The Wonderful O: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Bought it for the contents (to read.)Excellent for the purpose and price.Thanks! 5-Stars! (I'd give you 10 if I could!)

A good read

The Wonderful O, by long time New Yorker magazine writer James Thurber (1894-1961), was published over 50 years ago (1957), and the fingers of history leave smudges on the pages of this fanciful tale of a violent and dictatorial Captain Black and his partner Littlejack wreaking havoc when they outlaw all things "O".The story line is relatively straightforward: In search of jewels, Black and Littlejack, backed by a pirate ship crewed by violence-prone henchmen, take over the government of an island. Black, whose mother was once stuck in a porthole, has what would almost certainly be dubbed PTAD (Post-traumatic Alphabetical Disorder) today, and hates all things with the letter "O". He bans the letter, and even bans objects that contain the letter O. By teaming up with a lawyer (Hyde), legal decisions blunt some of the more disastrous potential effects of the new edicts. Cows, for example, do not need to be eliminated if they are referred to as cattle; geese are okay as long as an individual doesn't leave the flock (becoming a goose).The Wonderful O is an adult parable rather than a children's book, though it is included in the New York Review Children's Collection. The complexity of the language and themes would challenge the great majority of children who read The Wonderful O, and the targets of Thurber's writing would likely remain opaque to them. What are those targets? First, a brief refresher of the mid-fifties.When the Wonderful O was written, the national consciousness was still tuned acutely to war, specifically the memory of WW II and the Korean conflict. Joe McCarthy had finally been reined in only two or three years earlier, and though his rabid anti-Communism rants had lost credibility, the Cold War was in full ascendancy. The evils of totalitarianism, and the past brutalities of Stalin and Hitler were fresh in people's minds; Mao Zedong was well on his way to the excesses of power that would eventually kill over 70 million Chinese. Memories of collaborators that aided the Nazi occupation of France were still fresh. The excesses of dictatorial power that the free world witnessed were no less capricious, but considerably more tragic, than eliminating all things "O" from the world. Consciousness of what had already occurred, and fear of what might still happen, provided Thurber with virtually all of the warp, and a good part of the weave, in his literary tapestry about the letter O.The resistance to evil, a prophetess-like figure named Andrea tells those with the courage to resist Black and Littlejack, revolves around four "O" words: Love, Hope, Valor, and.....you'll have to read the book to find out! Citizens on the island occupied by Black and LIttlejack respond the way the citizens of France did when Hitler invaded, ranging from full cooperation with the tyrants to heroic resistance. Thurber's portrayal of the family and social choices that people must make in the face of tyranny is uncomfortably accurate.Retrospectively, it's interesting that the word valor is specifically chosen over wisdom; one of Thurber's characters refers to the word wisdom as "too weak". It is also interesting to note that when the fourth "O" word is finally revealed, it turns out to be one that has been bandied about like a rugby ball for the last eight to nine years, often by those most abusive of it.For those previously unfamiliar with Thurber's work (that would include me), his writing style is amazingly witty, and (appropriate for a friend of E.B. White) grammatically perfect, a combination of qualities that is a joy to experience.One wonders, were Thurber alive today, if after the Vietnam War, the first and second Gulf Wars, and the current struggle in Afghanistan, he would still be willing to choose valor over wisdom as one of the four antidotal words to oppression. One wonders also if the fourth antidotal word, unnamed until late in the book, has been bludgeoned into triteness by overuse. One will never wonder, though, how Thurber would feel about impositions on one of our most important American rights: that of free speech. Captain Black and Littlejack run seriously aground when they mess with natural law in the Universe of Thurber, specifically the law that allows free, unrestricted, and creative use of language.

I purchased this book as a birthday gift for my wife, Stephanie, at her request. She had previously read it, but lent and lost her copy of this out-of-print book. Of all the books she's ever read, she says this is the only one that would be impossible to read aloud. Though it might seem to be a book for children, both young and old, especially word-lovers, will love this lovely, extremely clever and imaginative product of the mind of Thurber. The story, so amusingly told, teaches valuable and memorable lessons and can be read in one sitting by avid readers. There is nothing like it--a classic, a little masterpiece! My wife is thrilled that this book is now restored to her home library. The book arrived promptly in very good condition, although without the dust jacket that her previous copy had.

I don't know what age this book is written for. The language is a bit difficult and the concept of the pirate who hates the letter O and gets rid of everything with that letter. It is funny and clever. It took me a while to figure out how to read it with all the "O"s missing. My 4 year old is a ways from being able to stick with this book. But it's so unique and clever I am keeping it for him to read when he IS old enough. When I read the info before I purchased it it said something about big words. My boy loves to learn big new words. Just not so many at one time. I did read the first chapter to him and days later he was thinking about the concept of no more O. So it intrigued him even if it is a bit difficult. There are a few illustrations.

This book is a stirring adventure story and a love story and a wonderful focus on all words starting with O. It is funny, moving and inspiring. I don't think a very young child would be in to it but for 5-6 year olds and up I think it would be terrific. I read it as a adult and got a great kick out of it and would recommend it extremely.

This is a light read. The villains ban the letter "O" and wind up getting hoist by their own petard. Thurber is great humorous, and he tries his hand at a Seuss-like delivery without the real precision of say, Raymond Queneau or Georges Perec who made a Swiss-like art of letter omission.Recommended.

My mother used to read this book to me when I was little. We lost it, but for years we've been quoting it at each other for one reason or another, such as when we grab our hat and cat and go ut. It has a quirky humour, and beautiful poetry to the writing: rereading it as an adult paid off, because some of the more advanced wordplay goes over children's heads. This is a fun and memorable book, and the moral is important without being too in your face about it.

Iread this fairytale by James Thurber many years ago and have bought it for a friend's grandson.The wit and elegant wordplay will enchant readers of any age

I'm surprised this book is not better known. I read it when I was twelve, and thought it one of the cleverest and funniest I had read - laugh out loud stuff. It works for adults too - like the best children's writing, so not boring to read at bed-time. I had the edition with the illustrations by Ronald Searle. Would recommend it to any child who reads - 9 - 15. The version I had (Puffin I think) also had the "Thirteen Clocks" which is equally good. Thurber wrote brilliantly for children. He was one of the delights of my childhood. Also - for encouraging 'real book' reading, the language is quite simple, and they are not too long. Every school library should have it.

Exceptional book which my 2 both loved (unusual to find a book they love at the same time as they have a 3 year age gap).Witty, expands your vocab beautifully. A book they read over again.Highly recommend.

Funny little tale of dastardly pirates banning the letter O from all words when they fail to find treasure on the island of Ooroo.

A childhood favourite of mine so a trip down a nostalgic memory lane. A lovely edition and far superior to my old Puffin which was twinned with The 13 Clocks.I’m ambivalent right now about Marc Simont’s illustrations as the Puffin was illustrated by Ronald Searle but I am sure that I will come to love them and they are the original ones.