There is nothing overthought about these pieces, even when they reach toward what Joe Queenan calls a tendency to "find more in Peanuts than was really there." Deep warmth courses through even the most eggheaded appraisal. And the eggheadedness that is present always feels fully backed up by the source material…I'm not a Peanuts enthusiast. I have a deep well of affection for it, especially the TV shows that flickered against my youth, but I've certainly never considered myself a fanatic. But this charming, searching book made me wonder if I'm right about that after all.
The New York Times - John Williams
★ 07/08/2019
The 33 essays, poems, and cartoons in this book, most original to the volume, are affectionate valentines to Charles M. Schulz’s much-loved comic strip, Peanuts —syndicated in newspapers from 1950 to 2000—that gauge the cultural impact of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang. Adam Gopnik, in “Good Griefs,” compares Schulz’s characters—kids who inhabit “the recognizable grown-up world of thwarted ambition and delusional longing”—to those of Chekhov and Salinger. Mona Simpson riffs on the theme of unrequited love rampant in the strip in “Triangle with Piano” and Sarah Boxer does the same on Snoopy the beagle’s self-invented heroic persona in “The Exemplary Narcissism of Snoopy.” Jonathan Lethem’s “Grief,” a Peanuts-referencing pastiche of Allen Ginsberg’s landmark poem “Howl,” is so perfect one could imagine a beat Linus (to whom it is dedicated) having written it. Editor Blauner includes appreciations of the animated Peanuts television specials and thought pieces ranging from the scholarly to the intimately personal by Umberto Eco, Jonathan Franzen, Maxine Hong Kingston, Rick Moody, and others. This is a heartwarming tribute to Schulz’s inimitable strip and the influence it had on its everyday audience. (Oct.)
2020 Eisner Award Nominee NPR Best Book of 2019Pop Matters Best Book of 2019 “If you obsessed over the comic strip Peanuts as a child — I mean: You lived and died with those characters . . . hark, the herald angels sing: You are not alone!” — James Rosen, National Review “This charming, searching book . . . is one of the more spiritual books I’ve read in years.” —John Williams, The New York Times “Deeply personal and often moving, The Peanuts Papers shine a light on the enormous impact the work of Charles M. Schulz has had on a generation of writers and artists . . . and on the world as a whole.” —Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid "The Peanuts Papers supports the idea that we return to Peanuts for the depth and the recognition and the truth — and sometimes simply because, as [Kevin] Powell writes in reference to his own depression, Schulz and Peanuts still have the capacity to bring us 'tremendous happiness to this very day.'” — Michael Cavna, The Washington Post "“Peanuts” was one of the most influential American comics. A new collection of meditative, charming essays explores the strip’s cultural impact." — Christian Science Monitor “A heartwarming tribute to Schulz’s inimitable strip and the influence it had on its everyday audience.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "Anyone who enjoyed the comics or TV specials will recognize their experiences in these pages and have their appreciation of Schulz’s genius renewed." —Library Journal (Starred Review) “Top-flight...Essential reading for Peanuts fans and an appealing collection of personal writing for any reader.” —Kirkus Reviews “A diverse and illustrious line-up of authors, whose thoughtful and heartfelt accolades attest to Schulz’s enduring vision and his strip’s abiding place in American culture.” — Booklist "Reading this book was like finding a lost album of childhood photographs. It's an unexpected powerhouse of a book, and if Peanuts was part of your childhood, it will knock you out." Caitlin Flanagan "Good grief! Who knew that a mere ( if admittedly great) comic strip, could inspire such great writing? The Peanuts Papers is an anthology unlike any other, to be treasured and earmarked." —Daphne Merkin “Writers of every age and stripe bring their own memories and imaginations to this classic strip—and in so doing so, show just how much they were inspired by it.” —Cullen Murphy
2019-06-09 Top-flight writers contemplate "Peanuts," a comic strip that's especially inviting to a wealth of interpretations.
That's partly because the apparent simplicity of Charles Schulz's creation was often deceptive: Ivan Brunetti is one of a handful of cartoonists here who note that Schulz rendered a variety of expressions with inimitable ease. "He made comics into a broader language of emotion," concurs Chris Ware. The emotion most contributors gravitate to is melancholy, which is to say that Charlie Brown gets much of the attention. He embodies a "daily tragedy" (Umberto Eco); an "introduction to adult problems" (Chuck Klosterman); and a "gospel" of "disillusionment" (Jonathan Franzen). Even free-wheeling Snoopy is often seen as an existential figure: As Sarah Boxer writes, he is "shallow in his way, but he's also deep, and in the end deeply alone, as deeply alone as Charlie Brown is." Tales of Brown-ian embarrassments and insecurities abound, though often in a spirit of gratitude toward Schulz for ferrying the authors into adulthood. Among the most powerful contributions are Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell's "Happiness Is Fleeting," about her insecurity as a young artist, and Jennifer Finley Boylan's "You're Weird Sir," about her identification with Peppermint Patty while growing up "a closeted transgender child." The bulk of the pieces are personal essays, which can feel tonally repetitive, and there are too few actual comics. However, there's plenty of entertaining counterprogramming. Jonathan Lethem's "Grief" is a winning mashup of "Peanuts" quotes and Allen Ginsberg's "Howl"; Peter Kramer considers Lucy's 5-cent psychiatry booth from the perspective of professional psychiatry; and Elissa Schappell stands up for Charlie's kid sister, Sally, an iconoclast too often dismissed as the strip's dim bulb. "Sally isn't innocent, she's cynical," Schappell insists; if there's a running theme to this book, it's that Schulz masterfully imagined a world filled with children that is also bereft of innocence. Other notable contributors include George Saunders, David Hajdu, Ann Patchett, and Maxine Hong Kingston.
Essential reading for "Peanuts" fans and an appealing collection of personal writing for any reader.
★ 09/01/2019
With this special publication, the Library of America releases its first volume on one of the most popular art forms of the 20th century, newspaper comics. Contributors celebrate Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000), whose strip Peanuts provided a common experience for generations of readers, created a multimedia empire, and was marked by subtlety, psychological insight, philosophical depth, and wry humor. Literary agent Blauner (editor, Coach ; Brothers ) gathers mostly new tributes, analyses, memoirs, comics, and poems by an impressive roster of essayists, novelists, and cartoonists to consider Schulz's art alone. The work does not include interviews or biographical details. Many writers recall the effect Peanuts had on their lives, while others analyze Schulz's themes and explore the sophisticated world he created with respect, affection, and wit. More broadly, the book provides compelling evidence and highlights a popular culture phenomenon and artistic accomplishment of a long-running, daily creative work. VERDICT To be dipped into rather than read through, this volume will appeal to many readers. Anyone who enjoyed the comics or TV specials will recognize their experiences in these pages and have their appreciation of Schulz's genius renewed.—Bill Hardesty, Georgia State Univ. Libs., Atlanta