drewsof's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know that I was quite in the mood for Coover just now, although I appreciated his gifts as much as ever. Or perhaps it's that this collection is Coover in his 70s and that's a different Coover from the one in his 30s/40s that I so adore from [b:Pricksongs and Descants|156194|Pricksongs and Descants|Robert Coover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388222909l/156194._SY75_.jpg|1902723].
He's diving into childhood stories (for the most part) -- fairy tales and such. The Pied Piper, Snow White, Alice, Little Red Riding Hood, but also adult riffs on the logic puzzles I remember so fondly from fourth grade and twists on the Invisible Man and the hagiographic love students are meant to have for Presidents. For my money, nearly all of these stories ran on a touch too long and what shocked in early Coover is now a bit predictable. Still, there's much to be found here for the fans and the newcomers alike.
Oh and "Heart Suit" -- attached to the back as a set of shuffle-able cards -- is a delightful (if, yes, a bit too long) Oulipo experiment. Nice to see, at the very least, that the tricky gleam has never once left his eye.
He's diving into childhood stories (for the most part) -- fairy tales and such. The Pied Piper, Snow White, Alice, Little Red Riding Hood, but also adult riffs on the logic puzzles I remember so fondly from fourth grade and twists on the Invisible Man and the hagiographic love students are meant to have for Presidents. For my money, nearly all of these stories ran on a touch too long and what shocked in early Coover is now a bit predictable. Still, there's much to be found here for the fans and the newcomers alike.
Oh and "Heart Suit" -- attached to the back as a set of shuffle-able cards -- is a delightful (if, yes, a bit too long) Oulipo experiment. Nice to see, at the very least, that the tricky gleam has never once left his eye.
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