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There's a Mystery There: The Primal Vision of Maurice Sendak
An extraordinary, path-breaking, and penetrating book on the life and work and creative inspirations of the great children's book genius Maurice Sendak, who since his death in 2012 has only grown in his stature and recognition as a major American artist, period.
Polymath and master interviewer Jonathan Cott first interviewed Maurice Sendak in 1976 for Rolling Stone, just at the time when Outside Over There, the concluding and by far the strangest volume of a trilogy that began with Where The Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen, was gestating. Over the course of their wide-ranging and revelatory conversation about his life, work, and the fantasies and obsessions that drove his creative process, they focused on many of the themes and images that would appear in the new book five years later. Drawing on that interview,There's a Mystery There is a profound examination of the inner workings of a complicated genius's torments and inspirations that ranges over the entirety of his work and his formative life experiences, and uses Outside Over There, brilliantly and originally, as the key to understanding just what made this extravagantly talented man tick. To gain multiple perspectives on that intricate and multifaceted book, Cott also turns to four "companion guides": a Freudian analyst, a Jungian analyst, an art historian, and Sendak's great friend and admirer, the playwright Tony Kushner. The book is richly illustrated with examples from Sendak's work and other related images.
Polymath and master interviewer Jonathan Cott first interviewed Maurice Sendak in 1976 for Rolling Stone, just at the time when Outside Over There, the concluding and by far the strangest volume of a trilogy that began with Where The Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen, was gestating. Over the course of their wide-ranging and revelatory conversation about his life, work, and the fantasies and obsessions that drove his creative process, they focused on many of the themes and images that would appear in the new book five years later. Drawing on that interview,There's a Mystery There is a profound examination of the inner workings of a complicated genius's torments and inspirations that ranges over the entirety of his work and his formative life experiences, and uses Outside Over There, brilliantly and originally, as the key to understanding just what made this extravagantly talented man tick. To gain multiple perspectives on that intricate and multifaceted book, Cott also turns to four "companion guides": a Freudian analyst, a Jungian analyst, an art historian, and Sendak's great friend and admirer, the playwright Tony Kushner. The book is richly illustrated with examples from Sendak's work and other related images.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 9, 2020
Jonathan Cott interviewed Maurice Sendak, children's book author and illustrator, about his work. He concentrated on his trilogy "Where the Wild Things Are," "In the Night Kitchen," and "Outside Over There." Sendak was a poor Jewish boy raised by immigrant parents in New York City. He was a sickly child with a vivid imagination who loved to draw. His mother's poor parenting may be the inspiration of some of the fearful scenes in his books. Sendak was obsessed with news about the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, and "Outside Over There" features a kidnapping of a baby by goblins.
Sendak illustrated in many styles over the years in his Connecticut studio. An art historian discusses the Northern Romantic style Sendak used in "Outside Over There." A Freudian psychoanalyst, a Jungian analyst, and the playwright Tony Kushner also discuss Sendak's works. The analysts were delving into his books from an adult point of view, and in terms of Sendak's life. But hopefully most young children will think of these picture books as just stories, even if they have scary events in them, and will have reassuring adults reading to them. Some fearful young children may find them frightening.
I've attended an art exhibit of some of Sendak's work, and have admired his talent. It was interesting to read about his life, and the controversy about some of his books. This book was beautifully illustrated with examples of his work.
Sendak illustrated in many styles over the years in his Connecticut studio. An art historian discusses the Northern Romantic style Sendak used in "Outside Over There." A Freudian psychoanalyst, a Jungian analyst, and the playwright Tony Kushner also discuss Sendak's works. The analysts were delving into his books from an adult point of view, and in terms of Sendak's life. But hopefully most young children will think of these picture books as just stories, even if they have scary events in them, and will have reassuring adults reading to them. Some fearful young children may find them frightening.
I've attended an art exhibit of some of Sendak's work, and have admired his talent. It was interesting to read about his life, and the controversy about some of his books. This book was beautifully illustrated with examples of his work.
September 3, 2017
Maurice Sendak belongs on the Mount Rushmore of children's authors/illustrators, along with Dr. Seuss, Margaret Wise Brown, and Robert McCloskey. If we can squeeze in a fifth head, I'll let Ezra Jack Keats and P.D. Eastman fight each other for the spot...my money's on Keats. Eastman doesn't look like he did much brawling in his life.
