Eustace Chisholm and the Works

Book Description

A literary cult hero of major proportions, James Purdy’s exquisitely surreal fiction—Tennessee Williams meets William S. Burroughs—has been populated for more than forty years by social outcasts living in crisis and longing for love. His acclaimed first novel, Malcolm (1959), won praise from writers as diverse as Dame Edith Sitwell, Dorothy Parker, and Gore Vidal, while his later works, from the award-winning In a Shallow Grave (1976) to Gertrude of Stony Island Avenue (1998), influenced new generations of authors. Eustace Chisholm and the Works, a 1967 novel that became a gay classic, is an especially outspoken book among the author’s controversial body of work. Purdy recalls that Eustace Chisholm and the Works—named one of the Publishing Triangle’s 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Novels of the 20th Century—outraged the New York literary establishment. More than breaking out of the pre-Stonewall closet, however, the book liberated its author and readers can be grateful for that.

Customer Reviews:

One-of-a-kind novel that defies easy categorization . ........2004-01-16

. .
and top-notch all the way! EUSTACHE CHISHOLM AND THE WORKS doesn't fit into easy subgenre or marketing categorizations because its era (bottom of the Depression ca. 1931), setting (the incredibly diverse Hyde Park district of South Side Chicago, near the U. of Chicago campus) and cast of characters (de facto leader Eustace Chisholm and his "works," a bunch of guys semi-squatting in a tax-overdue house) are difficult to type after seventy years of New Deal, Joseph McCarthy, Vietnam, and Televangelism. Taken strictly on its own terms, EUSTACE comes across as a work of 1930s social realism (although written in the 1960s), a masterfully wrought work, nicely nuanced yet accessible . . . and great fun.

Principal players are title character Eustace Chisholm and his "works," a kind of rough-hewn rat pack who rely on their de facto leader's one-day-at-a-time problem-solving as they face the ironic stresses that the rest of the USA also faced during the early 1930s--living in a capitalist economy without capital. Their situation was hardly unique. From farm to town to metropolis, one-third of a nation found itself unemployed and--most trying of all--the Hoover administration, following pre-Keynesian economic policy, paradoxically pulled back on the federal money supply, upwardly sucking the currency from use, recovery and hope. (Think of Studs Terkel's *HARD TIMES* and other oral accounts of the Great Depression, the common refrain: "All of a sudden there was no money!") A great deal of this novel's comic tension lies between the conditional sympathy many readers will feel toward the lead characters and their demi-monde and the automatic fellow-feeling wired in the American DNA toward their economic plight as mass casualties of the Great Depression's fiscal meltdown.

In concert with Eustace's innate wisdom and street smarts, "The Works" understood that life in a money-free money economy made them something like Busby Berkeley's "Golddiggers" of movie fame: They were "in the money" because they "had a lot of what it [took] to get along." If that meant the occasional venture into horizontal service, well, German playwright Bertolt Brecht puts it nicely: *Erst das Fressen, dann die Moral*: "Food first, morals afterward." EUSTACE is certainly worth reading with a queer eye, but it is no more totally beholden to the canon of Gay Literature than is BABBITT totally a book about Real Estate.

It's Purdy's great gift--as previous reviewers have hymned so well--that he can find sweetness in the ordinary and in what (to many people) might sound sordid and mean. Crucial to this is that he does so without distortion, propagandizing or advocacy. This is REAL literature, and sadly overlooked at that. Eustace & Co. are a mixture of sugar and spice, compromise and charm. As such, they are just as much in the American grain as Mose and Addie Pray in the novella that sparked the movie *PAPER MOON*: shrewd little Addie understands that sometimes a five-buck Bible might be worth $50 to a wealthy widow and sometimes--as to a poverty-wracked farm family--the only compassionate thing is to give it away as "prepaid". And what are more quintessentially 20th-Century American than marketing compounding by the pinpoint timing of arbitrage?

