The Curious Sofa

Volné sebrané dílo Edwarda Goreye #1

by Edward Gorey

The Curious Sofa is a classic 1961 book by Edward Gorey, published under the pen name Ogdred Weary (an anagram). The book is a “pornographic illustrated story about furniture” (according to the cover). According to reviews, there is nothing overtly sexual in the illustrations, although innuendos (and strategically deployed urns and tree branches) abound. The New York Times Book Review described it as “Gorey’s naughty, hilarious travesty of lust.” Gorey has stated that he intended to satirize Story of O.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Art, Comics, Picture Books, Short Stories

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Born in Chicago, Gorey came from a colourful family; his parents, Helen Dunham Garvey and Edward Lee Gorey, divorced in 1936 when he was 11, then remarried in 1952 when he was 27. One of his step-mothers was Corinna Mura, a cabaret singer who had a brief role in the classic film Casablanca. His father was briefly a journalist. Gorey's maternal great-grandmother, Helen St. John Garvey, was a popular 19th century greeting card writer/artist, from whom he claimed to have inherited his talents. He attended a variety of local grade schools and then the Francis W. Parker School. He spent 1944–1946 in the Army at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and then attended Harvard University from 1946 to 1950, where he studied French and roomed with future poet Frank O'Hara.

Although he would frequently state that his formal art training was "negligible", Gorey studied art for one semester at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 1943, eventually becoming a professional illustrator. From 1953 to 1960, he lived in New York City and worked for the Art Department of Doubleday Anchor, illustrating book covers and in some cases adding illustrations to the text. He has illustrated works as diverse as Dracula by Bram Stoker, The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. In later years he illustrated many children's books by John Bellairs, as well as books in several series begun by Bellairs and continued by other authors after his death.

Reviews

[Jakob J. 🎃 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sat.

Am I using English dialectal slang or TikTok slang? As Gorey offers hints of eroticism, a restrained subtly characteristic of the former, rather than penetrating smut, a characteristic of the latter, I will let my own hint linger like a curios and suggestive stain on a piece of furniture.

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read that Edward was poking fun of the Story of O with this. There are some great innuendo's in here. Nothing is explicit and it is all leading your mind to some kinky ideas. It is very funny. Who knows what that curious sofa was actually doing. This is for mature audiences.

The art was interesting and led you to wonder what was going on off frame which further upped the innuendo going on. The book is brilliant. This was so much fun to read and it was short. Edward is even better in my mind now. He is brilliant and doing things others weren't doing in the 50s and 60s.

[Dream.M · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب The curious sofa
با عنوان فرعی
A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary
عمدا مخاطب رو گمراه می‌کنه. چون ما با خوندنش انتظار نوعی بی‌پرده‌گی و صراحت جنسی داریم، اما گوری دقیقاً برعکس عمل می‌کنه.
اون توی کتابش، همه‌چیز رو پوشیده، مبهم، و حذف‌شده نشون می‌ده. درواقع توی این داستان کوتاه، چیزهایی که نشون داده نمیشن و غایب هستن مهم‌ان؛ و اتفاقات پورنو، بیرون قاب، قبل و بعد از چیزی که داریم روی صفحه کتاب می‌بینیم رخ می‌دن.
اسم کتاب پورنوگرافی داره اما گوری ساختاری دقیقاً برعکس پورنوگرافی می‌سازه و تصویر ابسنس رو به مرکز لذت تبدیل می‌کنه.
اون واژه‌ها و جمله ها رو طوری می‌چینه که ذهن خواننده خودش صحنه‌‌های غایب رو پر کنه و صحنه رو بسازه.
پس بطور خلاصه این کتابی دربارۀ سکس ه، بدون اینکه هیچ سکسی در اون رخ بده.
بهترین توضیح رو خود گوری درباره کتابش داده، اونجا که میگه:
This book proves that the biggest sex organ of all is the brain.

#Edward_Gorey

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ohhhhhh it just hit me how euphemistically sexual it was. -.-



Like, really. I don't deserve to wear my "Perverted and Proud" badge anymore.