Sendak and his books have been with me my entire life, and he is missed now. Where the Wild Things Are was published the year I was born, and I saw much of Max in myself, even from a very young age. I read the Nutshell Library books, and I especially liked Chicken Soup with Rice, but again I probably saw too much of myself in Pierre, too. I was a little too old by time In the Night Kitchen was published, but I knew it and it troubled me in a good way with its night journey and the three Oliver Hardy bakers. Sendak's work spoke to me and the children of my generation at a deep, perhaps even subconscious, level that Joseph Cott's book sheds some light on. I was way too old to read Outside over There (the focus of Cott's book) as a child, so I can't really speak to this book's effects on me as a child, but Sendak considered Outside over There his greatest effort and the final work in the trilogy of Wild Things and Night Kitchen. Nonetheless, after finishing Cott's book, I understand why Sendak considered Outside over There to be the crowning achievement of his career. It is a work he struggled with over five years; only 359 words, he drafted the story over 100 times before completion, dreaming it over a long period of time and slowly pulling the words and the illustrations from his subconscious. Outside over There is a book whose creative process Sendak likened to that of a mother giving birth. "I feel it in me," he told Cott, "like a woman having a baby, all that life churning on inside me. Unconsciously, it moves, stretches, yawns..."
There's a Mystery There: The Primal Vision of Maurice Sendak is an intensive inquiry by Cott into Outside over There, especially into Sendak's lengthy process of writing it, the deep connections the book has to Sendak's early life, and the psychological elements running through the story and artwork. Cott knows Sendak and his work quite well. (I was surprised to discover that Cott is the writer for Rolling Stone who did the story on Sendak in December 1976, you know the one, the one with the cover of the two kids decorating a Wild Thing like a Christmas tree.) He has interviewed Sendak on several occasions, and those interviews comprise the first part of the book. From there Cott goes on to discuss Outside over There with four other people, two psychologists (one Freudian and one Jungian), an expert on children's literature and art, and Tony Kushner, with whom Sendak collaborated on several projects later in his career.
Cott's book is fascinating in the way it provides insight into Sendak's creative process and some of the darker areas of his psyche. Sendak grew up in Brooklyn with two older siblings, the child of immigrant parents. His mother Sadie was troubled, his parents some times distant and inaccessible. His older sister Natalie often took care of him, and these earliest experiences help to shape the story of Outside over There of Ida and her younger sister who is taken by goblins. One extremely interesting detail Cott learns from Sendak is how as a boy, Sendak felt deeply troubled by the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. This case was in the news and the grief of Anne Morrow Lindbergh shook him and stayed with him. It's not all bad, though. I was interested to learn the story of Ida and her sister inspired Jim Henson's The Labyrinth, and gets a shout out in that movie. I also learned Maurice Sendak was quite fond of pastrami and John Keats, two of my own favorites. Although I did not grow up with Outside over There, I was quite interested in the Cott's discussions of the book with the various experts, although the book is most interesting when Cott is talking to Sendak himself. Throughout There's a Mystery There much time is also dedicated to talking about Where the Wild Things Are and Night Kitchen, although the primary focus is on Outside over There.
As a reader, there is much to be gained from this interesting book. Nonetheless, I realize There's a Mystery There would probably be of little interest to those with no connection to Maurice Sendak. I assume there are some unfortunate people like that out in the world. What sad childhoods they must have led!
Here's my review of Outside over There:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And here's one of the last interviews Sendak gave before he died:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
Sendak and his books have been with me my entire life, and he is missed now. Where the Wild Things Are was published the year I was born, and I saw much of Max in myself, even from a very young age. I read the Nutshell Library books, and I especially liked Chicken Soup with Rice, but again I probably saw too much of myself in Pierre, too. I was a little too old by time In the Night Kitchen was published, but I knew it and it troubled me in a good way with its night journey and the three Oliver Hardy bakers. Sendak's work spoke to me and the children of my generation at a deep, perhaps even subconscious, level that Joseph Cott's book sheds some light on. I was way too old to read Outside over There (the focus of Cott's book) as a child, so I can't really speak to this book's effects on me as a child, but Sendak considered Outside over There his greatest effort and the final work in the trilogy of Wild Things and Night Kitchen. Nonetheless, after finishing Cott's book, I understand why Sendak considered Outside over There to be the crowning achievement of his career. It is a work he struggled with over five years; only 359 words, he drafted the story over 100 times before completion, dreaming it over a long period of time and slowly pulling the words and the illustrations from his subconscious. Outside over There is a book whose creative process Sendak likened to that of a mother giving birth. "I feel it in me," he told Cott, "like a woman having a baby, all that life churning on inside me. Unconsciously, it moves, stretches, yawns..."
There's a Mystery There: The Primal Vision of Maurice Sendak is an intensive inquiry by Cott into Outside over There, especially into Sendak's lengthy process of writing it, the deep connections the book has to Sendak's early life, and the psychological elements running through the story and artwork. Cott knows Sendak and his work quite well. (I was surprised to discover that Cott is the writer for Rolling Stone who did the story on Sendak in December 1976, you know the one, the one with the cover of the two kids decorating a Wild Thing like a Christmas tree.) He has interviewed Sendak on several occasions, and those interviews comprise the first part of the book. From there Cott goes on to discuss Outside over There with four other people, two psychologists (one Freudian and one Jungian), an expert on children's literature and art, and Tony Kushner, with whom Sendak collaborated on several projects later in his career.
