Puppet : an Essay on Uncanny Life
Gross, Kenneth
Sold by BWS BKS, Ferndale, NY, U.S.A.
AbeBooks Seller since June 4, 2026
New - Hardcover
Condition: New
Ships within U.S.A.
Quantity: 2 available
Add to basketSold by BWS BKS, Ferndale, NY, U.S.A.
AbeBooks Seller since June 4, 2026
Condition: New
Quantity: 2 available
Add to basketThe puppet creates delight and fear. It may evoke the innocent play of childhood, or become a tool of ritual magic, able to negotiate with ghosts and gods. Puppets can be creepy things, secretive, inanimate while also full of spirit, alive with gesture and voice. In this eloquent book, Kenneth Gross contemplates the fascination of these unsettling objects—objects that are also actors and images of life.
The poetry of the puppet is central here, whether in its blunt grotesquery or symbolic simplicity, and always in its talent for metamorphosis. On a meditative journey to seek the idiosyncratic shapes of puppets on stage, Gross looks at the anarchic Punch and Judy show, the sacred shadow theater of Bali, and experimental theaters in Europe and the United States, where puppets enact everything from Baroque opera and Shakespearean tragedy to Beckettian farce. Throughout, he interweaves accounts of the myriad faces of the puppet in literature—Collodi’s cruel, wooden Pinocchio, puppetlike characters in Kafka and Dickens, Rilke’s puppet-angels, the dark puppeteering of Philip Roth’s Micky Sabbath—as well as in the work of artists Joseph Cornell and Paul Klee. The puppet emerges here as a hungry creature, seducer and destroyer, demon and clown. It is a test of our experience of things, of the human and inhuman. A book about reseeing what we know, or what we think we know, Puppet evokes the startling power of puppets as mirrors of the uncanny in life and art.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Expect Exemplary Service With Our ?Customer-First Philosophy?
ALL OF OUR BOOKS ARE IN STOCK & AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT. ***
SPECIALTY: ART BOOKS *** We offer one of the world?s largest selections of rare and in stock art and design books including artists and subjects from all periods and all regions comprising all related fields: Art, Architecture, Photography, Monographs, Limited Editions, Catalogues Raisonnés, art history survey texts and scarce auction and exhibition catalogues from ...
SHIPPING UPGRADE:
DOMESTIC USA FREE COURIER SERVICE: FedEx / Courier Free Upgrade for customers in the US where applicable.***
EUROZONE & OTHER CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE THE US: Free or Discounted FedEx or USPS Priority Shipping Upgrade available for shipments to customers outside the US. Please inquire for details on this offer. Customer responible for all VAT.
With our exemplary service and “Customer First” Philosophy, we guarantee careful and personalized attention to every detail: from order fulfillment to extremely careful and protective packaging; we offer an upgrade to courier shipping and insurance with signed-for delivery (see details below). Our search capabilities are unrivaled permitting us to make the claim that we can provide virtually any publications our customers require.
| Order quantity | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | US$ 3.00 | US$ 5.50 |
Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.