The Doubtful Guest
by Edward Gorey
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Book Summary Information
Author: Edward GoreyEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-06-15
ISBN: 0151003130
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Book Reviews of The Doubtful Guest
Book Review: The Doubtful Guest
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a charming story of a questionable character who appears out of nowhere and endears "it"self by simply being itself: odd, personable, quirky, and tenacious. The pen and ink drawings by Edward Gorey are impeccable (his formal training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago lasted only one year), showing a natural gift for precision and imagination; they are used exclusively as signatures of the PBS series "Mystery." The Victorian/Edwardian theme creates another world, placing the reader in the late 19th, early 20th century of elegance and propriety, making the mysterious appearance of this peculiar "Doubtful Guest" even more peculiar. The fact that Mr. Gorey created these drawings and the story they tell in 1957 is testimony to its timeless, endearing, enduring quality.
by Elizabeth Wallace, author and illustrator of Jesus Christ In His Own WordsJesus Christ In His Own Words
Summary of The Doubtful Guest
A vaguely sinister comedy of manners by beloved artist Edward Gorey
Told in a set of fourteen rhyming couplets, The Doubtful Guest is the story of a solemn, mysterious, outdoor creature, dressed rather ordinarily in sneakers and a scarf, who appears on a winter night at a family's Victorian home and never leaves again. Gorey's eerie and charming illustrations accompany the verses, making this an enjoyably strange (and strangely enjoyable) read for all ages.
Originally published in 1957, The Doubtful Guest serves as a prime example of the beauty, eccentricity, and brilliance of Edward Gorey's work. If the book was read aloud without revealing the accompanying black-and-white drawings, you might guess the tale came from the quirky genius of Dr. Seuss. The rhyming couplets and nonsensical verse (about an even more nonsensical creature) feel familiar, but in Gorey's skilled hands, the experience becomes altogether new.
The doubtful guest shows up unannounced and unwelcome, yet its presence is accepted after only a brief interlude of screaming. The staid, pale, Victorian inhabitants of the mansion alternately stare and glare at the doubtful guest as it tears out whole chapters from books, peels the soles of its white canvas shoes, and broods while lying on the floor ("inconveniently close to the drawing-room door"). Strangely, or rather, typically, as this is a Gorey book, the stymied occupants never ask the guest to leave--and in 17 years it has still "shown no intention of going away." Maintaining a matter-of-fact tone in spite of true oddity is pure, delicious Gorey, and his trademark drawings are not to be missed. The ghostly, stark, and undeniably amusing illustrations make The Doubtful Guest an entrancing tale in which reserved, insular lives meet with the unexpected and bizarre. (Ages 5 and older)
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