Cott's book is fascinating in the way it provides insight into Sendak's creative process and some of the darker areas of his psyche. Sendak grew up in Brooklyn with two older siblings, the child of immigrant parents. His mother Sadie was troubled, his parents some times distant and inaccessible. His older sister Natalie often took care of him, and these earliest experiences help to shape the story of Outside over There of Ida and her younger sister who is taken by goblins. One extremely interesting detail Cott learns from Sendak is how as a boy, Sendak felt deeply troubled by the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. This case was in the news and the grief of Anne Morrow Lindbergh shook him and stayed with him. It's not all bad, though. I was interested to learn the story of Ida and her sister inspired Jim Henson's The Labyrinth, and gets a shout out in that movie. I also learned Maurice Sendak was quite fond of pastrami and John Keats, two of my own favorites. Although I did not grow up with Outside over There, I was quite interested in the Cott's discussions of the book with the various experts, although the book is most interesting when Cott is talking to Sendak himself. Throughout There's a Mystery There much time is also dedicated to talking about Where the Wild Things Are and Night Kitchen, although the primary focus is on Outside over There.
As a reader, there is much to be gained from this interesting book. Nonetheless, I realize There's a Mystery There would probably be of little interest to those with no connection to Maurice Sendak. I assume there are some unfortunate people like that out in the world. What sad childhoods they must have led!
Here's my review of Outside over There:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And here's one of the last interviews Sendak gave before he died:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
November 8, 2017
I always like books that delve into the creative process, and I found this fascinating. I hadn't known much about Sendak and it was a joy to explore deep readings of his works (rather than a traditional biography).
April 20, 2019
A psychological analysis of Sendak's work, informed by surprisingly candid interviews with the author as well as some excellent research by Cott into earlier literature that was formative for Sendak.
Jonathan Cott is a very intelligent, widely read and diligent student of his subjects which enables him to have very illuminative conversations with them. (I have read one of his other books and plan to read more.)
Sendak's children's literature comes from a deep place in his own experience as a child and he approached his themes somewhere between a religious experience and a PhD dissertation. Added to that is his inspired originality as an artist. His books were profound and special, and if you don't mind swimming through a bit of Freudian and Jungian psychology on the way, this book is quite revealing.
It was interesting to see the fine quality illustrations from earlier decades than Sendak's own that affected and influenced his work.
A very well researched book.
Jonathan Cott is a very intelligent, widely read and diligent student of his subjects which enables him to have very illuminative conversations with them. (I have read one of his other books and plan to read more.)
Sendak's children's literature comes from a deep place in his own experience as a child and he approached his themes somewhere between a religious experience and a PhD dissertation. Added to that is his inspired originality as an artist. His books were profound and special, and if you don't mind swimming through a bit of Freudian and Jungian psychology on the way, this book is quite revealing.
It was interesting to see the fine quality illustrations from earlier decades than Sendak's own that affected and influenced his work.
A very well researched book.
December 17, 2020
Another erudite Jonathan Cott book. *Too* erudite, but maybe that's just me. There are insights throughout. Sendak declared, "A true picture book is a visual poem," and his certainly were. I didn't know his favorite writer was Melville. He reveals in his book Pierre a boy who "doesn't care." Not unlike Bartleby, who would "prefer not to." Most astonishing of all was that Sendak was haunted all his life by the Lindbergh baby. And in one of his final books he saves the Lindbergh baby.
May 23, 2020
This is a well-researched, thoughtful discussion of Sendak’s literature, with particular emphasis on Outside Over There ( which he considered the third in a trilogy: In The Night Kitchen and Where the Wild Things Are preceding it). I loved how the people involved in the discussion, including Cott, Sendak, and various psychologists and literary critics, elevated picture books.
“...because a picture-book is such a beautiful poetic form, I feel it should be treated with utmost respect.”
“...because a picture-book is such a beautiful poetic form, I feel it should be treated with utmost respect.”
January 3, 2023
Interesting and well written, with a ton of information about Sendak the person as well as Sendak the illustrator/author. Bumped down from 5 stars to 4 because it's a bit heavy on psychoanalysis for my taste. The best bits were Sendak's friends' reminiscences, and the stories about kids' reactions to Sendak's books, like the little boy who liked the sketch Sendak sent him so much that he ate it :)
April 20, 2025
Maurice Sendak was an odd, eerie, and magical artist and writer, and I was expecting this to be a book to match. It's barely even a book. Cott interviewed Sendak a couple times, and then he interviewed a half dozen people about Sendak, and this is basically a transcription of those conversations. They are repetitive and not very interesting, and don't offer much insight into Sendak's life or imagination or process, beyond some childhood biographical details that are one step above Wikipedia.
