Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Bloomsbury Publishing (1999), Hardcover, 64 pages
Description
Gorey's naughty, hilarious travesty of lust-now reissued in a special gift edition. 'A master of the genre of graphic storytelling and a brilliant draftsman' (New York Times Book Review).
Media reviews
Gorey’s tales, I began to see, can be divided into two types: overt and enigmatic. In his overt tales, like The Gashlycrumb Tinies or The Loathsome Couple, Gorey leaves little to the imagination. It is clear what is happening in each amusingly macabre sentence and illustration. (Gorey,
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incidentally, did not like the word “macabre,” perhaps due to having heard it too much in interviews.) In his enigmatic tales, by contrast, something, perhaps quite a bit, is left to the imagination. [...] The Curious Sofa, with its clever yet inscrutable ending, is also one of these. Gorey’s work had once reminded me of Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas or Neil Gaiman’s Coraline; now, despite the extreme brevity of his books, his work seemed darker and more complex than both. I loved it. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member caerulius
This "pornographic" work relies upon the terrible, filthy minds of its readers- positioning characters behind strategically placed objects and alluding to arcane and fetishistic acts of debauchery in arcane and obtuse ways, such as "demonstrating the Lithuanian typewriter."
If you find yourself
If you find yourself
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appalled, you've only your own dirty mind to blame, and if your mind is innocent, you won't get it. And that's exactly the point. As always, Gorey's irony is delicious, his art gorgeous and full of Victorian flair. Show Less
LibraryThing member Marse
This is a very short parody by Edward Gorey of Victorian gentlemen's naughty tales. Although the story (such as it is) is slightly Gothic and decadent in atmosphere, the pornography is all in the reader's mind. Not a single line (visual or verbal) would offend anyone... and yet... hmmm. It'll make
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you smile. Show Less
LibraryThing member riverwillow
This is another great little work from Edmund Gorey, which is funny and dark and naughty. None of the drawings are poronographic, all the characters are either fully clothed or covered by strategically placed objects,everything is left up to the reader's imagination. If you are a fan of Gorey's
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work this is a must read. Show Less
LibraryThing member dr_zirk
The Curious Sofa may well be Edward Gorey's masterpiece. It skillfully incorporates all of the strongest elements of his work, particularly his remarkable ability to incorporate "taboo" subjects (i.e. sex and violence) without stooping to the sort of cliches which would make the whole enterprise
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mawkish (on the one hand) or overly self-conscious (on the other hand). It takes real skill to deliver a tale that is charming, naughty, and emotionally evocative, and it takes even more skill to do all of that in a very short number of pages. Needless to say, Gorey pulls the whole trick off with style and grace to spare - a genuine masterwork all around. Show Less
LibraryThing member ThothJ
Very salacious. *giggle*
LibraryThing member ThothJ
Very salacious. *giggle*
LibraryThing member ThothJ
Very salacious. *giggle*
LibraryThing member ThothJ
Very salacious. *giggle*
Original publication date
1961
Physical description
64 p.; 6.06 inches
ISBN
0747541701 / 9780747541707