Purdy is such a gifted narrator that he shows the compelling and even witty existential freedom of that pre-Holocaust, pre-AIDS world in which the only givens truly were death and taxes--but either could be held at bay for quite a while with cunning and friendly solidarity. This book speaks to a "modern"--which is to say universal--sensibility. Read it with an open mind and you'll find it will go straight to an open heart, with frequent forays into your funny bone and social awareness.

Color of Darkness.......2002-08-22

No better way to start this short little review with one of the most beautiful titles ever found (by Purdy): Color of Darkness. Almost all of Purdy's work can be characterized by this metaphor. His most famous works (Eustace Chisholm, Malcolm, Narrow Rooms, In A Shallow Grave) belong to the most mysteriously beautiful American novels ever and the literature of the whole Western World. Truly American in characters, truly universal in themata, truly disturbing in effect. He reminded me of those other greatgreatgreat American authors, Flannery o'Connor, Faulkner and Poe. Younger authors like Easton Ellis and the likes of him are simply looking bleak and lifeless compared with Purdy, although i also liked reading them.

Purdy's work is really about Love and the disturbing effects of it on humans and the human society. Never was there an American author who understood so deeply the fundamental qualities and nature of Human Love, clearifying it, to make the reader understand, to feel the fundamental and terrible force of it. I can't even begin to tell about the beauty of his work. I read Eustace Chisholm, Narrow Rooms, In A Shallow Grave years and years ago, I don't even know whether Purdy lives or is dead, but the effect of his work is there, again and again, never to leave anymore. I can only wish there was more of such work.

I am so glad that there are still Americans who also appreciate his work, and that they write so highly regarding of him. People all over the world should read it, especially in these days when the ultimate form of love seems primarily to be transformed into the Love For...Homeland ...

Read it, for God's sake.

James Purdy at his best.......2001-04-21

I find it hard to believe that James Purdy is so neglected when he is so good. If you're a fan of Flannery O'Conner, I urge you to read Purdy - you will not be disappointed. "Eustace Chisholm" is a stunning achievement. A compelling tale of unrequited love,self loathing, and horror. This is a great train wreck of a book, filled with charcaters and situations you may wish you'd never encountered, and yet you are compelled by forces ungovernable to continue reading. Yes, the material is dark. The characters fail to come together in any positive ways - quite the contrary. Purdy has populated his tale with emotional illiterates; people who most assuredly feel that God has forgotten them. The story of Amos and Daniel is rife with symbolism - innocence corrupted, love demonized, self flagellation - it's all here. The conclusion is quite stunning, horrible and real. Purdy is a true American original, a Gay author who wrote about gay people long before it was fashionable to do so. DO NOT LET THIS ONE GET AWAY UNREAD.

must read for the feeble minded!.......2000-11-02

I cannot remember having read a book that made me souneasy. Why read it then, you may ask? Because, as the liberal mindedperson I thought I was (liberal)before reading this book. I liked to be accepting of all aspects of human desire, however concocted they seemed to me. The book abuses that spirit by presenting desires that are hard to accept as "humane" or "healthy", while at the same time the fulfilment of those desires are convincingly portrayed as redeeming and liberating. But how can I accept what to me seems most gruelsome? I think the book showed me that what I thought was my liberal accepting spirit, was in fact more some sort of... curiosity. I feel all the better for it.

Average customer rating:

Eustace Chisholm & the Works
James Purdy
Manufacturer: BANTAM BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SET9K0

Average customer rating:

Eustace Chisholm & the Works
James Purdy
Manufacturer: BANTAM BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000PX5SFO

Average customer rating:

Eustace Chisholm & the Works
James Purdy
Manufacturer: BANTAM BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UDWIAM

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Eustace Chisholm & the Works
James Purdy
Manufacturer: Jonathan Cape, London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CO605

Average customer rating:

Eustace Chisholm and the Works
James PURDY
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FFD66K

Product Description

His fifth novel.

