Classic Returns: Reprints, Updates, & Bargains
by Mike Rogers Apr 7, 2011If April is the cruelest month, you'd never know it by this column. I've got some pretty good stuff for you. In fiction, there's a scholarly edition of Ray Bradbury stories, some classic sf, some sleazy early erotica by a master of sf slumming it, and some solid lit. In nonfiction, I've got everything from gnomes, to a double dose of Tennessee Williams, to Gilligan's Island.—Mike Rogers
FICTION
Bradbury, Ray. The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury: A Critical Edition; Vol. 1, 1938-1943. Kent State Univ. 2011. 498p. ISBN 9781606350713. $65. F
Although there have been numerous collections of Bradbury's shorts, this critical edition claims to be the first to run the stories in the order in which they were written. This volume also includes 13 stories that never appeared in other Bradbury collections. For the pieces that have appeared before, this edition uses the original serial forms as they were first published. It also includes lots of scholarly notes on the text. It's good to see a god like Uncle Ray get this critical treatment (if you don't know, he's a huge champion of libraries). The price, alas, is stiff, so this is probably more for the academics.
Dick, Philip K. Adjustment Team: The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick; Volume 2, 1952-1953. Subterranean. Sep. 2011. c.488p. ISBN 9781596063952. $40. SF.
This is the second installment in Subterranean's planned five-volume series of the late Dick's shorts, following the initial volume, The King of the Elves, released last year. This collection sports 27 stories including "The Cookie Lady," "Martians Come in Clouds," and "Human Is," plus Dick's notes on the stories. Dick still has a strong fan base among the SF set, so give this a shot if your budget allows.
Elliott, Don. Gang Girl & Sex Bum. Stark House. Apr. 2011. 236p. 9781933586342. pap. $19.95. F
If Don Elliott's name isn't familiar, try Robert Silverberg on for size. Sf god Silverberg wrote hardboiled erotica as Elliott during his early career when he was having difficulty selling his work. Both Gang Girl (1959) and Sex Bum (1963), not surprisingly, were originally published as trashy paperbacks by Nightstand Books. Though sleazy for their time, they're tame by today's standards. As Silverberg says in his intro, "The difference between the hot stuff of 1959 and today's pornographic fiction is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." Like with Larry Block's recent Campus Tramp, this vintage sex stuff has become more kitschy and fun than dirty in a so-bad-it's-good way.
Kalfus, Ken. Pu-239 and Other Russian Fantasies. Milkweed. 2011. 289p. ISBN 9781571310828. pap. $16. F
Kalfus's 1999 title was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a Pen/Faulkner Award finalist, and his earlier and later releases also were big award contenders, so this guy is the real deal. The volume contains the title story and five other shorts plus the novella Peredelkino, all of which chronicle various facets of life in the Soviet Union (Kalfus lived in Moscow for years before emigrating to America). If you serve a Russian community or want to give some serious literature a push, try this.
New York Stories. Everyman's Library. (Pocket Classics). 2011. 393p. ISBN 9780307594938. $15. F
New York has been home to many of our nation's greatest writers. Not all of them necessarily were natives, but they were pulled here by Manhattan's own particular artist gravity. This sweet collection offers stories by Jack Kerouac, John Cheever, Truman Capote, Willa Cather, Damon Runyan, James Baldwin, Jay McInerny, and several others. C'mon, all that Noo Yawk juice for 15 fazools, fugetaboutit! (For those outside of NYC, that means: it's a great collection for a great price, so buy it.)
NONFICTION
Huygen, Wil (text) & Rien Poortvliet (illus.). Gnomes: Deluxe Collector's Edition. Abrams. Apr. 2011. 224p. ISBN 9780810998469. $29.95. ART
It's hard to believe that Huygen and Poortlviet's book debuted 35 years ago (I bought it when it was new, so that being almost four decades ago makes me feel older than dirt). The book was a New York Times bestseller, and readers bought up more than a million copies. For this deluxe version, illustrator Poortlviet has included a number of new sketches, and a back-cover pocket sports eight full-color removable prints (which will be stolen by the first patron to borrow the book, so tack them up in your children's room). The book is unbelievably cute, and the art itself is colorful and fun. Gnomes will charm readers young and old.
Madden, David & Kristopher Mecholsky. James M. Cain: Hard-Boiled Mythmaker. Scarecrow. Jul. 2011. c.232p. bibliog. ISBN 9780810881181. $49. LIT
This expanded edition actually takes the good stuff from two of Madden's earlier volumes on Cain and combines them. He also has added some new information, including recent material on Cain's later books such as Rainbow's End, Cloud Nine, and The Enchanted Isle. A new adaptation of Mildred Pierce recently debuting on HBO proves there is still much interest in his work, and The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity continue to thrill in print and on screen. This scholarly analysis of Cain is more for the academics.
Schwartz, Sherwood. Inside Gilligan's Island: From Creation to Syndication. McFarland. 2011. c.342p. illus. index. ISBN 9780786463688. pap. $19.95. TV
Schwartz, Gilligan's Island's creator, writer, and producer, reminisced about that experience in this 1988 memoir that was warmly embraced by critics, including LJ's reviewer, who found it "told with charming panache." The adventures of the S.S. Minnow's castaways lasted only three seasons, for a total of 98 shows, yet despite that relative brevity, the show has seemingly never gone off the air, and its characters—Gilligan and the Skipper, Ginger and Mary Ann (let's not go there), the Howells, and the professor, who apparently could build anything out of bamboo but a boat—remain instantly recognizable nearly 50 years later. The text includes numerous monochrome pictures, and appendixes offer episode synopses. The price isn't bad, so if you have an active TV section, give this a shot. There are bound to be fans.
Spark, Muriel. Curriculum Vitae: A Volume of Autobiography. New Directions. Apr. 2011. c.240p. photogs. ISBN 9780811219235. pap. $14.95. LIT
Spark initially released this memoir in 1992. She digs back to her roots in Scotland, writes about her Jewish father and English Presbyterian mother, recalls her mess of a first marriage, her travels, and, of course, her writing and the various writers she rubbed elbows and other body parts with. She doesn't mince words; it's a full-bodied autobiography. Solid for any lit collection.
Williams, Tennessee. Plays 1937-1955. 1054p. ISBN 9781883011864.Williams, Tennessee. Plays 1957-1980. 997p. ISBN 9781883011871. ea. vol: Library of America. 2011. DRAMA
Now this is killer. To celebrate Williams's centennial (March 26), the Library of America is releasing what it calls the "definitive collection" of his work. The twin volumes collect 32 of his single and multiact plays, including The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Rose Tattoo, Suddenly Last Summer, and many more. The text also includes the author's notes on the works, plus the series' standard scholarly extras. Note that a boxed set (ISBN 9781598531046, $80) also is available. A full set of Williams is essential to public and academic drama collections. Happy 100th birthday, Tennessee!
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