Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Paperback 213: Carny Kill / Robert Edmond Alter (Gold Medal d1611)

Paperback 213: Gold Medal d1611 (PBO, 1966)

Title: Carny Kill
Author: Robert Edmond Alter
Cover artist: Uncredited

Yours for: $24


Best things about this cover:

  • This must have been published during the short-lived "rain bowling" fad of the mid-'60s.
  • What color is this thing, puce? Yuck.
  • Even with that giant crease, this book is pretty valuable. It's rare, Alter is a good (cult) writer, and, I mean, come on: carnies.


Best things about this back cover:
  • Why is the cover copy (front and back) written out like post-modern poetry. I want someone to enter a poetry slam with this back cover blurb as the "poem." Video evidence that you have done so will earn you this book, free of charge.
  • Here, "carny" is used as short for the entire Carnival - I have only ever known the word to refer to a person who works at a carnival. Also, I like that he "joined" the carny. Like it's the army. Or a cult.
  • Oh man, that "though..." just kills the flow there at the end. Did he just trail off? Was he killed before he could get out the rest of the sentence "... though I don't really feel like it. I mean, it's totally not fair."

Page 123~

"Sonofabitch tagged me, Chad!" Pansy-face cried. "Ain't no bastard on gawd's earth goan lay hands on me!"


Sic, and sic, and ... yeah, sic again, just in case.

~RP

6 comments:

Alix said...

The "though" is awful! "I've got to find out who did, though. I mean, really. I'm gonna get up off the couch right this minute and find the guy. Okay, after the next commercial, but DEFINITELY then."

Eunice said...

Speaking of weird ellipses... shouldn't it be "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Step right up!"? It's just kinda ho hum the way it's printed. Like the least motivated barker ever.

That really is a bowling pose.

Nicole "Gidget" Kalstein said...

Oh, good, I thought I was the only one bothered by "though..." Yay, I'm not the only word nerd!

I like your comment about the slam poetry, although when I first read the front cover I laughed aloud at how nonchalant it sounded.

"You see, they found this corpse..."

Hah!

Nicole "Gidget" Kalstein said...

Where's your Friday post????? I was looking forward to it all day!

Canaduck said...

I go to poetry slams occasionally as one of my friends does them a lot.

I am very tempted to use this poem there.

Liz said...

I read that title as "Canary Kill"...which would have been a whole different story.