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| Thurber: Writings and Drawings (Library of America) | 
 enlarge | Author: James Thurber
Publisher: Library of America
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy Used: $7.98
You Save: $32.02 (80%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 128802
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1004
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.7
ISBN: 1883011221
Dewey Decimal Number: 818.5209
EAN: 9781883011222
ASIN: 1883011221
Publication Date: October 1, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
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Amazon.com Review
The shy Midwesterner James Thurber became a famed cartoonist and humor writer almost, it seems, by accident: Thurber in person was often depressed and self-conscious, darker strains that emerge fitfully in his sly, absurdist work. Garrison Keillor, a sunnier brand of Midwestern humorist, has assembled four longer works with many of Thurber's drawings and short pieces for the Library of America edition of Thurber's selected works. Many of these cartoons and writings are now classics, and Thurber's edgy, modernist humor--not to mention his usually bewildered protagonists--has influenced many of the best cartoonists today.
Product Description
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," "The Catbird Seat," The Last Flower, Fables for Our Time, The Thirteen Clocks, My Life and Hard Times, and other stories are included along with much of Thurber's cartoon collection.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
One of the best kept secrets of American Literature! May 8, 1999
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I've often thought that Thurber doesn't get the credit today that he deserves as a writer. This is probably because his works are not "deep" in terms of meaning or content. His mastery of language, though,is superb, and his stories are some of the most hilarious and best written I have ever read. I can read many of them over and over and still laugh out loud! His cartoons are clever as well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in humor and 20th century American literature.
A must-buy for Thurber lovers! April 19, 1997
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
Humorist Garrison Keillor has assembled in one volume of more than 1,000 pages the essence of James Thurber as satirist, cartoonist, short story teller, memoirist, and general observer of the foibles of his fellow human beings. Here are excerpts from Thurber's collections of his NEW YORKER pieces as well as some previously uncollected works and the text of his children's classic THE THIRTEEN CLOCKS; in which he never "talks down" to the kids. Some readers will appreciate such views of "The Battle Between the Sexes" as "Is Sex Necessary" and "Women and Men." Others will chortle over the best of "My Life and Hard Times" and Thurber's look at NEW YORKER founding editor Harold Ross. Thurber, unlike Sam Clemens, was able to see that everything is funny even if it wasn't happening to "the other fellow."
Humor talk April 24, 2005
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
James Thurber's brand of humor often went under the radar -- he didn't have scintillating wordplay, goofy puns or juvenile humor. (No offense to you, Mr. Barry -- I love your work too). But, as "James Thurber: Writings and Drawings" demonstrates, the subtle approach worked just as well.
Thurber wrote and drew so much during his lifetime that this book is actually not a full collection, but a sort of "Best of" collection. Thurber turns a satirical eye at sex, marriage, men who bark like dogs, old ladies who foretell doom, some rather dry little fables and spoofs, and a look at how the Civil War might have ended if Grant had been recovering from a bender. Not to mention the entire text of Thurber's children's novel, "The 13 Clocks," a slightly twisted fantasy about a young prince who must rescue the Princess, with the help of the nonsense-spouting Golux (who is not a mere device).
Admittedly, not all of them are strictly meant for humor -- "My Life and Hard Times" is a short, entertaining autobiography, without the excuses and ego trips that many autobiographies have. There are also bittersweet memories, such as the story of a faithful dog that Thurber had when he was very small.
There are also quite a few pictures -- Thurber had a cute, rounded kind of style, without a lot of details. One example is "The Last Flower," an anti-war parable in which after a devastating war, civilization falls and people forget everything, even love. Not all the cartoons are as quietly grim, however -- one is a man, woman and child romping through various obstacles together, as well as several standalone cartoons.
"James Thurber: Writings and Drawings" shows Thurber off to best advantage. It's a great collection not only because Thurber was a wonderful humorist, but also because the pieces in here show the full range of what he could do. Included are humorous anecdotes, personal reflections, tributes, sad stories, fables fiction, and funny little cartoons -- it shows what a versatile writer he was. Not just a humorist, but a writer.
And a cartoonist as well -- Thurber was able to draw entire picture books that had no set story, but could be interpreted as the reader wished. Most of his cartoons were more relaxed, with a sort of rounded, simplistic style that looks like he doodled them while he was thinking.
"James Thurber: Writings and Drawings" is not only a good collection of this now-legendary writer's work, but a good introduction to Thurber as well. Definitely worth checking out.
The only exception on the long list of old boring essayists. October 4, 1998
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
My teacher gave me a list of essayists and said pick one and read ten of the author's essays. I am glad to say that Thurber was an excellent choice and I laughed my way through this assignment.
A fine selection that will enable you to understand why he was so popular October 30, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
One should never confuse writing with a light touch for comic writing. Thurber expressed dislike for the word "humorist" and I can understand why. When I read his writing, it is clear that the effect is intended to talk about serious things, not weighty things, but with a light touch. He makes his point by putting on the coat and hat of someone and wearing it in a way that points out how ridiculous it is, after all.
For example, our age has been obsessed with sex for, well, the obsession sort of defines our age, right? Thurber's first published work was with E. B. White on "Is Sex Necessary?" and basically mocks the discussions of sex by supposedly serious analysts. He refers to the problems between men a women as a product of pedastalism and that there were diversions created by women and men to distract them from their desire to get together. Men developed hobbies and became devoted to sports, and women distracted men by making fudge. There are also early Thurber drawings that became such an effective part of his work and his fame.
This collection was put together by a very appropriate editor, Garrison Keillor. He has a wonderful ear for the kind of thing Thurber was after and has selected well. Most of the book contains selections, but there are four complete works. And there is a rich sampling of Thurbers drawings. We get examples of Thurber's writing over the 1920s through the 1950s. The collection has a great sampling of his writing about the struggles between men and women, which was a wonderful topic for the times in which he wrote. But we also get his wonderful fables for our time and the popular writings he wrote for children. However, unlike the jelly filled sweet pastries our time provides for children, these have more pain and harshness. While they are not fairy tales such as the brothers Grimm, they do have similar bite.
If you don't know James Thurber, you owe it to yourself to get to know his writing. First of all, it is fun to read and the cartoons a style unique to him. Second, while he is not as famous now as he was, his work remains strong and an important contribution to American letters. This is a fine collection and very much worth having.
The Chronology of Thurber's life and the notes about sources and texts also make a solid contribution to our enjoyment of the text and help us understand some of the names and events that were quite topical at the time the piece was published, but have faded into the mists of time since then.
Enjoy!
Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
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