Cott focuses almost all his attention on a single one of Sendak's books, Outside Over There, endlessly ruminating with his interview subjects over what it means. At one point he discusses it with a psychologist for a full chapter. Then, in the next chapter, he consults a different psychologist. (This one's Jungian!) I was so bored. And Sendak was never boring.
The one good thing is that I learned that Tony Kushner also wrote a biography of Sendak. Clearly, I should have read that.
Cott focuses almost all his attention on a single one of Sendak's books, Outside Over There, endlessly ruminating with his interview subjects over what it means. At one point he discusses it with a psychologist for a full chapter. Then, in the next chapter, he consults a different psychologist. (This one's Jungian!) I was so bored. And Sendak was never boring.
The one good thing is that I learned that Tony Kushner also wrote a biography of Sendak. Clearly, I should have read that.
February 26, 2022
I love tomes where people nerd out about something they love. And I love Maurice Sendak. Also this book has an amazing picture of him in his fifties with his little white Sealeyham Jenny (inspiration for similar dog in his books).
CN: unfiltered discussion of childhood sexuality including mention of sibling incest (experienced as consensual); distant / painful relationship with a mother and a sibling's parentification (discussed in quite a lot of detail)
CN: unfiltered discussion of childhood sexuality including mention of sibling incest (experienced as consensual); distant / painful relationship with a mother and a sibling's parentification (discussed in quite a lot of detail)
October 27, 2017
Maurice Sendak always said that he didn't write his books for children. It was just that the children always got them most clearly and directly. And, he said, they were always the best, most honest, critics. Either they said, "I love your book, when I grow up, I want to marry you." Or they said, "I hated your book, I hope you die soon!" Or, then, there was the four year old, who drew a picture of a wild thing and sent it to Sendak. When Sendak drew him another one and sent it back to him, his mother reported "he loved it so much he ate it." This book is at its best when it shares stories like this about Sendak. But most of it is clearly not aimed at children. There is much incredibly detailed discussion, mostly along Jungian lines, about the "meaning" of nearly every word and picture. I have no quarrel with most of what Cott has to say. But most of us are probably better off letting the child in us simply reread, at least one more time, "Where the Wild Things Are" -- or, even better, reading it again with a child.
July 27, 2018
A surprisingly heartfelt dive into Maurice Sendak and his greatest work. This book felt like a conversation I've been longing to have, for years. It is the most beautiful, insightful adult companion to my favorite childhood book (but not solely a children's book ;).
Reflections while reading... Written 7/11/18.
Story time: “Inside in Here”
📖
When I was little, my favorite book was “Outside Over There” by Maurice Sendak. It seems to me this book has followed me my whole life. I must have lost it in my move back to CA, but the illustrations and opening lines never left my then seven-year-old mind: “When Papa was away at sea / And Mama in the arbor”.
🌳
Fast-forward to my early teens, and my sister and I decided to watch a movie called “Labyrinth” for our girls’ night. We were both amazed. “This movie reminds me of that book!!!” An impressively vague memory resurfaced... It wasn’t until years later, while taking a summer “Analyzing Children’s Literature” class at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA that I stumbled across it in their children’s library. “That book”!!!! I could remember neither the title, nor author, and yet somehow I had found it! It still feels like a bit of a miracle.
📚
After re-discovering this book, I was once again entranced by its tale. Courageous Ida saves her little sister from kidnapping goblins, with nothing but her wit, wonder horn, Mother’s yellow rain coat, and Father’s voice in her head. But why was this the book I was obsessed with as a child?! What did it mean??
📯
In 2016, a traveling exhibit of Maurice Sendak’s original drawings and work came to visit the Monroe County Library in Bloomington, IN. It was brought to my attention by “wild things” causing a rumpus on the windows of the entrance. I was moved beyond words to see his art in person.
🎨
Last summer, I looked down at a bottom shelf in a bookstore to see: “There’s a Mystery There—The Primal Vision of Maurice Sendak” by Jonathan Cott. Wow! I was so excited to read it and was lucky enough to receive it as my Christmas gift.
🎁
This summer, I am amazed once more. This is not merely a book on all of Sendak’s work, including his most famous "Where the Wild Things Are". It is a book about his life, influences, and how they came to create the masterpiece of.... “Outside Over There”. WHAT?! This book feels like a conversation I’ve been longing to have. It is the most beautiful, insightful adult companion to my favorite childhood book.
