The Curious Sofa may well be Edward Gorey's masterpiece. It skillfully incorporates all of the strongest elements of his work, particularly his remarkable ability to incorporate "taboo" subjects (i.e. sex and violence) without stooping to the sort of cliches which would make the whole enterprise mawkish (on the one hand) or overly self-conscious (on the other hand). It takes real skill to deliver a tale that is charming, naughty, and emotionally evocative, and it takes even more skill to do all of that in a very short number of pages. Needless to say, Gorey pulls the whole trick off with style and grace to spare - a genuine masterwork all around. ( )

This is another great little work from Edmund Gorey, which is funny and dark and naughty. None of the drawings are poronographic, all the characters are either fully clothed or covered by strategically placed objects,everything is left up to the reader's imagination. If you are a fan of Gorey's work this is a must read. ( )

This "pornographic" work relies upon the terrible, filthy minds of its readers- positioning characters behind strategically placed objects and alluding to arcane and fetishistic acts of debauchery in arcane and obtuse ways, such as "demonstrating the Lithuanian typewriter."

If you find yourself appalled, you've only your own dirty mind to blame, and if your mind is innocent, you won't get it. And that's exactly the point. As always, Gorey's irony is delicious, his art gorgeous and full of Victorian flair. ( )

As the New York Times writes of Edward Gorey, "His satires (often of tawdry Victorian mysteries) are not mere commentaries on the manners and mores of a distant age; they are inventive narratives about evil adults, mischievous children, illicit lovers and improbable beasts." Or, in the case of The Curious Sofa, improbable furniture. As Gorey tells us on the cover, this is "a pornographic work" (pornographic horror, in fact) with a picture on every page. And yet there's nary a nipple (nor a drop of blood) in sight.