The Europeans is the most entertaining James novel I've read so far in
my quest of reading all his novels in chronological order. It's a
sort-of reversal of The American; instead of a financially successful
American attempting to marry into European aristocracy, The Europeans
concerns mid-19th century visitors from across the pond staying with and
somewhat preying upon, plain-living New Englanders of various types,
with marriage as the ultimate goal.
The Europeans are a broke and
devil-may-care bohemian/artist and his older sister, unequally married
to a prince attempting to dump her. The machinations of this somewhat
dubious couple's attempts to ingratiate themselves into the lives (if
not the hearts) of their straight-faced cousins are fascinating, subtle
and frequently funny. The short novel is not considered one of James'
best works, but it has a sort of tossed off quality that rings truer
than some of his more labored over "serious" work. All of the characters
ring true to my mind and the work is a slow simmering mixture of
comedy, pathos and acute observation of manners.
I read this book 34 years ago, and enjoyed even more reading it recently.
One
thought that occurred to me while reading The Europeans is how unworthy
the medium of film is in translating good literature to sound and
pictures. Film is literally incapable of communicating the depth of
details presented in text. Consider, for example, how this passage would
be filmed. I'll find out soon, when I watch the Merchant-Ivory
adaptation onto film:
The Baroness took her uncle's hand, and
stood looking at him with her ugly face and her beautiful smile. "Have I
done right to come?" she asked.
"Very right, very right," said
Mr. Wentworth, solemnly. He had arranged in his mind a little speech;
but now it quite faded away. He felt almost frightened. He had never
been looked at in just that way—with just that fixed, intense smile—by
any woman; and it perplexed and weighed upon him, now, that the
woman who was smiling so and who had instantly given him a vivid sense
of her possessing other unprecedented attributes, was his own niece, the
child of his own father's daughter. The idea that his niece should be a
German Baroness, married "morganatically" to a Prince, had already
given him much to think about. Was it right, was it just, was it
acceptable? He always slept badly, and the night before he had lain
awake much more even than usual, asking himself these questions. The
strange word "morganatic" was constantly in his ears; it reminded him of
a certain Mrs. Morgan whom he had once known and who had been a bold,
unpleasant woman. He had a feeling that it was his duty, so long as the
Baroness looked at him, smiling in that way, to meet her glance with his
own scrupulously adjusted, consciously frigid organs of vision; but on
this occasion he failed to perform his duty to the last. He looked away
toward his daughters. "We are very glad to see you," he had said. "Allow
me to introduce my daughters - Miss Charlotte Wentworth, Miss Gertrude Wentworth."
Ostensibly for Kidds (I mean kids), Chip Kidd's Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design is in truth worth reading by all ages.
Kidd
is a designer who loves design, the history of design, loves designing
and loves teaching design. Every page of this graphics-packed book has
insight on the creative process, on the thought process required for
good design and the infinite number of techniques and tools which can be
used in design.
This short but potent book entertainingly covers
typography, package design, logos, book and poster design, creative
concepts and much more, including suggested do-it-yourself projects
which every artist can learn from. I recommend this book!
We'll be set up, signing books and taking commissions at the Mini Indie Ogre Con at Laughing Ogre Comics - High Street this Friday evening from 6-8, along with Sean Forney, Victor Dandridge Jr,
Brian Canini & Derek Baxter and Craig Bogart! Many more cartoonists
are scheduled to set up throughout the weekend, so check here for the
complete schedule and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/499846676783923/
PayPal accepted! Conditions range from Fair (reading copy) to Very Fine. Average condition: Good+. Authors include Asimov, Clarke, Farmer, Edmund Hamilton, Poul Anderson, Larry Niven, Ben Bova, and much more. mneno@columbus.rr.com
Illustrators include Virgil Finlay, Kaluta, Dan Adkins, many more.
Books include:
Analog - Sept., 1970 (Cover worn/Good); July 1976 (Cover worn/Good)
Fantastic - Dec. 1968 (Good)
Galaxy - May, 1972 (Good); Sept., 1972 (Fine); Nov., 1973 (Fine); Dec.,
1973 (tape across cover/reading copy); Sept., 1974 (Good); Nov. , 1974
(Very Fine); Sept., 1975 (Good); Sept./Oct. 1979 (small tear in
cover/Fair)
Other Worlds - Aug., 1952 (two copies) (Good)
Science Fiction Adventures Yearbook 1970 (Fine)
Space Adventures - 1970, Spring (Very Fine)
Thrilling Science Fiction - April, 1974/All Virgil Finlay issue (Fair)
I came across this 1999 mini comic, Space, by Scott Mills today - one of his best. You can check out some recent work by him here: http://supertsars.wordpress.com/
Underwater Cats greeting cards 10-packs!
Beautifully decorated with one of my kitschy underwater cat paintings,
blank inside for whatever message you may wish to send and marked on the
back with my Underwater Cats logo. Packaged in acid-free plastic with
ten envelopes. $10 ppd. PayPal accepted: mneno@columbus.rr.com
I love those elongated limbs.
The following are pics I took of the original art for Noel Sickles' January 22nd, 1936 Scorchy Smith daily, which was on display at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum.
Cropping close sections of the art reveal the amazing craft Sickles put into the work on a daily basis, some of which could almost double for fine abstract paintings. Click on the art for a bigger look.
In comparison, I've included a printed version (minus the book spine bends in the last panel) of the same strip, from Dean Mullaney's book, Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles.
