The Owl in the Attic and Other Perplexities

by James Thurber

A collection of short humorous pieces, most of which appeared in The New Yorker.Part Mr and Mrs MonroeA number of short stories featuring the Mr and Mrs Monroe and which contain many autobiographical elements.Part The Pet DepartmentInspired by the daily pet column in the New York Evening Post and consisting of a number of short question and answers, each illustrated by a Thurber drawing.Part Ladies and Gentlemen's Guide to Modern English UsageInspired by Mr. H. W. Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage.

Genres: Humor, Essays, Short Stories, Fiction, Collections, 20th Century, American

113 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio to Charles L. Thurber and Mary Agnes (Mame) Fisher Thurber. Both of his parents greatly influenced his work. His father, a sporadically employed clerk and minor politician who dreamed of being a lawyer or an actor, is said to have been the inspiration for the small, timid protagonist typical of many of his stories. Thurber described his mother as a "born comedienne" and "one of the finest comic talents I think I have ever known." She was a practical joker, on one occasion pretending to be crippled and attending a faith healer revival, only to jump up and proclaim herself healed.

Thurber had two brothers, William and Robert. Once, while playing a game of William Tell, his brother William shot James in the eye with an arrow. Because of the lack of medical technology, Thurber lost his eye. This injury would later cause him to be almost entirely blind. During his childhood he was unable to participate in sports and activities because of his injury, and instead developed a creative imagination, which he shared in his writings.

From 1913 to 1918, Thurber attended The Ohio State University, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He never graduated from the University because his poor eyesight prevented him from taking a mandatory ROTC course. In 1995 he was posthumously awarded a degree.

From 1918 to 1920, at the close of World War I, Thurber worked as a code clerk for the Department of State, first in Washington, D.C. and then at the American Embassy in Paris, France. After this Thurber returned to Columbus, where he began his writing career as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch from 1921 to 1924. During part of this time, he reviewed current books, films, and plays in a weekly column called "Credos and Curios," a title that later would be given to a posthumous collection of his work. Thurber also returned to Paris in this period, where he wrote for the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers.

In 1925, he moved to Greenwich Village in New York City, getting a job as a reporter for the New York Evening Post. He joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1927 as an editor with the help of his friend and fellow New Yorker contributor, E.B. White. His career as a cartoonist began in 1930 when White found some of Thurber's drawings in a trash can and submitted them for publication. Thurber would contribute both his writings and his drawings to The New Yorker until the 1950s.

Thurber was married twice. In 1922, Thurber married Althea Adams. The marriage was troubled and ended in divorce in May 1935. Adams gave Thurber his only child, his daughter Rosemary. Thurber remarried in June, 1935 to Helen Wismer. His second marriage lasted until he died in 1961, at the age of 66, due to complications from pneumonia, which followed upon a stroke suffered at his home. His last words, aside from the repeated word "God," were "God bless... God damn," according to Helen Thurber.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early collection of Thurber's humor pieces, many (or perhaps all?) from the first decade of The New Yorker. The book comprises three sections; my favorite was "The Pet Department," which I loved:

Q. My husband's seal will not juggle, although we have tried everything. Grace H.

A. Most seals will not juggle; I think I have never known one that juggled. Seals balance things, and sometimes toss objects (such as the large ball in your sketch) from one to another. This last will be difficult if your husband has but one seal. I'd try him in plain balancing , beginning with a billiard cue or something. It may be, of course, that he is a non-balancing seal.

This is of course, a lot more amusing if you can visualize a Thurber sketch of a seal gazing sadly at a ball in the accompanying illustration. The pet department, is alas, much the shortest part of the book. I disliked the cynical not very pleasant stories about Mr. and Mrs. Monroe in the first section, and was bored by the spoofs of Fowler's English Usage that make up the third.

[Connie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1931, James Thurber published a group of short stories and essays, accompanied by humorous drawings. Some of his works were originally published in The New Yorker magazine. The book is divided into three distinct sections.

"Mr and Mrs Monroe" is a humorous group of stories about the Monroe's marriage. Mr Monroe always wants to feel that he's in charge of a situation, but he usually doesn't have a clue about how to solve a problem. He's a timid accountant who is great at working with numbers, but Mrs Monroe is more adept at practical things. But she loves him and leaves him with his self-image intact. In spite of their differences and squabbles, there is a sense of deep affection between them.

"Pet Department" is the second section, an advice column which answers questions about pets. Some of the drawings were cute, but I really did not find the writing very humorous in this section.

The third section is called "Ladies' and Gentleman's Guide to Modern English." It's a series of humorous essays about punctuation, and grammatical problems. Although some of them seem a bit dated today, I could imagine them running in The New Yorker in the early days of the magazine. It made me smile as he described typing an exclamation point in the early days of the typewriter by "striking, successively, the period, the back-spacer, and the apostrophe." These humorous writings were written in a pseudo-intellectual manner.

The book made me feel like I was transported back to another era. I enjoyed the cute "Mr and Mrs Monroe" stories, but was not as enthusiastic about the rest of the book.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up used for 33 cents at the Thurber House Museum (so glad we finally got around to visiting -- thanks to a visit from my brother George - thanks, George!), it's mostly delightful. The first section is devoted to Mr. and Mrs. Monroe, and I liked some of those pieces more than others. However, the Pet Department is wonderful, both for the drawings and the text, the combination of the two being pretty much perfect. Part Three, The Ladies' and Gentlemen's Guide to Modern English Usage, is surely among the most over-the-top humor of Thurber's, some of which reduced me to utterly helpless laughter. So if you find it in your local library or bookstore, definitely at least read The Pet Department, it's quite brief but excellent. The whole book is pretty short, for that matter. Enjoy!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I distinctly remember reading James Thurber, a New Yorker staff writer 1927 - 1950's, when I was a kid. And thinking he was very funny. You might think this was precocious of me but I was an air-headed, wiggly child not prone to thinking much. I must have read his animal cartoon books.

This book has mature humor including risqué (for its time) references. In one instance it describes a husband swishing his cane under her bed to see if his wife has a lover hidden there. It also has a section on silly grammar rules including titles such as The Subjunctive Mood and The Perfect Infinitive. I'm sure I didn't read this one as a child.

[A.D. Morel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long a favorite -- there is something about Thurber's style, low key, hang dog, day dreaming in outfield -- I can relate to this approach. The ground is not quite solid beneath his feet. I have to laugh out loud, even snort!
It's old, but not old-fashioned -- an observer from another time, who sheds light on my own time.

[Micah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light, humorous, and sparsely written in a deceptively simplistic style. Thurber takes the art of comic writing back to the every man, speaking deep insights lightly and with sardonically common English. His craftsmanship rebels against formality and his tone is inviting and mellow, but his wit and insights lead one to mirth and occasionally even pondering.

[William Leight · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Owl in the Attic” is a fun collection of early short Thurber pieces (it was his second published book, after “Is Sex Necessary?”). The first section, “Mr. and Mrs. Monroe”, is a series of screwball-esque vignettes about the titular married couple. In what would become typical Thurber fashion, Mr. Monroe is acutely conscious of his failure to live up to what he thinks ought to be a masculine ideal, while his wife, though aware of the failure, is also equally aware that the ideal in question is imaginary and unachievable. Because Thurber had his blind spots with women, the question of whether or not Mrs. Monroe is struggling to live up to an imaginary feminine ideal is never broached, but that doesn't meant that she simply plays the straight woman to her husband: instead, she has the energy and drive of a screwball heroine. The stories here aren’t Thurber’s best work, but they are always amusing and sometimes quite funny. The second section is “The Pet Department”, consisting of imaginary letters from people with ridiculous questions about their pets (or pet-like objects) and Thurber’s equally ridiculous answers, each one accompanied by an illustration by Thurber. These are a bit uneven, but at least they’re short, and the illustrations are mostly great. Finally, “Lady’s and Gentleman’s Guide to Modern English Usage” covers the usual topics — split infinitives, who vs. whom, the subjunctive, etc. — in an idiosyncratic and highly digressive style. I doubt that your writing will be much improved by Thurber’s advice here, but it’s invariably amusing.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first section is scenes from the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Monroe. They're cute in a slightly screwball way. While very dated, my favorite involved Mrs. Monroe fending off a blonde rival with a tale of her husband's ineptitude.
The second section was my favorite. It took the form of letters to an advice columnist about pets. It was a perfect melding of Thurber's drawings and writing.
The final section was about grammar and punctuation. I've forgotten most of the rules for proper writing, and this just wasn't my thing.

[Rachel Sonnen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part III of this book is hilarious and full of humor. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a deep love for language.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

such fun to read old-time humor. a good way to start a vacation

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this particular surrealism and brain-heavy nonsense writing is beyond my taste for the most part. Interesting intellectual stretch but not particularly pleasant for me.

[Justin Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Pet Department" sections were great - Thurber as a dry proto-Tweeter - but the narrative writing here isn't up to snuff imo.

[MisterFweem · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Thurber is a master of the ordinarily absurd, and I would have loved to hear him recite some of his tales, rather than merely have to read them, because, as with all vivid writing, they have a very noise, speak-y, joyously clattering quality that makes them stand out from other tellers of tale tales and reporters of the ordinary.

I also love to read the adventures of the timid Mr. Monroe, who lives in a little fantasy world where he is in control until he has to interact with the real world, when he quickly discovers he is in the throes of events, rather than controlling them. Kinda like me. So maybe he's a good bad example, a negative doppelganger whose behavior is to be snickered at rather than emulated. I love him for that.

READ IT AGAIN. And it's still delightful. Mr. Monroe remains completely not in control during the simplest event, even something as simple as taking a shower. I'm glad Mr. Thurber shared this calamitous character with us.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is divided into three parts. The first (and most interesting) are little stories about a married couple. The second are Dear Abby style letters about animals. The third (and most boring) is supposedly humorous essays about grammar.

Obviously, back in the 1930's, they did not have Dave Barry and American Idol, so they read James Thurber for amusement. ((Yawn))

[Kassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would call Thurber a lighter version of Mark Twain. There's none of those dark undertones in his short stories. He really seems to identify and laugh at our faults like no other author of his time. My favorite part of this book was the "Pet Department." His subtle wit is what gets me. I will be searching for more of his stuff.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rediscovering James Thurber.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing spectacular about this book, but I like it. Right now I am sick and I find the three page long stories (illustrated) entertaining. I make sure to read every single word carefully.

[John Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delight.

[Whitney Borup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grammar humor! : "Avoid the perfect infinitive after the past conditional as you would a cobra."