; thank you, Sylvia.
This book features a diverse cast. This is the water buffalo that helps out with directions:
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This is Eric, the foreign exchange student interested in everyday things others don't pay much attention to.
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There’s also a family that lives in a land they dislike but finds something special in their house (one of my favorites, for personal reasons explained somewhere else), people made of sticks wandering the suburbs, mournful dogs, a reindeer with no name that forces people to practice detachment, and the list goes on. (In any case, that reindeer should take with it the label that says this is a book for children.)
Every short story is a little gem that puts emphasis on the obvious, the forgotten, the neglected. This book has been like going back to basics, a good feeling in the year of pandemics, massive destruction, deepening political idiocy and a sense of individualism that touches the sky and will likely feed four hungry horses. It’s easily a 4-star book, but since I added my own emotional baggage to the equation, a 5-star rating it is.
One of my favorite short stories is the one I chose to open this sort of review with: "Distant rain". Anything unoriginal, like the title, becomes part of something memorable if there’s a skilled pen involved. . This short story resembles a dual prose-poem: light and simple on the surface but heavy and perplexing if one digs deeper, as it carries the weight of unspoken emotions.
Oct. 12, 20 * Later on . ** Credit: Illustrations from Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan....more
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