"It came seventeen years ago--and to this day It has shown no intention of going away." So ends Edward Gorey's tale of an unannounced visitor and the staid Victorian family who would seemingly rather endure years of broken gramophones and missing towels than make a scene, or ask "It" to leave. I chose the ending of this book, as a beginning for the inaugural post here at the Edward Gorey House blog, because it is this scarf and sneaker clad imp that has haunted and amused me since an early age.The Doubtful Guest--first published in 1957--was probably my first foray into the world of Edward Gorey, and re-acquainting myself with this creature and his put-upon hosts is a perfect example of the multi-layered appeal of Gorey's work. His clever, rhyming couplets perfectly illustrated with his signature, elegantly intricate yet simple and uncrowded ink drawings were both strange and hilarious in a way that instantly appealed to me. Here was a story of deceptive simplicity, both funny, easy to read, and accompanied by great pictures, that was nonetheless almost totally incomprehensible. It offered no explanations and seemed to exist in a place devoid of time. (For instance, it puzzled me that our guest wears what looks like Converse All-Stars and his hosts' were planted firmly in the late 19th Century. However, Gorey's own fondness for Converse hi-top sneakers may be a give away.) The family of the house, dressed in their period attire of pinstripes and giant lounging robes, are relics frozen amidst the cross-hatched wood floors, wall paper and carpets of their drab and cavernous mansion. In typical Gorey fashion the child-like style of writing belies a pervasive sense of doom, with this particular family seemingly imprisoned by forces pre-dating the arrival of the titular guest. Indeed, in spite of its numerous peculiarities and disruptive behavior, its entire presence is barely acknowledged. Sustaining the appearance of decorum trumps everything--even the inexplicable.
Without awareness of it at the time, it was this willingness to leave things unsaid and allow the mind of the reader to probe words and images for meaning that kept me coming back to that dog-eared copy of "Amphigorey" again and again. The words and images contained in this surrealist comedy of manners worked itself into my mind in such a way that returning to them now feels both strange and familiar, a kind of dream logic not so different from the book itself.
So, Welcome to the Gorey House Blog, I show no intention of leaving...
The Doubtful Guest is available at GoreyStore.com...
