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If You Touch Them They Vanish
Gouverneur Morris (1876-1953) was the author of Aladdin O'Brien (1902), The Pagan's Progress (1904), The Footprint (1908), The Spread Eagle and Other Stories (1910), We Three (1913), The Penalty (1913), If You Touch Them They Vanish (1913), The Incandescent Lily (1914), and Keeping the Peace (1924). "Old Martha wondered if the Poor Boy would have a smile for her. He had had so many in the old days, the baby days, the growing-up days, the college days, the "world so new and all" days. There were some which she would always remember. The smile he smiled one Christmas morning, when he put the grand fur coat around her shoulders, and the kiss on her cheek. The smile he smiled that day when they met in front of the photographer's, and he took her in and had their photograph taken together: she sitting and glaring with embarrassment at the camera, he standing, his hand on her shoulder, smiling-down on her."
76 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1913
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 23, 2013
Fascinating book....honestly took a bit to figure out what the book is about. But when you do find it out...it's beautiful and simple to empathize with the main character.
August 25, 2020
A weird novella that is both a visual and a literary experience. It was a delight as an overall work of art, but it is a bit of a challenge to classify, describe, or to read.
The best way to summarize it is that a wealthy young man with a touch of psychosis, only referred to as "Poor Boy," is living with an elderly maid in an isolated Canadian lodge, withdrawn from polite society because he was abandoned by all his friends after being accused of a crime. His imagination and his friendship with his employee, who has cared for him since a child, are his only coping mechanisms with the increasing loneliness.
This book is full of strange transitions in perspective, forcing the reader to pay attention. For example, there is an abrupt anthropomorphizing of the birds singing outside Poor Boy's window. Similarly, the transition into the boy's accusation is not done in the course of traditional narrative. We are not told he was accused of anything or given any lead up to the point of his sentencing. In one moment we are learning about his youth, and the next he is pleading "not guilty" to an unknown crime. These are clever tools that do away with lengthy exposition, but can leave the reader disoriented.
The illustrations by Charles S. Chapman are also unusual. They are examples of the artist's singular "water-oil" technique, where he floats various oils in water onto the page, then overlays his canvas to absorb the color. The result is unique and mesmerizing, like photographs of a child's mind while listening to a fairytale.
And this book certainly has the feel of a fairytale, as supernatural elements are suggested, but overall it is a quaint and touching character study with a touch of romance. Give it a try.
The best way to summarize it is that a wealthy young man with a touch of psychosis, only referred to as "Poor Boy," is living with an elderly maid in an isolated Canadian lodge, withdrawn from polite society because he was abandoned by all his friends after being accused of a crime. His imagination and his friendship with his employee, who has cared for him since a child, are his only coping mechanisms with the increasing loneliness.
This book is full of strange transitions in perspective, forcing the reader to pay attention. For example, there is an abrupt anthropomorphizing of the birds singing outside Poor Boy's window. Similarly, the transition into the boy's accusation is not done in the course of traditional narrative. We are not told he was accused of anything or given any lead up to the point of his sentencing. In one moment we are learning about his youth, and the next he is pleading "not guilty" to an unknown crime. These are clever tools that do away with lengthy exposition, but can leave the reader disoriented.
The illustrations by Charles S. Chapman are also unusual. They are examples of the artist's singular "water-oil" technique, where he floats various oils in water onto the page, then overlays his canvas to absorb the color. The result is unique and mesmerizing, like photographs of a child's mind while listening to a fairytale.
And this book certainly has the feel of a fairytale, as supernatural elements are suggested, but overall it is a quaint and touching character study with a touch of romance. Give it a try.
December 3, 2023
That was so very cute
October 4, 2022
✔️ Published in 1913.
Wild. This is a novel that really tests the imagination of readers, and I like it for that. I enjoyed reading this.
The version I found on The Project Gutenberg has the color illustrations; Kindle does not have any illustrations.
🟣Kindle version.
🟤The Project Gutenberg.
Wild. This is a novel that really tests the imagination of readers, and I like it for that. I enjoyed reading this.
The version I found on The Project Gutenberg has the color illustrations; Kindle does not have any illustrations.
🟣Kindle version.
🟤The Project Gutenberg.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews