JF Ptak Science Books Post 411
In the world of bizarrely entitled written works, this extreme effort, written by E.J. Drew (in 1937) is a prime, glowing, poster-boarded champion. When you throw Mr. Claus into the mix of bizarre, naive surreal and badly-titled Things Which Have Been Written by Humans, greatness is achieved. Great badness--even after reading this, um, this written thing (and I'm not sure what category this might occupy but I am sure that whatever it was intended to be written as was written with words, and that's about it, a Word Written Book, so to speak) I am not sure what it is about.
It was a "story written for children", and such an un-tender Santa-related bad-inducement should certainly never find its way into any hands measuring less than four inches wide; or for that matter, more than four inches wide.
But getting back to the "about" part--I really can't tell. Suffice to say that it involves some bad stories about being in the Dust Bowl, and about children so poor that they were FORGOTTEN by Santa. Then somehow Santa is beaten to a pulp by bad boys, rescued by newspaper boys (the "Goodfellows"), some other stuff, and then everyone winds up being judged by St. Peter as to where they would spend eternity. Santa replaces St. Pete, and then sends people like John Dillinger to the Bad Place.
Well. If there is a moral in here I cannot find it; I can't figure out the title, either. The Goodfellows were good and weren't "Goodfellas", and the hanging and stopping I just don't know. The whole thing is a little disturbing, sort of like the feeling you get when you get your *first* disturbing feelings seeing David Lynch's twisted/broken Eraserhead. Pound-for-pound, Drew's sweaty and nightmarish thing is as unpretty as Lynch's third-worst.
As if one copy wasn't enough. you can "get additional copies" of this work if you go back in time seven decades years and order them from E.J. Drew, 4034 West Warren Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. No price was listed.
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