Average customer rating:

Eustace Chisholm and the Works
Purdy J
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus & Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0374149569

Average customer rating:

Eustace Chisholm and the Works
James Purdy
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

EUSTACE CHISHOLM AND THE WORKS.
James. Purdy
Manufacturer: Cape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O932FM

Color of Darkness, 11 Stories and a Novella / Eustace Chisholm and the Works / Malcolm

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Color of Darkness, 11 Stories and a Novella / Eustace Chisholm and the Works / Malcolm
James Purdy
Manufacturer: Bantam, 1970 / Bantam, 1970 / Avon, 1965
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VJ2M6K

Book Description

In the conclusion of the Tir Alainn Trilogy, the uneasy alliance between Fae and humans may not be enough to defeat the Inquisitors-leaving them no choice but to seek out the witches of the House of Gaian. But can they be trusted?

Customer Reviews:

her black jewels is better..........2006-01-06

...but this one is great. the best in the trilogy. but why did morag have to die? for some reason, my favourite authors have a habit of killing off my faourite characters. the only cool one left is aiden. honestly!
but it was still good. and yes, i would recommend it.

I like!.......2005-12-14

Bishop keeps going! This turned out to be a very fun and well written series, It isn't earth shaking in complexity or originality but .. damn its good!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MalazanWorld/

To Ella - My Favorite Uninformed Reader of the Day.......2004-11-10

I'm glad that you plowed head first into the last book of a trilogy, really I am. That gives you every right to smash someone's work to pieces, because you didn't bother to read the back of the book, or the author's work list in the first pages. Where it would be noted it was the third book. Every nasty review of a basically decent book on here is always filled with college literary english class terms, yet few of you even have the courage to use your full actual name in these reviews, because if we ran an author search for it, we'd find nothing.

So, maybe when you can convince a publisher that you're a wonderful writer and he publishes your book and you hit the bestseller list, you'll be qualified to hand out scathing dissections of a book that are more suited for English Literature 205, rather than a simple yet honest review of a book written for everyone, not just the educated. And thanks for the tip for a new book to read, oh, wait. Nevermind, you gave me the first book in the series. According to you I should be able to start at the end and be fine.

No recognizable plotline.......2004-07-04

A book needs a plot. That's just common sense, isn't it? Well, I read half this book before giving up in total disgust, and I couldn't find even a TRACE of one. Just because this is the third book in a trilogy does not mean that a reader should have to go back and read the other two books just so they can figure out whats happening in the final volume.

I bought this book because it looked interesting. You know, witches, fairies, that kind of thing. But from page one, all the characters did was prance around with their cute little titles like "the gatherer of souls" and commit various random acts of violence and/or sugary kindness.

I think Anne Bishop has grown complacent with the success of the Black Jewels trilogy and come to the conclusion that people will read whatever she writes, even if it's crap, and then beg for more. In this instance, part of the blame may also be placed at the feet of the publisher and editor, who doubtless contributed to the failure of this novel.

Bottom line: This book sucked. If you want to read REAL dark fantasy, try Kushiel's Dart.

Hang on for the Ending!!.......2004-05-11

I've read both the Black Jewels Trilogy and now the Tir Ailain trilogy. I will say that the Black Jewels is my favorite of the two but this trilogy has its highlights as well. This concluding installment tries valiantly to tie up the loose ends that were produced in the preceding 2 volumes and almost succeeds. This book has such a frantic pace in the last half that before you know it the war has come and gone and you really haven't realized it ever started. Bishop appears to have let the story grow in the telling and got too many storylines going to be able to adequately (in her fashion) bring them all to a justifiable conclusion within the confines of a 3 novel arc. This is still a highly entertaining read and will keep your interest especially when you reach the last half of each novel.
Enjoy. Definitely worth checking out.

The Healthy House: The Gaian Approach to Creating a Safe, Healthy, & Environmentally Friendly Home

Average customer rating:

Essential reading for the new house builder.

The Healthy House: The Gaian Approach to Creating a Safe, Healthy, & Environmentally Friendly Home
Sydney Baggs , and Joan Baggs
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0788156160

Customer Reviews:

Essential reading for the new house builder........2000-03-15

I was amazed at the scope of information contained in this book. It opened my eyes to all the things you must keep in mind when creating your new home. All those things you won't realise the significance of till it's to late, they're in this book. You won't be disappointed.

