Shelf Awareness--Nonsense!

PB Review: Nonsense!: The Curious Story of Edward Gorey

Nonsense!: The Curious Story of Edward Gorey by Lori Mortensen, illus. by Chloe Bristol (Versify/HMH, 40p., ages 4-8, 9780358033684, March 24, 2020)

Echoing a style used by the subject himself, Lori Mortensen (Away with Words) and Chloe Bristol use "words and pictures. And pictures and words" to capture the essence of that well-known, eccentric creator Edward Gorey (1925-2000).

Gorey was born in Chicago, a brilliant, self-taught child who "gobbled up adventures and mysteries. Comics and poetry." When he happened to enjoy "the whimsical Alice in Wonderland and the frighteningly gruesome Dracula, one after the other," that strange combination captured his imagination "like a penguin sipping tea on a runaway train." Young Edward skipped grades in school and moved many times with his family, but the boy "scribbled and sketched, sketched and scribbled, wherever he went." When he turned 18, he was drafted and served as company clerk in "an army full of rules." After his service, Gorey arrived at Harvard, "skinny, furry-coated, ring-fingered, sneaker-footed" and ready to live by his own rules. He wrote poetry, prose and plays, but had yet to find his calling.

In 1953, he took a job in the art department of a New York publishing company. One day, Gorey began jotting down "stories that mingled sweetness and innocence, danger and darkness, all mixed up with his own brand of silliness," which he then illustrated. Publishers weren't interested in his work so Gorey published it himself. The "strange stories with curious titles" which featured "odd and unfortunate endings" made some parents angry. But Gorey refused to explain himself, insisting his books should not be taken seriously. They were just "Edward being Edward, with a hatful of nonsense thrown in."

Throughout Nonsense!, Mortensen's stylishly poetic prose calls attention to the element of fun in Gorey's work. Illustrator Bristol's (the Winterhouse Mysteries series) pencil and digital art evokes the sketchy black lines used by Gorey himself. Text and illustration together paint a satisfying picture of an eccentric who developed an endearing (and unusual) way of expressing himself--and garnered an enduring following in the process. As Mortensen's end notes point out, Gorey published more than 100 of his own books and illustrated more than 60 works by others, including Lewis Carroll, one of the authors who so influenced his life. She further states that Gorey's work and influence lives on in other creators: Lemony Snicket, Tim Burton and Neil Gaiman "must all tip their hats to Edward Gorey." As should anyone else lucky enough to happen upon this biography about Gorey's darkly "curious" work! --Lynn Becker, blogger and host of Book Talk, a monthly online discussion of children's books for SCBWI.

Shelf Talker: Throughout his life, Edward Gorey "scribbled and sketched" his way toward creating the brand of sweet-yet-dark books which have become synonymous with his name and beloved by generations.