Edward Goreys off-kilter depictions of Yuletide mayhem and John Updikes wryly jaundiced text examine a dozen Christmas traditions with a decidedly wheezy ho-ho-ho. 1. Santa: The Man. Loose-fitting nylon beard, fake optical twinkle, cheap red suit, funny rummy smell when you sit on his lap. If hes such a big shot, why is he drawing unemployment for eleven months of the year? Something scary and off-key about him, like one of those Stephen King clowns . . .
Thoughts
John Updike's prose and Edward Gorey's imagery combine to form succinct and amusing counterpoints to the standard overly joyous takes on the holiday season. Super quick read and well worthwhile even for just a dose of inspiration.
Edward Gorey's illustrations in this work really reminded me of Roald Dahl's. Both worked in the children's literature realm, and both had a bleak, sketchy, hectic/anxious feel to their work. As far as I can tell, they never met, but were contemporaries, growing up on opposite sides of the Atlantic.