The House of Gaian. Alainn Trilogy Book 3

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The House of Gaian. Alainn Trilogy Book 3
Anne Bishop
Manufacturer: Voyager
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0732279887

Tir Alainn Trilogy By Anne Bishop - The Pillars of the World, Shadows and Light, The House of Gaian

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Tir Alainn Trilogy By Anne Bishop - The Pillars of the World, Shadows and Light, The House of Gaian
Anne Bishop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000V1JU9K

Product Description

Complete Trilogy - Set of 3 Books by Anne Bishop. The Pillars of the World, Shadows and Light, The House of Gaian.

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House of Gaian, The
Anne Bishop
Manufacturer: ROC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KXFVYW

Book Description

T'Challa, chieftain of Africa's Wakanda nation, is known to most of the Marvel Universe as the Black Panther and sometime Avenger. Being the Panther is more than just being a super hero, it also represents something sacred to the Wakandan people. The demands on T'Challa are great but despite his best efforts, Wakanda and its mineral wealth are dragged more and more into the public spotlight.

When T'Challa comes to America, government agent Everett K. Ross is assigned as an escort. He figured it would be easy work and just tailed along with the King's entourage. However, when the bullets start flying and the super-villains come calling, and political intrigue is discovered back home, Ross is in for the adventure of a lifetime. The Client, Ross's description of the Panther, befriends the befuddled agent but that may not be such a good thing.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent fun.......2006-07-03

This comic was the beginning of my interest in Marvel Comics! It's a great supernatural thriller with the coolest hero.

Not sure what the hype is about.......2006-06-01

While this book has some fairly original concepts (telling it from the perspective of a political liason that's escorting BP, drawing in some aspects of world politics, etc...) the execution doesn't feel great. All the characters feel too one-dimensional, and (SPOILER!!) the inclusion of some supernatural aspects near the end felt out of place. The interesting parts of international politics/warfare were just too glossed over. This book isn't terrible, and maybe it's just me, but I thought that this whole story (including Enemy of the State) would have done better under another writer. As for the art, it was good, but not enough to overcome the dialogue and plot execution.

excellent collection- writing and art are top-notch.......2004-09-25

this is the first story arc in what should have been a series that continues this day.. just canceled in 2003..
Mr. Priest's work has a political sophistication that never comes off as too snarky or heavy-handed, especially in an era where most fans want their comics to "only" be escapist fare.. the art by Texiera was a great opener to the series, it's too bad he left after this arc..
If there is ever a movie made about the Panther, this is the tale to base it on..

Mediocre Fantastical Political Thriller.......2004-07-08

Here's a confession: I always thought that The Black Panther is the second best solo superhero in the Marvel Universe, that is, after Spider-Man, of course. Given the right ingredients of darkness and grim & gritty tone, he would've soared through the comic market hall of fame to the likes of Batman or Daredevil.

Yet, here again, that cool-costumed vigilante (lose the stupid cape please) fell short of his true potential to weave an interesting domain of urban ghetto universe. Had they brought him to a more down to earth, yet serious conflicts, his coolness and danger would've shown through. If Marvel read this, just give me the Black Panther and I'll revamp the character through and through so he will be a badass king of dark, urban costumed crimefighters.

Amazingly Excellent............2004-01-04

The Black Panther never got the respect he deserved back in the day. Always a very underrated title, both when under the 'Jungle Adventures' title, and his own title. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby both did an amazing job with the book, but peolpe didn't buy it. Bummer. When I first began collecting comics in 96' - I was always looking for #1's being the young, naive collector I was. When I got my paw's on Panther #1, I knew I had something special. Black Panther died out then, but he came back. The Reanimation (so to speak) of T'Challa is not only better art and story wise than the original series (nothing against the original), but also selling better. Priest and Tex are a perfect team. The art here is simply amazing. Every frame, every splash could be a portrait. Beautiful. Awesome fast pace, kick a** fight scene's are in abudance, featuring the Panther kicking some major city-goon a**. Awesome impact pannels as well, you can almost feel the pain. Tex did a great job. And then the other awesome factor - The far out writing. Christopher Priest is a truley awesome writer, and man he makes the Panther bad (in a good way, not a villanous way.). He makes both fighting and character development/story development interesting. A awesome read, real enjoyable, a fast paced action ride from beggining to end. I have both the graphic novel and all the comics within it, and they are great additions to my 4000+ comic collection. You gotta get this!

