Holiday treats for lovers of literature
REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE
You don't need a degree in English lit to find great gifts for the book lover on your list this Christmas. Because the editors of BookPage know that seasonal shopping can be the toughest test of the year, we've compiled a special syllabus of recommended reading to help you make the grade. With the following quartet of terrific titles, shopping for the bibliophile is elementary—no Ph.D. required.
The magazine America grew up with
It's a cultural institution, a reflection of our national character, a testament to our affection for the absurd. The New Yorker made its publishing debut in 1925 and has been amusing readers ever since. Now, as the revered weekly prepares to celebrate its 80th anniversary, The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker—sure to be the blockbuster book of the holiday season—collects 2,004 of the magazine's comics in one uproarious, outsized treasury.
Organized into chapters based on decade and subject matter, the cartoons presented here tackle topics of timeless import like dogs, cars, drinking and politics. The pieces span nearly a century and serve as a record of our cultural evolution, documenting the intellectual shifts, political attitudes and moral trends that marked America's coming-of-age. As the pages pass, references to Prohibition and the Depression and the scandal of divorce give way to mentions of drugs and yoga, motorcycles and miniskirts. Indeed, one of the many pleasures offered by this nearly inexhaustible book lies in the comparison of eras: James Thurber's good-natured jibes at humanity, for example, which he produced in the 1930s and '40s, stand in fascinating contrast to Saul Steinberg's contemporary, irony-laden offerings.
Over the course of the volume, all of the magazine's classic humorists are represented—William Steig, George Booth, Charles Addams, Roz Chast and Gahan Wilson, among countless others—all artists who helped define America's sense of humor with their wit and brevity, with their skill at distilling the human experience into the confines of a cartoon. A roster of beloved New Yorker writers, including Ian Frazier, Roger Angell, John Updike and Lillian Ross, contribute introductory essays to each chapter, providing background and context for the selections. Two complementary CDs contain every single cartoon published in the magazine, from February 21, 1925, to February 23, 2004. That's 68,647 different reasons to laugh. Truly a grand anthology.
|
Back to the woods
An artist unafraid to improvise at life, Henry David Thoreau was a man who dared to be an idealist. In 1845, he conducted his famous experiment in the woods of Massachusetts, single-handedly building a cabin on Walden Pond, where he weathered two winters in solitude. Honoring his strength of spirit and unique
wisdom, Walden: 150th Illustrated Edition of the American Classic was recently published, with unforgettable color photographs by Texas native Scot Miller. Released to mark the 150th anniversary of the original publication of Walden, this beautiful volume was produced by Houghton Mifflin (Thoreau's original publisher) in conjunction with the Walden Woods Project, a nonprofit organization established by singer-songwriter Don Henley to protect the wilderness immortalized in Thoreau's work.
Complementing Thoreau's original text, Miller's stunning photographs capture the serenity and majesty of the Massachusetts wilderness in each of the four seasons. With a special introduction by nature writer E.O. Wilson, this lavish volume is a bargain at $28.12 (that's half a cent less than Thoreau spent on the construction of his cabin). A portion of the proceeds from sales of the book will go to the Walden Woods project.
|
Mistress of American letters
Speak, So You Can Speak Again: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston is a one-of-a-kind retrospective of a remarkable author. Produced by Lucy Anne Hurston, niece of the novelist, and the estate of Zora Neale Hurston, this unique book provides an in-depth look at one of the formative voices in American literature. Presented in an interactive, lift-the-flap, scrapbook format, Speak traces the life of this spirited writer, from her birth in 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama, through her involvement in the Harlem Renaissance and career as a fiction writer, to her groundbreaking work as a collector of Southern folklore.
As the book reveals, the woman who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God was an innovative, independent artist who attended Barnard College in the mid-1920s (she was the only black student at the time), worked as a drama teacher for the Works Progress Administration (along with Orson Welles and John Houseman), and embraced scandal (she smoked in public and had a trio of husbands, one of whom was 25 years her junior). Filled with artifacts, correspondence and rarely seen visuals, this special volume, which also includes a CD of radio interviews and folk songs performed by Hurston herself, is a unique homage to an adventuresome author.
|
A writer's refuge
A must-have for any bibliophile, American Writers at Home, co-published by
the Library of America and the Vendome Press, provides a peek into the private lives of 21 famous literary figures. Taking readers on a coast-to-coast tour, this wonderful book visits the painstakingly preserved homes of a wide range of writers. From Eugene O'Neill's elegant, understated residence in Danville, California, to Washington Irving's charming cottage in Tarrytown, New York, the volume presents a liberal cross section of authors, regions and eras. Photographer Erica Lennard provides captivating portraits of each artist's workspace, illuminating the day-to-day routines of American favorites like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Frederick Douglass, Emily Dickinson and Edith Wharton.
The text by poet J.D. McClatchy includes fascinating anecdotes about the domestic habits and working methods of each figure. The breathtaking visuals, showcasing typewriters, parchment, manuscripts and other tools of the trade, combined with McClatchy's commentary, make the book an intriguing meditation on the importance of personal space to the creative lives of writers.
|
REVIEW BY MICHAEL SIMS
It's elementary, my dear reader
If you're a Sherlock Holmes devotee, you will be delighted to learn that there is a new two-volume annotated collection
of the Victorian detective stories. For the price of three commonplace hardbacks, you can own a mammoth state-of-the-art
edition of some of the most entertaining stories ever written.
Don't confuse this new set with the justly famous Annotated Sherlock Holmes by William S. Baring-Gould, published in 1967. Klinger's work really is a whole new edition, occasionally referring to the Baring-Gould but never dependent upon it. These first two volumes contain all 56 stories about the great detective and his devoted Boswell, arranged in the order of the original collections. The four novels will follow next year in a third volume.
If you already have the Baring-Gould edition, you face an obvious question: why would anyone need two annotated sets of Sherlock Holmes? First because, despite the distractions of a scary world, nerdy scholars never cease burrowing after more details, thus further enlightening us about an ever more distant Victorian England; and second, because there were many lonely illustrations yearning for the society of their fellows. This book is stuffed with glorious artwork, from the original magazines, from various book editions, from catalogs and albums. Fans simply cannot afford to miss these excellent books.
|
Julie Hale is a writer in Austin, Texas.
Support your