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH, MY

[Jackdaw ☄ Bronteroc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Σε μια στιγμή μπαίνει ο κύριος Απόστολος στο γραφείο, και κράταγε την αυτή του, και την ακούμπησε πάνω στο γραφείο. Εγώ μπαίνω αμέσως, και χωρίς να την δω, του την πάτησα. Μετά, ανοίγει την πόρτα η Κυρία Ντόρα, μπαίνει μέσα, την βλέπει πατημένη και την τρώει. Μετάαα, μετά ήρθε ο Κύριος Πέτρος, και έφερε την δική του αυτή αλλά εμείς δεν την χρειαζόμασταν, είχαμε τελειώσει.

-Χρόνης Μπαμπάτσικος.

3 αστεράκια (=με άρεσε) + άλλο 1 για το τέλος.

[Eddie Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

With drawings more like sketches this is far from my favorite Gorey, but it is a deliciously risque forest of euphemisms.

I had to revise my rating upon further review. Yes, the drawings are simple, esp. compared to the density of lines in some of his other books, but there remains the same amount of grace and humor in their minimalism. 4 stars!

[Tras · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful creation! Everything is left to the reader's imagination and, accordingly, all of the 'action' takes place just off the page. Very funny.

[Library Lady 📚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laughing out loud. That's what I was doing the entire time my brother-in-law read it aloud to me. It was so hilariously, deliciously demented. A very, very naughty book, without ever showing anything, without ever naming a body part or anything explicitly vulgar. In fact, you could read this as a small child and think it was perfectly innocent. Oh. My.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this at the bookstore this week and picked it up. I had read it as part of a larger collection of his work, and for some reason it is being re-released. But yay that it is. The cover features a sofa with a couple legs visible through a doorway. The title is The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary, but it's not really pornographic (sorry, I know you were hoping to read something titillating here!), and really by Gorey, of course.

The copyright is 1961, and the artist/author Gorey was famously asexual or hid the fact he was gay, depending on whom you can trust here, all of his life. He discusses this book with curious interviewers in various settings, and makes it clear he was just having fun, making jokes. It is in no way pornographic, or even "erotica," though sexual acts are referred to throughout hilariously--if hilarious for you might include a droll Victorian tone and cadence; for instance,

"Alice was eating grapes in the park, when Herbert, an extremely well-endowed young man, introduced himself to her."

Next page: "He invited her to go for a ride in a taxi-cab, on the floor of which they did something Alice had never done before." You see a hand raised throughout the window. It's THAT kind of pornography, or erotica, which is to say it is NOT, and just something to make you smile, maybe. I did, on every single page!

"Lady Celia led Alice to her boudoir, where she requested the girl to perform a rather surprising service."

Another: "As they drove up to the house, Lucy, the Gilbert's daughter, and an uncommonly well-shaped older man, emerged from an ornamental urn."

Sofa? Well, some of what happens in the story happens on furniture, but mostly Gorey is always being absurd and ironic, thanks for that, Ed.

You must own this, I say! Hear, hear! Gorey loved what he saw as British life and literature, though he was American, born just north of Chicago, and in fact never traveled to the British Isles! (Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is a true and curious fact. . .)

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Curious Sofa - Edward Gorey  The literary equivalent of Gypsy Rose Lee's strip tease. No doubt the most sex-per-page of any book yet remains appropriate for readers of all ages. "But is it sex positive?" I ask myself. I think not in the end, but others may differ. 
 
I amused myself by trying to imagine making a film of it. I was wondering how one could maintain the feel of the book, but also make it last longer than about 6 seconds. It would be a fun side project to take advantage of casts, sets, locations, costumes, and all on some big drama production. It would also be funny to swap the cast around, with the cast playing nobility in one and servants in the other, and vice versa. Now I really want someone to comb the footage of Downton Abbey and make this for me.
 
Personal copy

[Veronica Perdomo · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something deliciously demented about Edward Gorey (who published this work under an acronym of his name; Ogdred Weary). This book is a silly, naughty romp that tangentially explores some very dark and frightening places. It's a dirty little quickie for book lovers.

"Looking out the window she saw Herbert, Albert, and Harold, the gardener, an exceptionally well-made youth, disporting themselves on the lawn. They were soon joined by Donald, Herbert's singularly well-favoured sheepdog, and many were the giggles and barks that came from the shrubbery."

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Florence and Emily from Little Britain were to write a pornography, this would be it.



