The Twelve Terrors of Christmas
Edward Gorey's off-kilter depictions of Yuletide mayhem and John Updike's wryly jaundiced text examine a dozen Christmas traditions with a decidedly wheezy ho-ho-ho. This long out-of-print classic is the perfect stocking-stuffer for any bah humbug. 32 pages, smyth-sewn casebound book, with jacket.
The Twelve Terrors of Christmas Accessories
 Cautionary Tales for Children
The Gashlycrumb Tinies
The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary
The Doubtful Guest
Amphigorey
The Gilded Bat
The Epiplectic Bicycle
Category: Fifty Drawings by Edward Gorey
The Sopping Thursday
The Other Statue
The Twelve Terrors of Christmas Reviews
The Twelve Terrors of Christmasa delightful tongue-in-cheek revelation in 12 vignettes of the situations we mere mortals find ourselves while seeking the perfect, unblemished holidayhas quickly become a holiday classic. Twelve cheers for a true winner. It may be anti expectations but never anti Christmas.
John Updike's prose gives Christmas the kick in the teeth it secretly wants, and Edward Gorey's illustrations are just the right wrapping paper for the beating. I'm only disappointed that Updike isn't as good a vehicle for Gorey's illustrations as Gorey himself. The Twelve Terrors is as demented as I'd hoped for.
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I was hoping for another dose Gashlycrumb Tinies (Gorey at his best) but I set my hopes too high with this collaboration. Twelve Terrors is a bedtime story that steers kids away from piggish consumerism, carries them through angry cynicism, and finally ushers them into thoughtful enlightenment.
I think it's not what it appears to be. They hated it and were baffled at why anyone would send it. I saw this book in a bookstore and "leafed through" it, I love Gorey and irreverent Xmas books, so I sent it as a gift to some close family members. I have to echo some previous sentiments. So look before you leap, especially if you usually like Gorey and think this might be a good gift for fellow travelers.
Ebenezer Scrooge would have kept this book on his coffee table, but he was probably too cheap to buy it. A nice gift for someone who prefers hemlock to holly and avoids mistletoe. This is the anti-Christmas cold pricklies for those who don't enjoy the warm fuzzies of the season (and even for those who do). I thought the illustrations were gloomy and in keeping with the tone of the book. Bah to those who found this book slight and unfunny. This is a sarcastic, cynical look at some Christmas traditions, and I found it funny and even a little insightful.
I really like Edward Gorey's style of writing-kind of dark and quirky-not really for children. Very tongue in cheek and funny.I buy all his book I can get andf also like his drawings.
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