Average customer rating:

Black Panther, Vol 2 #1 - THE CLIENT
PRIEST
Manufacturer: MARVEL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000SBGS4I

Customer Reviews:

This is the book that got me serious,.......2007-08-01

I was given this book, by an aquaintance. One of those people that shows up in your life, helps you and moves on. I'd always been interested in Witchcraft, but never did anything about it. I look upon this book as a resource, it does give some ritual and pathworkings, but more than that it is an encyclopedic reference to the Celtic pantheon and is a great book to pique the interest and imagination of those interested in the Celtic branch of the craft. I keep my dog eared copy on the book shelf with pride.

Good for those who thrive on tripe.......2006-12-05

Slapping the name Celtic on a book title does not make it so. This is just another of many psuedo-magic fluff and nonsense wiccan wannabe books mass produced to fill the troughs of those who would rather preen and put on a veneer. This book is merely a rehash of rehash cloaked in bright blessings and make believe fairy dust. A great book for posuers and those who would rather make up things than actually build on foundations of true believers. Chalk up another one for those out to inflate their egos or make a quick buck.

Great introduction to the subject-a usable workbook.......2006-11-08

In an arena that has produced tension between those who seek to rebuild 'Celtic' like a static museum display and those who strain to hear the voice of the Lady and the Lord in their Celtic mileu, this book is a valuable tool to really get to the heart of Celtic spirtuality.

Far removed from the camp of those practioners who want everything they do or believe backed up by archeology and literature, Edain McCoy's book is about understanding the spirit of the Tuatha Dé Danann (children of the goddess Danu)by understanding the mythology, how it evolved, and how it can work for us today. I realize that Celtic reconstructionists may balk at this, but this is about the voices we hear today, in a living faith, not a hair-splitting treatise on just what was the 'hero's portion' on a roasat pig.

The book has several pathworking journeys to get you started on guided meditations with Celtic dieties and heroes, guides to celebrating the sabbats and esbats, indexed lisitngs of goddesses and gods, and a vast list of correspondences that would make Aleister Crowley proud.

For those of us who want to work with the living God & Goddess, this book is an essential. Easy to dive into, it rewards careful study and will continue to be a valuable reference in the future. I first read it about two years ago, and it was pivitol in redefining my magickal path to a beautiful and enriching journey.

A surprising helpful book.......2006-01-25

It isn't often that modern Celtic practitioners, especially those of a more scholastic leaning, praise any book by Llywellyn. Most of their books seem geared to cash in on whatever is the current rage in occultism and the publisher seems to be the last stop for some writers who could not get published elsewhere. But every once in a while, the publisher does get something right and that is the case here. While McCoy is not to be praised for her depth of scholarship, she is to be acknowledged for her wealth of practical, working, magickal knowledge as presented here. For those working on learning mental discipline, Chapter Two presents a wealth of usable knowledge about meditation and attunement to energies which I have not seen so clearly presented before. While the Pathworking exercises are too long to be practical for a single session, they are interesting introductions to this technique. The rituals are basic Wiccan, but she clearly says so and urges the practitioner to write their own. And, finally, the dictionary of Celtic myths and legends contain hundreds of useful entries, more than I have ever seen anywhere, and not only give the bare bones of their myth, but presents how they can be used in ritual and magick, something dryer texts never mention. Most books I read and get a little knowledge from, but then they go to the book shelf of things I have already read, likely never to be opened again. This book will be one of the few that I will keep as a reference and close by, so that I can work with more of a plethora of deities with more confidence and more results.

Yes, it DOES matter.......2004-01-16

Those of you who don't think that there is anything particularly wrong with just how much McCoy errs in this book dishonour the very people that you only claim to honour. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves...but not half so much as McCoy for tossing out this rubbish just to make a quick quid by riding the newest wave of 'Celtomania'.

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