lizard of oz

Sir Francis Bacon

This is a re-read. I was looking for something quick, and this handwritten, illustrated novella was just what I needed. I borrowed this from my childhood library after my older sister had read it and laughed through most of it as I recall. Its a trippy, early 1970's essay on how to get back or renew your spirit after its been suppressed by the machine. Its amazing how much the machine has grown in the 50 years or so since this was written, which means its even more relevant today than it was then, and perhaps even more important as a message. The message is dated however.

By you know what isn't dated? Puns. said no one

I won't repeat everything I wrote about this one when I found an old copy and re-read this about 5 years ago, you can check that out here. That post had links to what the author, Richard Seltzer, was up to at the time, and even an illustrated online version of the book, but those links don't work anymore. 

I think its a good bet that this Christin Couture is the book's illustrator, which she did while she was a student at UMass Amherst. Given the era, and the fact that she was a college student, I think these psychedelic images were pretty fun for Couture to come up with. 

The puns are prevalent throughout, along with some other pun-related word-play. The story follows an elementary school class on a field trip to rediscover the magic that is being washed out of the world by the aforementioned machine, personified by the humbug, which can be seen flitting about on insect wings, slowing beating his humdrum. The kids pile into their teacher's VW Bug along with the class fishbowl and its two inhabitants, to go find the secret fire again, in the unworld of Ome.

There's love, there's laughter, danger, giant potholes, and other fractured fairy tales. No not those Fractured Fairy Tales. The Lizard of Oz is a fun one, and it reads different as you get older.