Thurber: Writings and Drawings (Library of America) [Hardcover]

James Thurber (Author)

Book Description

Series: Library of America | Publication Date: October 1, 1996

"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.

Editorial Reviews

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.

From Library Journal

This work represents each decade of Thurber's writing career, from the slight New Yorker sketches of the 1920s to the irreverently affectionate portrait of that magazine's founder, The Years with Ross, of the late 1950s. Keillor's selection of Thurber's oeuvre is both the most generous and the most judicious volume available. Known largely for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1939), which dramatizes the battle of the sexes and the male animal's ineptitude in the face of modern technology, Thurber was an Algonquin stylist with a wide range of talents. These talents are effectively displayed here in the self-deprecating reminiscences of his eccentric Columbus, Ohio, family; beast fables with a cutting edge; and almost 500 inimitable line drawings. A valuable work; highly recommended for all libraries.?Charles C. Nash, Cottey Coll., Nevada, Mo.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1004 pages
• Publisher: Library of America (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883011221
• ISBN-13: 978-1883011222
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humor talk, April 23, 2005

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thurber: Writings and Drawings (Library of America) (Hardcover)

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.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-buy for Thurber lovers!, April 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Thurber: Writings and Drawings (Library of America) (Hardcover)

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."

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best kept secrets of American Literature!, May 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Thurber: Writings and Drawings (Library of America) (Hardcover)

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.