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Oct 29

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Scott B Comments: The Day It Rained Forever… there were warning-sign-red clown faces staring regretfully at me?
Published 1974

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 7.21 out of 10)
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23 Responses to “The Day It Rained Forever”

  1. Tat Wood Says:

    The rejected first version of the Open University logo
    (all together now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMrbxYrMmOc)

  2. Tom Noir Says:

    Oh god, not the Italian clown with the Jamaican devil nose again!!!

  3. A.R.Yngve Says:

    Ringo?
    “What would you do if I wore a clown mask
    Would you slap me onto a sci-fi book…?”

  4. FeârofMüsíc Says:

    “Blue eyes, blue lips, yellow nose yeah, the boys a time bomb…”

    Yeah, now that just screams sci-fi. Or drama students on peyote.

  5. THX 1138 Says:

    Are you sure this isn’t Jerry Colonna’s “behind the laughter” autobiography?

  6. Bibliomancer Says:

    I was very curious why there are so many bad Penguin Science Fiction covers with illustrations having nothing to do with their content. And then I found this parade of horribles:

    http://www.penguinsciencefiction.org/20.html

    The whole website is a fascinating read with the story of the the art directors behind many of our “favorites” from the late 60s and early 70s, namely Alan Aldridge and David Pelham.

    http://www.penguinsciencefiction.org/toc.html

  7. Rags Says:

    HAHAH fantastic but nowhere below (from goodreads) does it say anything about crazy painted clown man!

    A The Day It Rained Forever (1959) is a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury. It was previously released in the US as Medicine for Melancholy with a slightly different list of stories.
    “The Day It Rained Forever”
    “In a Season of Calm Weather”
    “The Dragon”
    “The End of the Beginning”
    “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit”
    “Fever Dream”
    “Referent”
    “The Marriage Mender”
    “The Town Where No One Got Off”
    “Icarus Montgolfier Wright”
    “Almost at the End of the World”
    “Dark They were and Golden-eyed”
    “The Smile”
    “Here there be Tygers”
    “The Headpiece”
    “Perchance to Dream”
    “The Time of Going Away”
    “The Gift”
    “The Little Mice”
    “The Sunset Harp”
    “A Scent of Sarsaparilla”
    “And the Rock Cried Out”
    “The Strawberry Window

  8. Tat Wood Says:

    @bibliomancer: when Penguin was the most prestigious paperback imprint, it paid twice what most pulphouses did so authors didn’t complain too much. Back at the start of their SF output it was mainly respected artists from the galleries being redeployed (a lot of Tanguy and Klee, plus Desiderio Monsa) ans there was a vgue attempt to look sort of like Columbia Records’ jazz labels.

    Then it all went horribly wrong.

  9. Tom Noir Says:

    Thanks for the link, Biblio!

    I find it quite baffling that these bizarro covers are celebrated while the covers of the 80’s, which featured illustrations that actually had something to do with their contents, were pooh-poohed.

    I get that the Pelham covers might look nice all shelved together as a collection, but surely even in the 70’s that wasn’t how people bought books? But perhaps the idea of using the cover to attract readers who might not have heard of the book is a new-fangled modernist construct.

  10. B. Chiclitz Says:

    I think the answer is something like, “Screw you, Clown.”

  11. fred Says:

    Hair or eyebrow?

  12. Scott B Says:

    Black mustache and eyebrows; yellow hair, beard, eyelashes and, um, under-eye whiskers?

  13. Michael Toland Says:

    Hey, Rags – thanks for that info about the book itself. I’m a big Bradbury fan and was wondering how come I’ve never heard of this one. I have A Medicine For Melancholy and now know I don’t have to go digging for this one.

  14. StevenLP Says:

    Looking at bibliomancer’s first link, I’m shocked (shocked!) that the cover to “Connoisseur’s Science Fiction” hasn’t previously appeared on this site. If you doubt its worthiness, have a close look at the face … you will reel back, demanding of your loved ones “pluck out my eyes, pluck out my eyes!”

  15. ravensbane Says:

    “The Day It Rained Forever”. So forever tops out at twenty-four hours?

  16. Bibliomancer Says:

    @StevenLP — Not only has “Connoisseur’s Science Fiction” appeared on this site:

    http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/2011/11/connoisseurs-science-fiction/

    but it is currently #4 on the “Top Rated” List:

    http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?r_sortby=highest_rated&r_orderby=desc

    This cover has not gone unnoticed to the true “Connoisseurs” of bad taste here.

  17. StevenLP Says:

    Bibliomancer: I’m shamed …

    I blame my own cowardice – I could not trust myself to spell “connoisseur” correctly, so I searched for “Boardman” (the editor) instead.

    My present expression bears some resemblance to that of the … the … whatever it is … the oddly faced gentleman is riding, though my tongue isn’t quite as lolling.

  18. Tag Wizard Says:

    There’s no shame in that, Steve, even (or especially) when a splendid terrible cover is melting your face off it’s easy to be blinded by the horrific genius of it all.

    Welcome to the comments!

  19. Bibliomancer Says:

    The only shame is David Pelham”s. Or whoever posed for the clown portrait.

  20. Phil Says:

    “…whoever posed for the clown portrait.”

    Charlie Cairoli would be my guess: http://www.arthurvercoepedlar.goldiellepromotions.com/images/charliec_02.jpg

  21. Anti-Sceptic Says:

    That’s no clown. That’s an ink blot painting

    I see a spaceship flying between two water planets, and headed into what looks like a squished Ring World. There’s a crow’s wing in there too.

  22. Anna T. Says:

    That’s not a clown. That is the mask of a horror movie villain.

  23. Tom Noir Says:

    For some reason this cover reminds me of Jesus.

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