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The Vinegar Works #3
The West Wing
The West Wing is an invitation to the imagination. On each page, a room beckons, inviting the reader to wonder why three shoes lie here abandoned, what is retreating in that mirror's reflection, or why there is an imprint of a body on the wallpaper, faded and floating four feet above the floor. A wordless mystery, it is one of Gorey's finest works.
30 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
About the author
Edward Gorey
494 books1,979 followersBorn 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
September 2, 2022
RAFFINATI ENIGMI
Una storia senza parole, né dialogo né didascalie. Sembra fatta di niente.
Eppure, un autentico invito per l’immaginazione.
Un mistero muto che gronda umorismo nero.
In ogni pagina una stanza invita il lettore a farsi domande, ne stimola la curiosità: perché ci sono tre scarpe abbandonate per terra, cos’è che sembra nascondersi nel riflesso delle specchio, perché c’è l’impronta di un corpo sulla carta da parati, o chi la lasciato quattro orme sul pavimento, cos’è quel grosso involucro…
Immagini che sembrano non avere connessione l’una con l’altra, se non quella di venire tutte dall’Ala Ovest.
Gorey non fornisce risposte, ci lascia senza spiegazione.
A complicare, se così si può dire, l’assenza di colore, solo gradazioni di grigio tra il nero e il bianco.
Eccellente abilità di tratteggio, cura maniacale del dettaglio, inquietudine sparsa come malefico balsamo.
Si capisce che storie così possano stimolare la fantasia dei bambini, ma si capisce anche perché Gorey avesse invece poco interesse per i bambini.
Non so perché, ma lo scopo della mia vita consiste nell’instillare un disagio generale. Penso che il disagio sia una reazione dovuta verso questo mondo.
Una storia senza parole, né dialogo né didascalie. Sembra fatta di niente.
Eppure, un autentico invito per l’immaginazione.
Un mistero muto che gronda umorismo nero.
In ogni pagina una stanza invita il lettore a farsi domande, ne stimola la curiosità: perché ci sono tre scarpe abbandonate per terra, cos’è che sembra nascondersi nel riflesso delle specchio, perché c’è l’impronta di un corpo sulla carta da parati, o chi la lasciato quattro orme sul pavimento, cos’è quel grosso involucro…
Immagini che sembrano non avere connessione l’una con l’altra, se non quella di venire tutte dall’Ala Ovest.
Gorey non fornisce risposte, ci lascia senza spiegazione.
A complicare, se così si può dire, l’assenza di colore, solo gradazioni di grigio tra il nero e il bianco.
Eccellente abilità di tratteggio, cura maniacale del dettaglio, inquietudine sparsa come malefico balsamo.
Si capisce che storie così possano stimolare la fantasia dei bambini, ma si capisce anche perché Gorey avesse invece poco interesse per i bambini.
Non so perché, ma lo scopo della mia vita consiste nell’instillare un disagio generale. Penso che il disagio sia una reazione dovuta verso questo mondo.
April 29, 2018
This is my second wordless story today. The art here is meticulous and amazing. I love how he does patterns on wallpaper and carpet. The details he puts into these drawings is beautiful. I can't tell if there is a story here or a set of pictures that link up. The story is all up to the reader. The settings he provides can tell some disquieting tales.
I thought this was a fun little book. It is part of the Vinegar Works. Pull up your imagination and let it run wild within the pages of this book.
I thought this was a fun little book. It is part of the Vinegar Works. Pull up your imagination and let it run wild within the pages of this book.
May 30, 2023
Just a simple set of 30 images that seems to show snapshots in a creepy manor. For what it is, it's perfect - hence the 5-star rating. I just wish Gorey blessed us with 300 images! Some of the images seem like something out of the Shining, like the hallway full of water like a sea, and the weird landscape painting that suggests something lifelike hiding inside it. Other images are very down-to-earth like one with just a ladder leaning up against a wallpapered wall - but it feel sinister somehow.
August 14, 2013
In the west wing Gorey tells 30 individual stories through 30 captivating illustrations. With each frame comes the question, why?
Why is this man lying on the floor?
Why are there only 3 shoes scattered on the floor? Why is that rock on the table and so on, so forth.
I spent an age studying each illustration looking for clues that would give an answer. Alas Gorey is the master of mystery. It is up to the imagination to decide the outcome.
The West Wing wasn't one of my favourites but again the mysterious illustrations make it worth a view.
Why is this man lying on the floor?
Why are there only 3 shoes scattered on the floor? Why is that rock on the table and so on, so forth.
I spent an age studying each illustration looking for clues that would give an answer. Alas Gorey is the master of mystery. It is up to the imagination to decide the outcome.
The West Wing wasn't one of my favourites but again the mysterious illustrations make it worth a view.
