Rudolf Kurz, whom I've posted about in the past, kindly sent me a copy of his exquisite book, Looking for Snails on a Sunday Afternoon. It contains, as it says on the cover, thirty-six of his etchings and three of his stories. What it does not say on the cover is that the book is a work of genius, and that both the etchings and the stories are brimming with a mad surrealist whimsy. Some images you will find therein: a woman in a horned mask riding a swan-snail; a domesticated dinosaur sleeping beneath a magnolia tree; an anteater taking a promenade in a land littered with bones and pea pods. And that's just the tip of this irrational, irresistible iceburg. The (very short) stories, titled "Monster on Broadway," "Little Secret," and "Fiver Naked Girls on a Mastedon," are written in an appealing, conversational tone that belies some truly strange goings-on. Even the printing is wondrous, with rich ink on thick, toothy paper. It's a truly exceptional book through and through.
Thank you, Rudolf, for this wonderful gift!
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