Reflections while reading... Written 7/11/18.
Story time: “Inside in Here”
📖
When I was little, my favorite book was “Outside Over There” by Maurice Sendak. It seems to me this book has followed me my whole life. I must have lost it in my move back to CA, but the illustrations and opening lines never left my then seven-year-old mind: “When Papa was away at sea / And Mama in the arbor”.
🌳
Fast-forward to my early teens, and my sister and I decided to watch a movie called “Labyrinth” for our girls’ night. We were both amazed. “This movie reminds me of that book!!!” An impressively vague memory resurfaced... It wasn’t until years later, while taking a summer “Analyzing Children’s Literature” class at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA that I stumbled across it in their children’s library. “That book”!!!! I could remember neither the title, nor author, and yet somehow I had found it! It still feels like a bit of a miracle.
📚
After re-discovering this book, I was once again entranced by its tale. Courageous Ida saves her little sister from kidnapping goblins, with nothing but her wit, wonder horn, Mother’s yellow rain coat, and Father’s voice in her head. But why was this the book I was obsessed with as a child?! What did it mean??
📯
In 2016, a traveling exhibit of Maurice Sendak’s original drawings and work came to visit the Monroe County Library in Bloomington, IN. It was brought to my attention by “wild things” causing a rumpus on the windows of the entrance. I was moved beyond words to see his art in person.
🎨
Last summer, I looked down at a bottom shelf in a bookstore to see: “There’s a Mystery There—The Primal Vision of Maurice Sendak” by Jonathan Cott. Wow! I was so excited to read it and was lucky enough to receive it as my Christmas gift.
🎁
This summer, I am amazed once more. This is not merely a book on all of Sendak’s work, including his most famous "Where the Wild Things Are". It is a book about his life, influences, and how they came to create the masterpiece of.... “Outside Over There”. WHAT?! This book feels like a conversation I’ve been longing to have. It is the most beautiful, insightful adult companion to my favorite childhood book.
June 25, 2018
Very interesting deep dive into Sendak's favorite Sendak. There's much to be learned from this one, and overall it was very readable and illuminating. I enjoyed learning about Sendak's childhood and creative process — most notably, his take on the importance of synthesizing words with art in picture books, how one fills in the pauses and expands the meaning of the other.
When it got to the "sharing Rumi translations with Jungian experts" zone, Cott took a deep dive into the overly indulgent, and overly psychoanalytical. (If I have to read the words "labial whorls" one more time...) This was somewhat saved by prefacing the turn toward the Freudian and Jungian with an assertion that Sendak welcomed this kind of analysis, but it was still a bit much. Cott's interviews with Kushner and Doonan, in contrast, seemed much more substantive (and much more actually related to Outside Over There). Kushner brought actual knowledge of the man; Doonan brought actual knowledge of the art. These thoughtful, meaningful contributions did more of what the book seemed to set out to do (understand Outside Over There) than the dips into psychobabble.
In any case, having a collection of so many of Sendak's own words on his own work made the book worth it.
When it got to the "sharing Rumi translations with Jungian experts" zone, Cott took a deep dive into the overly indulgent, and overly psychoanalytical. (If I have to read the words "labial whorls" one more time...) This was somewhat saved by prefacing the turn toward the Freudian and Jungian with an assertion that Sendak welcomed this kind of analysis, but it was still a bit much. Cott's interviews with Kushner and Doonan, in contrast, seemed much more substantive (and much more actually related to Outside Over There). Kushner brought actual knowledge of the man; Doonan brought actual knowledge of the art. These thoughtful, meaningful contributions did more of what the book seemed to set out to do (understand Outside Over There) than the dips into psychobabble.
In any case, having a collection of so many of Sendak's own words on his own work made the book worth it.
June 23, 2018
I discovered Sendak's work as an adult, in the mid 1970's after reading a cover story about him in Rolling Stone magazine, written by this author.
Since then, I have read all of Sendak's books and certain ones like Pierre and Where The Wild Things Are, I have read aloud to children many times.
I like Sendak's work - even the disturbing or strange books - but after awhile this book got to be a little aggravating. I think it could more rightly be called Maurice Sendak: All Roads Lead Outside Over There.
The book starts out promisingly with discussions of his life and early work and then, ultimately gets mired down in what Sendak considered his greatest book; Outside Over There.
The book is a good story with beautiful illustrations but Cott dissects it over every remaining chapter as though he is discussing The Ghent Altarpiece. He interviews a Freudian Psychologist about it in one, a Jungian in the next and Tony Kushner, author of Angels In America about it in still another. There is one chapter where he is talking about Outside Over There with an art critic that I did enjoy a bit - largely because he was discussing the book from something other than a psychological standpoint.
