Sunday, October 28, 2007

Thurber for Mystery Lovers

by Julia Buckley
Recently I've been reading to my sons from James Thurber's wonderful humor anthology called The Thurber Carnival; they're having such fun with it that they've been picking it up and reading it themselves in quiet moments. The other day we asked my son if he had readied his uniform for school, and he yelled, "No, sorry, Mom--I was reading Thurber!"

Hard to be upset about an excuse like that, especially when it comes from a nine-year-old boy (who is currently writing his own novel, called The Vengeance Story). :)

Anyway, all this talk of Thurber put me in mind of a book of his that all mystery lovers would enjoy, called Thurber on Crime. Donald Westlake writes the Foreword to this fun volume of Thurber's crime-related humor, and he is obviously a Thurber fan. Only Thurber fans really "get" the idea that the little bland man with a shy manner and a deeply repressed desire for revenge can be amusing. Thurber is, of course, the author of such famous stories as "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (once made into a movie with Danny Kaye that was nothing like the original and became something Thurber himself would have quietly parodied) and "The Night the Bed Fell," which are not mysteries at all. But in this book, Thurber's daughter Rosemary provides stories that can be linked by Thurber's bent toward the sly, the mysterious, even the subtly macabre.

Westlake writes, "Gentle comedy is the hardest to make work." This a good assessment of Thurber, whose jokes are not always obvious, but become funnier the more one thinks about them, the more his dialogues roll around in the back of one's mind. "Mr. Preble Gets Rid of His Wife," seems to be much more an indictment of marriage than of murder, and "The Catbird Seat" continues the theme of the henpecked man, although both men get their revenge in the end, despite their mild-mannered reputations. In "The Macbeth Murder Mystery" a misguided woman decides that the solution to Macbeth was all wrong, that Macbeth didn't do it, and that she, a rather dubious sleuth, has it all figured out.

Added to the wonderful stories are Thurber's famous cartoons. Westlake writes, in the foreword, that a critic once called Thurber, whose cartoons famously appeared in The New Yorker, a "Fifth Rate Artist." Harold Ross defended him, saying "You're wrong. Thurber is a third-rate artist." Thurber's art, though, has an undeniable charm, and is even more impressive when one considers that toward the end of his life Thurber was almost totally blind, and had to create his cartoons on huge sheets of paper that were later photographed and shrunk down to size. Thurber once joked about this, saying he intended to title his autobiography Long Time, No See.

The cartoons, the vignettes and the stories all capture Thurber's sense of irony (and his capable use of parody) as well as his appreciation of crime fiction. Donald Westlake summed it up the best: "Thurber on Crime. There's nothing in the world quite like it."

44 comments:

Peter Rozovsky said...

I read "The Macbeth Murder Mystery" in a crime-fiction anthology. The story seems more an affectionate tribute to crime fiction than a piece of crime fiction itself.

In any case, I had no idea Thurber had written enough about crime to fill a book. If Donald Westlake says he did, though, I have to believe it.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I read a LOT of Thurber when I was in high school. This one is going on my Christmas List. Thanks, Julia!

Julia Buckley said...

You're right, Peter. In a way I suppose the book is an excuse to publish Thurber in a new genre, but I think this would appeal to mystery fans who also like Thurber.

Lorraine, I think you'll like it, although it might be out of print. Good ol' Amazon will help with that.

Peter Rozovsky said...

A good excuse, certainly. But I was (pleasantly) surprised to learn that Thurber had written enough stories related to crime to fill such a book.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth Zelvin said...

My favorite Thurber cartoon--a mystery with circumstantial evidence--is one in which a lady is confronting I rhinoceros, if I remember correctly. A man's hat lies on the ground between them, and the caption is, "What have you done with Dr. Millmoss?" At least I think it was Thurber and not Helen Hokinson. I last saw it a long time ago. ;)

Julia Buckley said...

