Sunday, April 25, 2010

Paperback 310: Four O'Clock on Friday / Philip Storey (Novel Library U177)

Paperback 310: Novel Library U177 (PBO, 1961)

Title: Four O'Clock on Friday
Author: Philip Storey
Cover artist: Robert Bonfils

Yours for: $22


Best things about this cover:

  • Oddly unmoving for a peek-a-boo nightie cover.
  • "I like to paint with my hands — much more sensual than painting with rollers or brushes. I call this color 'The Blood of My Latest Victim.'"
  • "Pretend you're shopping..." — sorry, but your role-playing skills need some work.

Best things about this back cover:
  • "Tits!" — ha ha. Klassy.
  • I love how the plot description basically alleviates us from the burden of reading for the plot, thus freeing us up to scan quickly for the "part-lesbian" (?!) scenes.
  • I also love how the cover copy seems hell-bent on debasing the word "hero" as much as possible. Starting with "The hero is a personnel manager..."
  • "This, however, is not complicated enough" — I'm gonna disagree with you there, partner — though the "weird brother" plot does have, uh, novelty on its side.
Page 123~

"You could have knocked me over to hear Celia had been married to Fred all along. You knew it? Oh yes, darling, I can see it in your handsome face. Don't be made at me, love, I'll never talk."
It would be hard to express to you how poorly this book is written without also boring you to death. Also, I think "Don't be mad at me, love, I'll never talk" should have been the tagline of this book.

~RP

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6 comments:

literarychica said...

OMG, this is like those books I got by mistake when I ordered the Dorothy Hughes books for the Crime Fiction class. Remember? "Anytime Amy," "Backstage Trio" and "White Desire"? Yeah...not remotely like Dorothy Hughes.

Tulse said...

That back-cover copy sounds like a horny 15-year-old relating the plot to his friends.

Given the target demographic, that may have been clever marketing...

Unknown said...

Back cover leaves unanswered the question: part-lesbian, part-WHAT? Is the wife part-lesbian, part-octopus? What?

capewood said...

"...dares him to get it back-the hard way!" I'm really trying not to think about what that may mean.

Michael5000 said...

Sounds like a crazy way-out story! And if it's so poorly written, then why did was the guy who wrote the back cover driven to exclaim "What an exciting story of lust, love, hate and desire!"? Huh? Answer us that, ya big cynic!

Larry said...

Looking at her eyes it looks like it is actually 20 minutes past the time indicated in the book's title.