salieri2's review against another edition
5.0
Devastating.
Silverstein's sly wit and pointed commmentary are aimed at adult themes this time: bigotry, intolerance, homophobia, the true meaning of Christian sacrifice ("They Forgot The Nails" will wreck you), dehumanization, vanity, love, and all manner of human folly. His line drawings are as sparse as ever, but they gain a new economy given the amount of nuance they convey as they illustrate sophisticated feelings.
It's not always critical, but sometimes uplifting. Some of his cartoons will make you frown, even weep, and some are so joyful I wonder how he could hold his pen down hard enough to draw them.
Thank God for the 25th Anniversary Edition! It's been out of print for so long I feared I'd never be able to afford a copy.
Silverstein's sly wit and pointed commmentary are aimed at adult themes this time: bigotry, intolerance, homophobia, the true meaning of Christian sacrifice ("They Forgot The Nails" will wreck you), dehumanization, vanity, love, and all manner of human folly. His line drawings are as sparse as ever, but they gain a new economy given the amount of nuance they convey as they illustrate sophisticated feelings.
It's not always critical, but sometimes uplifting. Some of his cartoons will make you frown, even weep, and some are so joyful I wonder how he could hold his pen down hard enough to draw them.
Thank God for the 25th Anniversary Edition! It's been out of print for so long I feared I'd never be able to afford a copy.
acknud's review against another edition
4.0
Pictures are worth a thousand words...and these pictures made me laugh!
just_fighting_censorship's review against another edition
5.0
So so so so so so so so so good!
This is an ADULT book with adult content. This book focuses on drawings, there is virtually no poetry.
Very profound, thought provoking, and filled with dark biting humor.
Love, love, love. Shel Silverstein is a genius, he can say more with a few line drawings on a page than others can in volumes of metaphors and similes....
This is an ADULT book with adult content. This book focuses on drawings, there is virtually no poetry.
Very profound, thought provoking, and filled with dark biting humor.
Love, love, love. Shel Silverstein is a genius, he can say more with a few line drawings on a page than others can in volumes of metaphors and similes....
straylight's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely intended for adults. This book made me crack up!
jsjammersmith's review against another edition
5.0
Shel Silverstein lives on in these snapshots of humanity that remind the reader how beautiful and painful life can be. Whether it's a woman being impaled on a man's pedestal, a writer spending his entire life being rejected, a woman being rejected for showing her true self, or a single sperm cell trying desperately not to be crushed by the pill, these stories breathe with a life and wit that is sweet and endearing. I cannot say how much I love this book. Read it.
satyridae's review
4.0
Entirely brilliant. Subversive, hilarious, filthy, delicious, twisted, disgusting, inspiring, and delightful. How the execrable [b:The Giving Tree|370493|The Giving Tree|Shel Silverstein|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174210942s/370493.jpg|30530] could spring from this same pen is beyond me. I suppose even Uncle Shelby had to pay the bills. But this book here is what it's all about, bringing to mind the old Spider Robinson quote - something along the lines of "Funny men make better lovers, they understand pain." I've loved this book forever, and was elated to find a first edition at Powell's the other day. It's just as wonderful as I remember.
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