"Dr. Millmoss" sounds like a very Thurber kind of name. :)

Our favorite is the cartoon in which a prosecutor is sternly facing a defendant and saying "Does THIS refresh your memory?" and he's pointing at a kangaroo standing next to him. :)

Julia Buckley said...

And Peter, if you ever have spare reading time amidst all of those wonderful foreign crime reads, you would find this to be a pleasant surprise. :)

Peter Rozovsky said...

I had the same thought you did, that Dr. Millmoss is a very Thurberlike name. I also have no doubt that I would enjoy Thurber on crime, just as I enjoy S.J. Perelman and Woody Allen on crime.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

bbsrcs noteworthy classified trusss grants abolish grammar disabil ramesh summarywe bubbles
masimundus semikonecolori

kamagra said...

I don't think this anthology being for chilfren because it has subliminal contexts ,The Thurber Carnival is for adults, you have to read them other stories.m10m

Prostrate Surgery said...

I enjoyed following the whole entry, I always thought one of the main things to count when you write a blog is learning how to complement the ideas with images, that's exploiting at the maximum the possibilities of a ciber-space! Good work on this entry!

Beard said...

Kick it into gear on 6 off . Have fun with toys ride Looking to play Monster Truck Games online for free? Choose Any of the Monster Jam Games and Start Playing Now at Monster Jam !

Anonymous said...

senior dating groups fl http://loveepicentre.com/ newest black online singles dating site

Anonymous said...

best selling pc software packages http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/fr/category-9/Antivirus-et-S-curit-?page=5 gge910 install software [url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/es/product-36356/Etasoft-EDI-Validator-2-1]window mobile software[/url] best free bible study software
[url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/product-37365/Video-Sound-Editor-2-2]Video Sound Editor 2.2 - Software Store[/url] why is software so expensive
[url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/product-33145/REVISIONFX-SHADE-SHAPE-4-0-for-AE-CS5-x64][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/3.gif[/img][/url]

Anonymous said...

It�s arduous to find educated people on this topic, however you sound
like you understand what you�re speaking about! Thanks

my page :: http://www.ambitiousindian.com/blog/view/254337/naughty-tips-for-online-free-dating-online

Anonymous said...

Hey! This is kind of off topic but I need some guidance from
an established blog. Is it tough to set up your
own blog? I'm not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I'm thinking about making my own but I'm not sure where to begin. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Cheers

my webpage http://compassspace.com/profile/DarrylRob

Anonymous said...

I just could not depart your web site before suggesting that I extremely enjoyed
the standard info a person provide for your visitors?

Is going to be back often to check up on new posts

Here is my site - face book of sex

Anonymous said...

Hello! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us
so I came to look it over. I'm definitely loving the information. I'm book-marking and will be
tweeting this to my followers! Exceptional blog and fantastic
design and style.

Here is my webpage: online dating site 100 free

Anonymous said...

advertising

Feel free to surf to my web-site ... www dating websites free

Anonymous said...

Along with every thing which appears to be building throughout this particular subject matter, all your viewpoints are actually very stimulating.
Having said that, I beg your pardon, because I do not give credence to your entire suggestion, all be it
stimulating none the less. It appears to everyone that your opinions are generally not completely

My web page: singles online

Anonymous said...

There is noticeably a bunch to realize about this. I feel you made
various nice points in features also.

My website; online dateing site

Anonymous said...

Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with
Search Engine Optimization? I'm trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I'm not seeing very good success.
If you know of any please share. Thanks!

Also visit my webpage - facebook of sex

Anonymous said...

Definitely imagine that which you said. Your favorite justification
appeared to be at the net the simplest factor to take into accout of.
I say to you, I definitely get irked even as people think
about worries that they just don't know about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the highest and also outlined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to ge

Also visit my web site dating advice

Anonymous said...



my blog post ... www.krupaitoon.com

Anonymous said...



Also visit my webpage - dating site dating site

Anonymous said...



My site ... date online

Anonymous said...



Look into my web page :: 100 free dating

Anonymous said...



Here is my weblog free date sites online

Anonymous said...