It is strange to write a book about an artist and spend so little time talking about the physical art itself. Yes there is a lot to discover in the Sendak books about feelings, dreams, human desire and the mind of the author but there is more to the books than these things. And there is way more to Sendak than a single book or even three.
I wanted to hear more about his other books, the creation and direction of Really Rosie, the opera he worked on with Kushner, his contributions to The Magic Flute and more, much more about the other visual styles he employed in his many books and the books he illustrated for other authors.
Once I realized where the book had decided to stay, I went with it and was rewarded with some real insights into the mind of Sendak and that is not a small thing. But this book could have been more.
And I will say, we did not need to hear the author displaying his knowledge of ancient mythology and quoting Melville, Marvell, Shakespeare and Keats to Sendak and to every person he interviewed.
The book is worth reading but is not the one I thought I had found at last.
It rightly treats an illustrator of children's books as an artist and that is something. But I believe Sendak's work was so much more than the feelings it evokes and I believe that Outside Over There is not his greatest work. Both of these beliefs put me at odds with the author.
I will have to look elsewhere for a book that takes on all his work and discusses visual style in books like In The Night Kitchen with the same reverence here reserved for Outside Over There. But the hope of one day seeing comic strip art elevated to the level of Art is an old one with me.
I don't think the level of Sendak's art was all of the sudden elevated because he eventually chose to illustrate in a more "realistic" or classical style.
I think he was an artist all along.
One thing more - the quality of the book's physical design is amazing. The German production, the print, the visual depth of the page high illustrations and the luxurious thickness of the pages themselves are all things I think Sendak himself would have truly appreciated.
They are all things that drew him to books as a child and were things he treasured as a collector of books and old art.
They made reading a sometimes frustrating book about an artist I love a far more pleasurable experience and for that alone, I give this book an additional star.
Since then, I have read all of Sendak's books and certain ones like Pierre and Where The Wild Things Are, I have read aloud to children many times.
I like Sendak's work - even the disturbing or strange books - but after awhile this book got to be a little aggravating. I think it could more rightly be called Maurice Sendak: All Roads Lead Outside Over There.
The book starts out promisingly with discussions of his life and early work and then, ultimately gets mired down in what Sendak considered his greatest book; Outside Over There.
The book is a good story with beautiful illustrations but Cott dissects it over every remaining chapter as though he is discussing The Ghent Altarpiece. He interviews a Freudian Psychologist about it in one, a Jungian in the next and Tony Kushner, author of Angels In America about it in still another. There is one chapter where he is talking about Outside Over There with an art critic that I did enjoy a bit - largely because he was discussing the book from something other than a psychological standpoint.
It is strange to write a book about an artist and spend so little time talking about the physical art itself. Yes there is a lot to discover in the Sendak books about feelings, dreams, human desire and the mind of the author but there is more to the books than these things. And there is way more to Sendak than a single book or even three.
I wanted to hear more about his other books, the creation and direction of Really Rosie, the opera he worked on with Kushner, his contributions to The Magic Flute and more, much more about the other visual styles he employed in his many books and the books he illustrated for other authors.
Once I realized where the book had decided to stay, I went with it and was rewarded with some real insights into the mind of Sendak and that is not a small thing. But this book could have been more.
And I will say, we did not need to hear the author displaying his knowledge of ancient mythology and quoting Melville, Marvell, Shakespeare and Keats to Sendak and to every person he interviewed.
The book is worth reading but is not the one I thought I had found at last.
It rightly treats an illustrator of children's books as an artist and that is something. But I believe Sendak's work was so much more than the feelings it evokes and I believe that Outside Over There is not his greatest work. Both of these beliefs put me at odds with the author.
I will have to look elsewhere for a book that takes on all his work and discusses visual style in books like In The Night Kitchen with the same reverence here reserved for Outside Over There. But the hope of one day seeing comic strip art elevated to the level of Art is an old one with me.
I don't think the level of Sendak's art was all of the sudden elevated because he eventually chose to illustrate in a more "realistic" or classical style.
I think he was an artist all along.
One thing more - the quality of the book's physical design is amazing. The German production, the print, the visual depth of the page high illustrations and the luxurious thickness of the pages themselves are all things I think Sendak himself would have truly appreciated.
They are all things that drew him to books as a child and were things he treasured as a collector of books and old art.
They made reading a sometimes frustrating book about an artist I love a far more pleasurable experience and for that alone, I give this book an additional star.
January 25, 2020
A convincing study of Sendak 's work as a representation of the most primal self - I enjoyed it immensely.
