Elephant bangs train [Hardcover]

William Kotzwinkle (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 148 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon Books; First edition, first printing. edition (1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394460472
• ISBN-13: 978-0394460475
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,119,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Kotzwinkle is a celebrated satirist in the US as well as being author of several favourite books, including ET the Extra-Terrestrial and of course, the New York Times listed bestselling Walter the Farting Dog. He lives on an island off the east coast of America.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kotzwinkle Appears, June 12, 2000

By 

Carra R Lane - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elephant Bangs Train (Paperback)

The stunning debut of a grand American fabulist. Beyond the wondrous title, opening, & closing tales (generous blanket coverage of prehistoric, African, & Indian elephant/human/machine psychology/relations) this book includes the incredibly perfect "Marie" (the end of exhuberance), the incredibly perfect "The Great Liar" (the root of all fiction), plus several other amazements. Just a couple of clunkers, easily forgiven by grateful gentle readers.

Kotzwinkle's first book, which needs to be in print. Produce of a true deep sweet child/animal mind overlayered with a gravely dangerous literary sophistication. Funny beyond brief description or easy belief. Also remarkably kind, somehow, in spite of its occasionally alarming clarity. Mysteriously hopeful. Peculiar.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short Stories Poetic and Pointed, February 14, 2007

By 

K. Turner (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elephant Bagns Train (Mass Market Paperback)

Nicely written collection of short stories, including a couple that were expanded into the novel "Jack In the Box".

Personally I like William Kotzwinkle's pre ET books - The Fan Man, Hermes 3000, Swimmer in The Secret Sea, etc. better than the latter ones, and EBT is among the best.