I have observed that rates for online degree authorities tend to be a great
value. Like a full Bachelor's Degree in Communication in the University of Phoenix Online consists of 60 credits with $515/credit or $30,900. Also American Intercontinental University Online comes with a Bachelors of Business Administration with a overall school requirement of 180 units and a tariff of $30,560. Online learning has made ng your college diploma been so detailed more than before because you might earn your own degree from the comfort in your home and when you finish from work. Thanks for other tips I have certainly learned through the blog.

Feel free to visit my web page; www.pitch-putt.com

Anonymous said...

advertising and *********** with Adwords. Anyway I am including this RSS to my email and could
glance out for much more of your respective intriguing content.

Ensure that you update this once more very soon..

My page ... christian dating sites

Anonymous said...

One other thing to point out is that an online business
administration course is designed for people to be able to effortlessly proceed to bachelor's degree education. The Ninety credit certification meets the other bachelor college degree requirements when you earn your own associate of arts in BA online, you should have access to the most recent technologies in this field. Some reasons w students would like to get their associate degree in business is because they can be interested in this area and want to receive the general knowledge necessary ahead of jumping right into a bachelor education program. Thanks alot : ) for the tips you really provide as part of your blog.

My webpage: black dating sites

Anonymous said...

Greetings! Quick question that's completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when viewing from my iphone 4. I'm trying to find a template or plugin that might be
able to resolve this problem. If you have any recommendations, please share.
Cheers!

My blog post: adult finder

Anonymous said...

Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before.
So nice to find any person with some unique thoughts on this subject.
realy thank you for beginning this up. this web site is something that's wanted on the internet, someone with a bit of originality. helpful job for bringing something new to the internet!

Review my web page ... facebook of sex

Anonymous said...

Hey, you used to write excellent, but the last
few posts have been kinda boring� I miss your tremendous writings.
Past several posts are just a bit out of track!

come on!

Feel free to surf to my blog post; facebook of sex

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your advice on this blog. A single thing I wish to say is always that
purchasing gadgets items over the Internet is nothing new.

In fact, in the past few years alone, the marketplace for online electronic products has grown substantially.
Today, you can get practically any kind
of electronic tool and devices on the Internet, which include cameras in addition to camcorders to computer parts and game playing
consoles.

Feel free to visit my weblog: cyber sex

Anonymous said...

I have noticed that of all sorts of insurance, health insurance coverage is the most controversial
because of the issue between the insurance company's need to remain afloat and the buyer's need to have insurance coverage.
Insurance companies' income on overall health plans are extremely low, as a result some companies struggle to generate income. Thanks for the concepts you discuss through your blog.

Have a look at my web blog ... adult sex

Anonymous said...

I�m not sure where you are getting your information, but great topic.
I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
Thanks for great information I was looking for this info for my mission.


Look into my webpage; fuck book

Anonymous said...

Excellent post however I was wanting to know if you
could write a litte more on this subject? I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Many thanks!

Feel free to visit my web blog cyber sex

Anonymous said...

you've an incredible blog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my blog?

Take a look at my web-site ... adult finder

Anonymous said...

It�s really a nice and helpful piece of info.
I�m glad that you shared this helpful information with us.
Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.


Here is my website: free dating site

Anonymous said...

r ideas.

Here is my homepage ... free adult dating sites

Anonymous said...

You could certainly see your enthusiasm in the
work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate
writers like you who aren't afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.

Stop by my web blog - casual encounters

Anonymous said...

If some one wishes to be updated with most up-to-date technologies then he must be pay a quick visit this web site and be
up to date daily.

Review my web page :: übersetzung französisch deutsch gratis

bobeager said...

Do you see any influence of Edgar Allan Poe's writings on Thurbers work.
My LIfe and Hard Times is a classic still has meaning decades later. The stories sound like a conversation somebody just sitting next to you and telling you a story.
There is a new version coming out of Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Ben Stiller. Your thoughts or anyone else's. Should be interesting.