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Sarah M. HENRY

Author of New York: The Story of a Great City

3 Works 47 Members 5 Reviews

Works by Sarah M. HENRY

New York: The Story of a Great City (2011) — Editor — 24 copies
L'histoire de New York (2011) — Author — 2 copies

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Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: AMUSINGLY STRANGE and curiously compelling, Charles Addams' cartoons give a sly wink and a nod to scenes of everyday life in New York, Addams-style. His dark wit and deft hand lend themselves to subterranean themes of love and relationships, secrets and obsessions, subway stations and Lady Liberty. In Addams' Apple: The New York Cartoons of Charles Addams, we witness an artist inspired by the quirks of his fellow New Yorkers and the singular nature of their city-itself one of Addams' characters.

In her foreword, Sarah M. Henry (Museum of the City of New York) highlights Addams' offbeat insights into the institutions and mindsets that define the city's culture. Lucy Sante's preface explores Addams' unique place in American culture.

Addams' Apple presents more than 150 cartoons created by "Chas" Addams (American, 1912-1988) throughout his prolific career; some have never been published before. More of the artist's work can be seen in The Addams Family: An Evilution (Pomegranate, 2010).

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review
: Do you need anything other than "one hundred fifty Charles Addams cartoons for thirty bucks" to send you to the buy link above? Maybe "hardcover edition" will light the fire. Lucy Sante wrote a bangin' preface? What more do you need to know? There is so much anyone from NYC will nod along to; some more timeless than others, but if you're my age absolutely every one of these glimpses into the soul/abyss of New York's biggest city is evocative, wryly amusing, and/or laugh-out-loud hilarious.

The gifting season is a great time to offer this aide-memoire to the fled, the settled, or the aspiring New Yorker. Anyone interested in Charles Addams and his art chops would love it, too. Aspiring artist? Ideal! Tyro comedian? Maybe a bit advanced, but I firmly believe aspirational gifts of perfect mastery in the chosen artform are genuinely helpful to the beginner. Enjoy these three images provided by Pomegranate:



If these stir no mirth in you, check for a pulse.
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richardderus | 4 other reviews | Dec 12, 2024 |
Addams' Apple features a handful of comics with the Addams Family, but the emphasis is upon NYC not the Family so unsurprisingly not a good primer on the characters and backstory. One of the introducers (I forget whether it was curater Henry or artist Sante) observes the Family are alleged to live in the suburbs (implicitly a town in New Jersey from which Addams himself came), not the city itself, and merely visit the city. While I always realised the house and surrounds would not fit into any borough I knew, still I thought it part of the schtick that they somehow were located in the city proper, perhaps down an anonymous cobbled alley. (Admittedly: I only ever "knew" the romanticised caricatures of Manhattan and Brooklyn.)

Addams' Family aside, I liked there were several comics I didn't get, as they evidently referred to NYC lore of which I was ignorant. This interpretation is suggested by some comics I did understand, such as lyrics from show tunes and the idea they are pervasive to NYC culture.

In fact, I surmise that it was the influence of Addams and other works like his that "created" the fabled culture of NYC itself, as much as it "reflects" it. That's not something I'll ever be in a position to argue with any persuasive force, and probably difficult for anyone. But an idea the book left with me, and that leaves me satisfied now I've read it.
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elenchus | 4 other reviews | Sep 21, 2023 |
Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
 
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fernandie | 4 other reviews | Sep 15, 2022 |
Addams' Apple: The New York Cartoons of Charles Addams is a wonderful collection for both the humor and the glimpse at the recent past. We are all familiar with The Addams Family franchise and those characters certainly make plenty of cameos here, but the collection is so much more.

Addams managed to create situations that were both fantastic (as in fantasy) and relatable. The cover is an excellent example, there is no giant hand beckoning to the man if this represents reality, but most of us (and a large percent of New Yorkers) can relate to what the man might be feeling. But there are as many anxieties that beckoning finger can represent as there are readers looking at the cartoon.

The juxtaposition of something so obviously out of place in modern day (well, at the time) Manhattan with the "yeah, whatever" response (or non-response) of those around gives the reader pause. It is in that pause that some of the underlying meaning or intentions present themselves. By forcing us to pause we are made to try to make sense of what we see. There were a couple that simply flew over my head, and I lived in Manhattan for a short time quite some time ago. So not every cartoon will likely speak to every reader. But there are so many gems here that it is well worth the time and effort. Not to mention the drawings themselves are wonderful examples of what can be done with simple lines and shading.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.
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pomo58 | 4 other reviews | Feb 13, 2020 |

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