The Thurber Carnival

It is possible that I had first come to enjoy the works of James Thurber from before I could read. We had several of his books including the 1945 addition of The Thurber Carnival. In the course of flipping through them I would've found and certainly enjoyed his childlike drawing style long before I came to appreciate itssometimes subtle and sophisticated humor. Some years later I would've read the several Thurber books we had and then for some reason not return to him for decades.What I remember most from that first reading was how many of the stories I found quite funny. What struck me most forcibly in this newer edition is how many stories were not intended as humor. Early in his career James Thurber was taken on as a writer for then brand-new magazine the New Yorker the joke was that he came in as an editor and worked his way down to be a writer. How much the character and personality of the New Yorker in 2015 is a continuation of traditions that James Thurber and his editor and friend Harold Ross ( for whom the book is dictated) built in the 1930s is a subject more appropriate for English major dissertations. If these pieces are foundational they speak of an editorial policy that had for clever New York sophisticates and simpler Ohio country people.The Thurber Carnival is divided up into several pieces a few not before published in book form but most drawn from earlier collections. Of course we have The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and one of my own favorites The Unicorn in the Garden. Although possibly the single funniest piece is his one-page rewrite of Little Red Riding Hood.What I had forgotten for my original read those several decades ago was how many of these pieces are not intended to be humor. When speaking of the family bulldog there is a certain respect bordering on reverence some of the other pieces are more profiles but not quite caricatures. This speaks to Thurber's ability to hone his language. There is care and precision in Thurber's use of the language such that he can sneer or lightly satirize with very small shifts in word choice. He certainly can be heavy-handed and there are pieces where one suspects his various medical histories and swiftly failing eyesight were more in command of what is on the page than what a less physically frustrating life would've produced. James Thurber seem to be one of those who is best able to praise every era except his own. In this respect it is interesting to see a man of almost 100 years ago complaining about the eminence of the collapse of civilization in many of the same terms one can find in 2015 or an 1815.Much of the last 50 or so pages of this book highlight Thurber the cartoonist modern critic might speak to his economy of line in his impressionistic representation of intent rather than literal photographic reproduction of figures and animals. This would suggest that he was capable of photographic reproduction. Likely he had no interest in attempting photo-realism. He drawings only appear to be crude. A few curves create a period style woman's cloth hat, or a dogs worried expression. In one cartoon a disheveled woman, carrying a pistol has barged into a couples flat to ask if `You folks have any .38 cartridges?How well his pre-World war II humor translates into the 21st century may be a matter of taste. Little of what he says about marriage should be taken literally but it rarely assumes the woman's point of view. Alternately he seems to have little use for weak overly accommodating women. In his cartoon story, the War between Men and Women, he has the men winning, but his women are not bowed by defeat. Thurber women smash the ball in Croquet, or throw it when bowling.The Thurber Carnival does not strike me as consistently clever as an equal quantity of Mark Twain, or as slick as early Woody Allen College Comedy. I rarely found myself laughing. There much in The Thurber Carnival that should have you smiling and the rest will help you to see into a period of time before now, but not that far removed.

Don’t like the writing style. If I was bored and didn’t have anything else to read and I was stuck somewhere with absolutely nothing else I could do and it was the only thing to read I might read it out of pure boredom

In better than expected condition and doing its job of intriguing and fascinating my 10Y old son, and causing him to ask me questions about the stories. A very good find!

This collection of short stories by James Thurber offers a glimpse into the dreams and fantassies of the 1930s and 40s.As a school boy In the 1940s I identified with Walter Mitty, and was surprised that my colleagues and medical students I associate with today give me a strange look when I comment on isn't this or that new fangled idea just like Mitty would dream about.Perhaps it would be worthwhile for our time to read Thurber's short stories, to reflect and make our own fantasies instead of letting the electronic media feed us the rubbish they sell as entertainment.

Grew up on Thurber. Forgot how clever he was. He really gets the dynamic that occurs between people. I read this in one setting and laughed out loud. There's some racism included, which I don't like. But I think it was common during his time to write like that.

James Thurber is no longer a widely-known American humorist, despite Keith Olbermann's best efforts, and that is a shame. Thurber had a magic to his writing, especially in his essays on his boyhood in Ohio, introducing bizarre and possibly mentally ill characters so gently and persuasively that you had to love them. No, he won't have you rolling on the floor with laughter, but his humor has already stood the test of time, as he died more than 50 years ago but is still read and enjoyed. That's not true of many humorists, as comedy often ages badly, but Thurber lives on in his work, and The Thurber Carnival is an excellent digest of some of his best.

I grew up with James Thurber. My father read his stories to my three brothers and myself as soon as we could understand language. His humorous insight and sideways take on human behavior formed a great part of my psyche; my view of human life, and I have bequeathed that on my five children, that they may share his unique, "disturbing" perspectives. I'm now sixty-seven, and have not yet grown tired of re-reading his stories. I fear I may someday find myself standing on the corner in the bowels of a large city, echoing down the cavernous structures of tall buildings, handing out Thurber's excerpts as madmen thrust bible tracts at passersby.

Since i was a kid, when my mother first read Thurber to my brother and i, i've loved his writing. The Thurber Carnival is a great collection of his better known writings, including My life and Hard Times, The Unicorn in the Garden and selections from The Owl in the Attic, among others. It also includes a nice selection of his drawings and cartoons.I purchased this particular copy for a friend of mine who has *gasp* NEVER READ THURBER. I think this is a great introduction to his works for those who have never read them, while being great for those who are familiar but want a sampling.

Thurber wrote for the New Yorker in its heyday back in the 50's/60's, under one of its most famous Editors, Harold Ross. This was a creative time for American Literature generally I think, E.B White (Principles of Style) was on the staff there too, so was a young Truman Capote for a time. Thurber chronicled his life, the times he lived in, exploring society through the semi-fictional microcosm of his life in New York and his earlier years in Columbus, Ohio. He has a wonderful writing "voice", easy, laid back American, humourously accentuating the eccentricities of his contemporaries. He is perceptive, revealing truth through his observations, but there's no lecturing tone, no agenda or prejudice, just a clearly expressed perspective. He has a great deal of sympathy for people, their faults and flaws, and comes across as very human - his stories are a balm for the small wounds life inflicts on us daily, they make you realise you're not alone in this; where you've been today, Thurber walked yesterday and found something original and of value there. This is a compendium of some of his favourite stories and cartoons from earlier collections. Enjoy it - it's different and in spite of its age, oddly pertinent.

This is one of the best books one can ever read. James Thurber's poignant observations of everyday life in his time are classics and downright hilarious - see "The Night the Ghost Got In" for one of the funniest, yet believable, stories you will ever read. NOT TO BE MISSED! I would recommend this book to anyone.

Considering this book was released in 1945 it's probably no surprise that some of the stories just went completely over my head. However, there are also some absolute classics such as the Catbird Seat, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Snapshot of a Dog, The Macbeth Murder Mystery and many more.

This was a birthday present for my sister. It was a favourite book of our Mum's, which we both knew from early childhood. I've been looking out for a paperback edition for ages.She was absolutely thrilled!

Thurber is a well known comic literary genius. This book contains many of the authors short stories; including his most famous stort story that has been turned into film originally with Danny Kaye, but later turned into a modern day 'hash' of complete 'craptitude' 'The secret life of Walter Mitty.'