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Rating: 
Summary: "The of it all"
Review: A long time fan of Edward Gorey, I was given this book as a birthday present by my sister. Having never read anything about his life, I found this book insightful but also a little redundant. This isn't necessarily a book to read straight through, but might work better read over time in order to dispel the similarities in questions/answers. This is not a biography, but rather a collection of interviews the confirmed "recluse" gave over the span of his life. Gorey talks passionately about his loves (ballet, cats, reading) as well as his hates (Henry James - and who could argue?). Each interview paints a picture of the artist that lives up to the weird and wondrous works he creates. Gorey's works are bizarre and although not intentionally macabre, they are oddly disconcerting, if not downright unsetlling. Sometimes his knowledge and responses have the same effect. For anyone who is a fan of this too little known author and artist, "Ascending Peculiarity" is a wonderful portrait of Edward Gorey. It leaves you wanting to know more, wishing you were there asking the questions, just as many of his works leave you wondering what they were all about.
Rating:
Summary: "The of it all"
Review: A long time fan of Edward Gorey, I was given this book as a birthday present by my sister. Having never read anything about his life, I found this book insightful but also a little redundant. This isn't necessarily a book to read straight through, but might work better read over time in order to dispel the similarities in questions/answers. This is not a biography, but rather a collection of interviews the confirmed "recluse" gave over the span of his life. Gorey talks passionately about his loves (ballet, cats, reading) as well as his hates (Henry James - and who could argue?). Each interview paints a picture of the artist that lives up to the weird and wondrous works he creates. Gorey's works are bizarre and although not intentionally macabre, they are oddly disconcerting, if not downright unsetlling. Sometimes his knowledge and responses have the same effect. For anyone who is a fan of this too little known author and artist, "Ascending Peculiarity" is a wonderful portrait of Edward Gorey. It leaves you wanting to know more, wishing you were there asking the questions, just as many of his works leave you wondering what they were all about.
Rating:
Summary: Read it for the man - buy it for the references
Review: Amid the doorstop-sized biographies of anyone who has put two ideas together, it's great to have this bright little collection of interviews of a remarkably original thinker. The variety of the interviewers is effective - there are graphic design types asking about paper and nibs, and literary types working on themes and influences, as well as the official New Yorker canonization, and the sharp little session with Dick Cavett. Gorey comes across as both erudite and self-effacing - he's an intellectual with an asbsurdist's lack of vanity about his place in the world, and a humanist's warmth for the pleasantness of daily life. What made this book better than a nice bio of an interesting person is that Gorey was, in his words, "a cultural magpie," and was very generous with his compliments to artists he found excellent. So if you like the play of aesthetic styles and ideas in Gorey's work, you'll probably love listening to him talk about the artists he admires. I've added a half-dozen of his recommendations to my to-read list.
Rating: 
Summary: A Kind of Quirky Inspiriation
Review: If there's one thing I really love about this book it's the lack of continuity. There's no need to sit down and read it straight through. Read an article a day. Go to it only when you want a sentence or thought to mull over. Pick out an image when you want to write or illustrate something yourself. There's plenty of quirky inspiration to be found in these articles. This is an eccentric kind of biography, perfectly suited to the nature of the man. In it there is only so much revealed, enough to make you wonder what else was there, what was waiting to happen. And for those of us that wouldn't have access to the original articles, well, this is a wonderful solution. Perhaps the only thing that kept this book from getting a full five stars is that there just aren't enough of his illustrations to satisfy.
Rating: 
Summary: For Gorey Fanatics Only
Review: This book is a collection of career-spanning interviews, each of which say generally the same thing, which makes for repetitive reading. However, in each, Gorey does reveal one or two new details about himself. None of the interviews delve too deeply into the mind of this reclusive artist, who gives interviews not because he likes them but only because he can't seem to say "no". I recommed instead Theroux's slim memoir, which somehow seems to contains all the same information but more. That being said, I'm still glad I read it because I'm a Gorey fanatic and there aren't too many books about him.
Rating:
Summary: Good collection of Edward Gorey interviews
Review: This is a large selection of interviews of Edward Gorey, from feature-length articles to small tidbits like the quick Proust questionnaire from Vanity Fair magazine. These interviews provide some welcome insight on the author's inspirations and working methods. Perhaps because Gorey was consistent, many of the interviews have a sameness to them. They ask the same questions, or they examine the same themes, though they were supposedly edited in this collection for redundancies. I think that if one were to have encountered these articles individually in a magazine, they would be much more pleasurable; however, the book saves a lot of work looking up the original interviews at the reference library! My one criticism of the book is the endnotes that clarify the cultural references in the book. They are informative, but in some cases they are misnumbered or attached to the wrong interview.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating for his fans
Review: This is a valuable book for Edward Gorey's ever-growing group of fans. If you are familiar with this artist's unique brand of sophisticatedly absurd stories, illustrated with a distinct, careful pen-and-ink style that is halfway between fine art and cartoon, then you will be intrigued to find out more about the eccentric man who made them. (If you are unfamiliar with his work, I strongly suggest you find a copy of a collection of his called "Amphigorey.") This book collects the best interviews and magazine pieces about Gorey that appeared from the sixties until his death in the late nineties. Taken together, they give a pretty good idea of what Gorey was like - erudite, obsessive, reclusive, and above all, a man who did his own thing regardless of whether it brought success or not. (In this he is a truly inspirational figure, however odd you may think him. It's not that he was a particularly happy person, but he always allowed himself to be himself.) Gorey speaks of his artistic influences and offers sporadic glimpses into his family life and work habits. Where else will you find this much information about him in one place? This may well be the truest glimpse of the man behind the art that we will ever see.
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional guide
Review: This set of interviews selected and edited by Karen Wilkin are presented here for their importance as a literary autobiography offering many insights on Edward Gorey's personal and artistic life. Few had the opportunity to interview Gorey, making this especially important as a gathering of over twenty conversations with him which began in 1973 and concluded in 1999, shortly before his death. Add reproductions of his art and you have an exceptional guide.
Rating:
Summary: Read it for the man - buy it for the references
Review: What could be better than Gorey in his own words. Edward's own conversation is just as good as any of his books or artwork. His estate put this together with great care and it's worth every penny to those familiar with his work. For those who aren't- wait -and go buy Amphigorey...
then buy this.
One highlight- the Dick Cavett interview.... "Would you like to see how you look on television?" Edward, "No, I'd rather not.."
Rating:
Summary: What Could Be Better?
Review: What could be better than Gorey in his own words. I've interviewed Edward and his own conversation is just as good as any of his books or artwork. His estate put this together with great care and it's worth every penny to those familiar with his work. For those who aren't- wait -and go buy Amphigorey...
then buy this. One highlight- the Dick Cavett interview.... "Would you like to see how you look on television?" Edward, "No, I'd rather not.."
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