A picture book called Outside Over There is the main focus of the book, but it ranges over Sendak's entire life, includes many wonderful pictures, and snippets of interviews; I had no idea that Sendak intended Where the Wild Things Are as the first in a trio of books, the second being In the Night Kitchen and the last being Outside. It wouldn't have occurred to me to read them as anything more meaningful than particularly odd and wonderful picture books (That being said, Wild Things is the best children's book of all TIME) but it seems that the reason they resonate so is because they ARE deeper than that, and we as children pick up on that - and Sendak produced them knowingly.
It's really impressive. It's a beautifully produced book, an easy read, and truly intriguing, the sort you synopsize bits of for people. Highly recommend. I'll be searching out more Sendak and reading it with an eye for the meaning beneath the picture.
A picture book called Outside Over There is the main focus of the book, but it ranges over Sendak's entire life, includes many wonderful pictures, and snippets of interviews; I had no idea that Sendak intended Where the Wild Things Are as the first in a trio of books, the second being In the Night Kitchen and the last being Outside. It wouldn't have occurred to me to read them as anything more meaningful than particularly odd and wonderful picture books (That being said, Wild Things is the best children's book of all TIME) but it seems that the reason they resonate so is because they ARE deeper than that, and we as children pick up on that - and Sendak produced them knowingly.
It's really impressive. It's a beautifully produced book, an easy read, and truly intriguing, the sort you synopsize bits of for people. Highly recommend. I'll be searching out more Sendak and reading it with an eye for the meaning beneath the picture.
October 10, 2017
This book is half very interesting and half rather odd and disturbing. The author did extensive interviews with Maurice Sendak. Learning about his childhood and all of his different influences was interesting. There are many details about how all of his books came about, how the stories were inspired by different events in his life and his interests. I really enjoyed this part of the book. Then, however the author interviewed Freudian and Jungian psychologists and had them analyse Sendak's books, especially Outside Over There, looking for hidden meanings and symbolism in the art. Some of this is interesting but it is also disturbing as they find many sexual meanings that I don't think are actually there. I think their interpretations say much more about them then the picture books they are discussing. I'm not sure why the author thought these psychologist's views were so important. I skimmed much of this last half of the book.
January 28, 2018
A very interesting - but rather overly wordy and over-analyzed and even obsessive -examination of Maurice Sendak’s brilliant book Outside Over There. It certainly is very complete in its close examination of every imaginable facet of Sendak’s beautiful book. And OOT deserves and rewards close reading, and re-reading, by both adults and children.
Be prepared for a long series of Jungian and deep psychoanalytic rumination, as the author “interviews” - that is to say, he alternates between lecturing and listening - to a string of adult experts, in an attempt to plumb the depths of one of the most beautiful and mysterious children’s books ever written.
Luckily, his persistent querying does not manage to wring all of the magic out of OOT, and valuable light is shed on various interesting details, such as Sendak’s inclusion of W. A. Mozart in the book.
Recommended for literary scholars and educators, psychoanalysts and anxious parents, but nobody else!
Be prepared for a long series of Jungian and deep psychoanalytic rumination, as the author “interviews” - that is to say, he alternates between lecturing and listening - to a string of adult experts, in an attempt to plumb the depths of one of the most beautiful and mysterious children’s books ever written.
Luckily, his persistent querying does not manage to wring all of the magic out of OOT, and valuable light is shed on various interesting details, such as Sendak’s inclusion of W. A. Mozart in the book.
Recommended for literary scholars and educators, psychoanalysts and anxious parents, but nobody else!
March 20, 2018
I can’t quite find the words right now to express my feelings about Maurice Sendak. There’s awe in there, and abject love for his books. The way he talks about childhood is profoundly true, and recognizes its wonders and horrors. The lack of sentimentality in his work, and the impression it made on me as a kid shaped what I look for in books to a degree that I’m only now realizing. Thanks to Maggie Nelson and Eileen Myles, I recognize him as one of the many-gendered mothers of my heart.
I loved all that Sendak had to say in this book, and the interviews collected here are mostly fascinating—I found myself getting antsy when I got to the Jungian psychoanalyst. The way the interviews were written fell a bit flat—it was not quite simple question/answer format, but it didn’t go enough beyond that to feel like the words surrounding the quotations were anything more than a series of repetitive afterthoughts.
I loved all that Sendak had to say in this book, and the interviews collected here are mostly fascinating—I found myself getting antsy when I got to the Jungian psychoanalyst. The way the interviews were written fell a bit flat—it was not quite simple question/answer format, but it didn’t go enough beyond that to feel like the words surrounding the quotations were anything more than a series of repetitive afterthoughts.
October 11, 2017
Like most kids I read Maurice Sendak’s classic Where the Wild Things Are in grade school.
But I had never encountered Outside Over There, which is widely considered by many folks and critics of artistic and literary ilk, including the author-illustrator himself, to be his critical masterpiece, that is, until I came upon this recently published book at the local library.
It underwent deep-diving approaches such as Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis.
These fascinating insights were highlighted and gleaned from conversations in interviews with four others representing their respective field of expertise and vision.
How to survive childhood and adult life through imagination, in other words, play hard at hard work.
Briefly, a soul-search with or without briefs.
But I had never encountered Outside Over There, which is widely considered by many folks and critics of artistic and literary ilk, including the author-illustrator himself, to be his critical masterpiece, that is, until I came upon this recently published book at the local library.
It underwent deep-diving approaches such as Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis.
These fascinating insights were highlighted and gleaned from conversations in interviews with four others representing their respective field of expertise and vision.
How to survive childhood and adult life through imagination, in other words, play hard at hard work.
Briefly, a soul-search with or without briefs.
March 29, 2019
Interesting analysis of Maurice Sendak's book Outside Over There. I unfortunately thought the book would cover a number of Sendak's book with the same in depth coverage but the book (if I had read the cover closer) was indeed following the story, art and meaning of the two combined of Outside Over There.
Still, all in all, it was an interesting read about a book I knew very little about. I'm a huge fan of Where the Wild Things are but I've now added a couple more of Sendak's book to my list to read now as an adult.
Still, all in all, it was an interesting read about a book I knew very little about. I'm a huge fan of Where the Wild Things are but I've now added a couple more of Sendak's book to my list to read now as an adult.
July 8, 2017
Extremely enlightening book on Maurice Sendak. Was interested to read it at this point in time since I chose him as our theme author for my Pre-K Program & was (re)-reading several of his books. Some wonderful insights into his inspirations & methods; I was able to draw attention to what I learned of his illustrations & re-visit his works with new insights, discoveries, & appreciation. Was inspired to begin a new story of my own after a long hiatus.
March 7, 2019
Deep analysis of Sendak's famous trilogy of Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, and Outside Over There. Goes very deep into Sendak's experience of these particular books with only a little bit of info about Sendak's upbringing and personal life. Features personal interview both with Sendak himself and several others, including Jane Doonan (author of Looking At Pictures in Picture Books).
May 25, 2017
Cott interviewed both a Freudian and a Jungian psychologist, an art scholar, and Sendak's friend and collaborator Tony Kushner for this book that focuses primarily on the magnificent and mysterious OUTSIDE OVER THERE. Cott brings both erudition and passion to this work of criticism. The book is generously illustrated with full color plates from the works being discussed.
June 12, 2017
Sendak is one of my favorite authors. I consider him a fascinating person, but because this book really only discusses one of his books (Outside Over There), I doubt everyone would be as interested as I .
He considered it his masterpiece, so if you love his stories and art work, just give it a try!
He considered it his masterpiece, so if you love his stories and art work, just give it a try!
May 27, 2019
Maurice Sendak wrote mysterious, dreamlike books that - because they used simple language and were beautifully illustrated- just happened to be pushed into the category of children's literature. Cott's book is an exhaustive exploration into (and celebration of) one of Sendak's most mysterious works, "Outside Over There", examined from personal, visual and psychological perspectives.
July 14, 2022
Caught sight of this fascinating book recently and read through most of it. The author focused his attention primarily on Sendak's state favorite title: Outside Over There, published in 1981. And because "Where the Wild Things Are" is my favorite of his picture books, I wasn't quite as into this one as I anticipated. Nonetheless, it was interesting and a must-read for Sendak fans.
November 15, 2022
My return to reading children's books renewed my interest in Maurice Sendak. Who is this genius? This book provides some good biographical information and some good quotes from the author's interviews with Sendak. But half the book is devoted to analyzing Outside Over There, and that did not interest me.
February 11, 2024
Interesting series of interviews that focus primarily on a psychological analysis of Maurice Sendak's Outside Over There book, interspersed with some interesting biographical details about the author concerning the meaning of his books and his fantastic artwork. There are a number of gorgeous illustrations in the book which help when the discussions get deep into the symbolism.
October 31, 2024
This book is so pretty. Glossy text book like pages and colorful illustrations. There were parts that I LOVED. Learning more about Sendak's writing process, his interests, and his life was worth 5 stars. The authors deep, deep dive into some of his books was perhaps too deep for me. I wish it had been more biography and less literary analysis.
June 19, 2017
The bookplates are beautiful and the book focuses on the vision and meanings behind Maurice Sendak's books, primarily on "Outside Over There." Now I want to reread Outside Over There with opened eyes.
July 9, 2017
I enjoyed the art parts of the book and biographical parts as well as the illustrations. The psychoanalysis of his books , Jung and Freud was not an area I was particularly into. I must read "outside over there" completely and look at all of his art. It was one work I was unaware of.
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