The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary [Hardcover]

Ogdred Weary (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1997

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).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As the New York Times writes of Edward Gorey, "His satires (often of tawdry Victorian mysteries) are not mere commentaries on the manners and mores of a distant age; they are inventive narratives about evil adults, mischievous children, illicit lovers and improbable beasts." Or, in the case of The Curious Sofa, improbable furniture. As Gorey tells us on the cover, this is "a pornographic work" (pornographic horror, in fact) with a picture on every page. And yet there's nary a nipple (nor a drop of blood) in sight. (For those who want some extras to pass around there's a 10-copy assortment with The Gashlycrumb Tinies.)

About the Author

Edward Gorey (1925-2000) wrote and illustrated such popular books as The Doubtful Guest, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, and The Headless Bust. He was also a very successful set and costume designer, earning a Tony Award for his Broadway production of Edward Gorey's Dracula. Animated sequences of his work have introduced the PBS series Mystery! since 1980.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (September 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151003076
• ISBN-13: 978-0151003075
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Pen & Ink

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

170 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex and violence - I think, May 29, 2000

By 

"lexo-2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary (Hardcover)

A particularly miniature gem from a master miniaturist, The Curious Sofa tells of the delightfully open-minded Alice who, approached one day in the park while she's eating grapes, takes a taxi ride with a young gentleman during which she does something that she's never done before. The story then proceeds to a country house, during which various upper-class folk introduce Alice to a dizzying variety of fun, variously involving a French maid, a Countess, a married couple who each have a wooden leg, numerous "exceptionally well-formed" gentlemen and an enthusiastic Old English sheepdog. You don't actually see anything, thanks to Mr. Gorey's discreet placing of trees, bushes, clothed persons and screens between us and the action, so fans of genuine porn can expect to be disappointed. But this is still a highly titillating book. It climaxes, as it were, when the whole party encounters the eponymous and somewhat sinister sofa, at which point events get rather beyond Alice's control in a way that I'll leave to your imagination.

I don't know what kind of tea Mr. Gorey drinks but I'd quite like to try some. If you wanted to explain to somebody what the word "suggestive" means, and were for some reason allergic to dictionaries, you were best off lending them this book. It's all good fun until the last page - which I find extremely worrying. And yet I'm afraid that says more about me than it says about the book.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Several reasons to beg loving relatives for this book.., December 2, 1999

By 

The Inscrutable (Oh, here and there.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary (Hardcover)

Every slightly Disturbed Person should have at least one example of Goreyhood on their shelves.. in case your loving relatives find this too distressing to buy for you, here are some sensible reasons to throw at them..

*Victorian orgies are cool

*It's a party accessory: read it aloud.

*It's a storybook for young, impressionable children.

*You can hit people with it and it will sting.

*Or, Whatever..

It's just so droll and vague and cheery. Besides, Victorian orgies are cool.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Volume Eleven Of The "Encyclopedia Of Unimaginable Customs", November 20, 2004

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary (Hardcover)

In a typically odd work by Edward Gorey, the protagonist, Alice, gets her eyes opened to many new experiences by companions of various sorts (including Colonel Gilbert and his wife Louise, both of whom have wooden legs, and Donald, a sheepdog). All these new activities are strangely suggestive, but not what most people would actually call pornographic; after all, the book is only illustrated with Gorey's discreet little drawings.

The sofa itself is contained in a room lined in polar bear fur, is upholstered in scarlet velvet, and has nine legs and seven arms; when the machinery starts within it Alice shudders and the book concludes in a delightfully ambiguous manner, in what may well be one of the strangest endings of any of Gorey's books.

I like Gorey, and this is a good little book, but is not actually one of my favorites, as I think there are others more whimsical, and a few are even stranger. For Gorey lovers this is a great little book, but understand that it is quite small, which makes it a questionable value, particularly in light of the excellent compilations available.