"But we are laaaaaaaadies and we must read laaaaadies pornography you see"

Finally, an Edward Gorey tale that is not wrist slittingly depressing!
The men are all extraordinarily something or other and the women free from all inhibitions. This is a deliciously demented read. However nothing is revealed or shown in the drawings. It is up the reader to see between the lines and outside the frames of the illustrations.
Of course it wouldn't be Gorey if the characters didn't meet a grisly confusing end..

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one I wasn't a huge fan of. Really simple artwork without the usual flourishes, just line art without the shading and texture I associate with Gorey. It's also quite sexual, so more so exclusively for adults than the rest of his work. The ending is great as an expectant orgy turns into a horror show by the curious sofa.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am completely cribbing this line from a stranger's blog, but it is the best summary I could imagine:

"This book proves that the biggest sex organ of all is the brain."

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE CURIOUS SOFA: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary is one of Edward Gorey's works in which the story is told through delightful pen-and-ink drawings with witty captions. A 1961 send-up of Victorian pornography, the book's thirty pages tell the adventures of Alice, a young woman swept into a long series of sexual adventures. THE CURIOUS SOFA's cleverness lies in that on one hand it reveals nothing obscene--one would hardly have to fear if a young child came upon the book. A good example caption is: "Downstairs the three of them played a most amusing game of Herbert's own invention called 'Thumbfumble.' They then sat down to a sumptuous tea", which is accompanied by an entirely innocuous drawing. Yet, for the adult the book is ultimately the most filthiest thing this reader has ever encountered outside of some Cocteau Twins lyrics.

The artwork of THE CURIOUS SOFA is rather spartan: generally just characters and furniture against a white background. It resembles more his first work THE UNSTRUNG HARP than the later works of the 1960s that became typical for him: Edwardian figures with beards and lots of fur coats.

This is an entertaining work, and Gorey does masterfully show that, paradoxically, sometimes horrors and obscenities can be maximally revealed through being concealed. However, I would not recommend it to the Gorey neophyte, as it is not the best example of his work. Instead, try THE LOATHSOME COUPLE or THE BLUE ASPIC. THE OTHER STATUE is also good. Those are all books from his most fruitful style of the late 1960s and highly recommended reading. Save this one for if you've come to enjoy Gorey.

[BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious . . . :-) I admit I had to look up a 'Lithuanian typewriter', as I'd never heard of it before ;-)

But seriously, a lot is left to one's imagination, as neither the graphics nor the text are pornographic in itself. It is what's implied that makes this little book hilarious :-) It really is such a delicious, funny, witty read that it had me grinning several times, and I fully agree with Michelle Morrell's earlier review :-)

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you don't love Edward Gorey, I probably wouldn't like you very much.

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever little book that shows that innuendo and hinting can be just as naughty as spelling it out.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A bit odd, but it's all right. I guess.

[Amy (Other Amy) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe if I had actually read Story of O this would be funnier. Should I happen to read said book maybe I'll get back here and do a review.

(Reread in Amphigorey; reviewing separately.)

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a strange little book by Edward Gorey. The book is full of ambigous references to exotic sex acts, but nothing is ever explicitly shown or described. It will probably take you less than 10 minutes to read this book, but you will wonder about it for weeks to come.

[Sri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Porno! Tapi bisa tidak disebut pornografi ya? Lah tidak ada gambar yang porno :D. Lalu: Elsie had expired during the night, and gloom descended on everybody. Kenapa si Elsie? Diapain pake saucepan? Lalu: sofanya ngapain? Misteri >_<.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great concept.
Many well-set-up young men and well-shaped older men are encountered.

Cover page says Harcourt Brace & Company, not Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

They all went indoors and worked up some most intriguing charades.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dadaist pornography, where all of the action happens off-page, and all the descriptions are vague and unsuggestive.

It appeals to me. Lots.

[Daniel Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilariously suggestive

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thankful for Edward Gorey and his sick and twisted mind.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haha.... what?

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lithuanian typewriter eh...

[Idyll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by the book Story of O (Histoire d'O) by Pauline Réage, you could call this the Story of Innuend'O. :)

[jamie]

Tbh one of my least favs the ending just annoys me…like give me some clarity dearest ogdred…

#Mewhen i emerge from an ornamental urn