September 24, 2021
I am SO glad that this has finally be republished. When I read all the Amphigoreys a few years back this stood out as one of Gorey's best pieces. So wonderfully and deliciously ominous. I like how it builds the suspense and gets weirder, with water and clouds in certain rooms of the house that surely inspired David Lynch. If there's a flaw it would be too many people in it. But that's only because I love the eerie house so much that it needs nothing else. Though they might be damned souls... There's just so much to think about!
September 10, 2016
I loved this book because I have absolutely no idea what it is about but know it is about something. The illustrations are incredibly cool. I kept trying to look deeper to see.
Although I loved this one, I still prefer The Gashlycrumb Tinies. That book is hilarious.
Although I loved this one, I still prefer The Gashlycrumb Tinies. That book is hilarious.
February 19, 2016
"Relectura" de uno de los libros que componen el box set "La fábrica de vinagre" del maestro oscuro Edward Gorey. No hay diálogos, no hay textos, ni una sola palabra que pueda delatar el misterio tras las lóbregas imágenes que se nos presentan en "El ala oeste". No hay mucho que explicar, lo más probable es que nunca lleguemos a entender del todo qué nos habrá querido transmitir Gorey con su arte. Pero de alguna forma, logra acelerar mi corazón.
February 23, 2021
Some delightful oddities, but honestly not my favorite Gorey, despite TNYT declaring it "one of Gorey's wordless masterpieces."
August 18, 2022
Muy chulo, unas ilustraciones geniales
March 10, 2022
Una historia sin palabras, ilustraciones cool
October 16, 2024
Not Gorey's best, but still neat.
November 29, 2015
Creepy in a masterfully reserved kind of way. Completely wordless, Gorey presents thirty illustrations of the titular wing and leaves the reader to render their meaning. The most unsettling for me is the one where, looking into a mirror, you see the legs and feet of a figure not quite out the door behind you. The thought that I would have caught it if I'd just turned the page sooner gave me such a chill. Really loving this Gorey kick I've wandered onto, and I must find more.
March 25, 2012
Charming as always. One of Gorey's wordless classics--the artwork here is intense and gorgeous and contains one of his most enchanting drawing (to me), of a nude man ( I believe to be modeled on Gorey himself--it greatly resembles him in his youth) standing before a marble balcony, that echoes the curves of his muscular legs. Extraordinary.
May 3, 2012
Edward Gorey books are generally short, but this one's the shortest that I've read yet. Only 30 pages and no text. It's a collection of snap shots of the imaginary West Wing of an Edwardian manor house, owned by some distant relation of the Addams Family. You'll find empty rooms, an overturned chair, a mummy and a naked bearded man among other disturbing sights. Quite lovely.
August 21, 2016
This is all about inference and imagination. Regular readers of Gorey will recognise the eerie Edwardian architecture, the hideous patterns, the half-obscured body in the drawing room. Each weird picture suggests its own story: together, they create something disturbing and bizarre. This is not his funniest book, or his most ghoulish, but it is oddly haunting. Utterly distinctive and unique.
August 1, 2012
This isn't an ordinary book.. So magical, mysterious, silent and dark. My favorite of Gorey's for sure!!
I read this book while listening to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnPpjX...
It elevated it into another level. Loved it!
I read this book while listening to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnPpjX...
It elevated it into another level. Loved it!
May 3, 2018
This is a wordless work and Gorey’s illustrations are strangely beautiful, a little unsettling, but also vague so much of the plot is up to you (not that that’s a bad thing). The story seems to be about a haunted house but as to what is actually happening is certainly up for interpretation
May 19, 2016
Frightening...I had to read this in a well lit area. Some combination of the lack of words, the black and white drawings, the seeming randomness of it, and the off drawings made this just...scary...I found myself wondering what story was behind each page and how it all tied together. How inspiring!
January 8, 2016
Two stars the first time I read it, five the second. I'll go with four. Review to come.
(Reread in Amphigorey; reviewing separately.)
(Reread in Amphigorey; reviewing separately.)
July 6, 2011
It's Ok, but he can do better.
April 21, 2012
Surreal
January 26, 2013
A glimpse into what a Gorey silent movie might look like.
February 5, 2016
This particular piece by Gorey helped cement my love of gothic horror. I love its understated creepiness, leaving so much to the imagination.
February 9, 2013
An intriguing mystery told by Gorey's intricate artwork.
July 1, 2013
Can Edward Gorey ever be anything but 5 stars?
July 28, 2013
Wonderfully evocative, eerie, wordless book about the haunted rooms of an old house.
October 17, 2014
Oh my.. I dont think i "get" Gorey.. Cool pictures though!
September 3, 2015
Wordless perfection.
January 6, 2016
Tell me a story with art. I dare you. So does Gorey because he is king.
February 22, 2016
A truly haunting wordless narrative.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews